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MEC Reserve Committee Newsletter

 

 
 

August 27, 2009

 

 

  

*RESERVE BREAKING NEWS*

Reserve Flight Attendants Bid & Award of System Bid Charter(s) SBC on AVL day(s)

July 16, 2009:  A BOS Reserve flight attendant bid and was awarded a System Bid Charter scheduled to depart on July 18, 2009 on an AVL day. Subsequent to this award and due to inadequate coverage this same reserve flight attendant was contacted and assigned a pairing on July 17, 2009 that created an illegality with the SBC already held by this reserve flight attendant.  The reserve flight attendant was removed from the SBC and would have been due a claim but was assigned another pairing of a higher value same day as departure as the SBC.

Ok, so this is a lot to grasp and a typical crazy scenario in the life of a reserve flight attendant, but there is some light at the end of this reserve tunnel.

According to scheduling, they had never dealt with a conflict between a flight attendant in reserve status holding a SBC and in an inadequate situation, ‘ever’.  The Manager of Scheduling made the decision to handle the situation similar to a reserve holding an ETB trip on an OFF day in an inadequate situation.

This raised several questions and was first brought to the attention of the MEC Reserve Chair, then the Local BOS LECP then to the entire MEC via a conference call scheduled on July 24, 2009.  There was a need to address this situation as soon as possible because another System Bid Charter was scheduled to operate on August 1st / closing on July 30th.  The issue was discussed in more detail and addressed on a subsequent MEC conference call on August 3rd, 2009.

The Manager of Scheduling was in agreement with AFA that a flight attendant on reserve status should be able to place a bid and be awarded a SBC on an AVL day.  The question of how the process would be handled needed to be addressed.  The following is the result of a review between Labor Relations, Scheduling and AFA:

(1) System Bid Charters will be awarded by System Seniority – regardless of line holder or Reserve Status – (*There is no such thing as System LTO – a flight attendant in one domicile holding a secondary line may be more junior to a flight attendant on reserve status in another – if LTO is applied to the SBC award, the award would go to the more junior flight attendant and this would be usurping seniority)

(2) A System Bid Charter awarded to a Reserve will be considered company time and such time will be pay and credit and included in the Reserve(s) LTO

(3) Crew Scheduling will mirror the process on the ETB flow chart from the 2005 Guide to Implementation, August 5th Revision #5. For clarification SCB (System Bid Charter) has been added to that flow chart. (See below)

Additional recommendations/information:

Please review AFA Contract SEC 15/Charters.

SEC 15 F. applies to primary line, SAP or secondary line holders and does not release the reserve from their originally awarded reserve line.

There are no restrictions on how many times a flight attendant in reserve status can bid or be awarded a SBC in a month.

ETB pairing departure/arrival language does not apply to a SBC award.  All legalities must be followed.

SEC 9 G 3. Illegal Through No Fault After the Time of Award – (1) (a.) does not apply as the SBC is company time.  Pay Protection will apply if the reserve flight attendant is illegal to fly the awarded SBC or removed from the SBC.  If the reserve flight attendant is assigned another pairing of a lower value the difference in time may be claimed.

How do you find out about SBC(s)? - 1-800-327 -0117 - #2 / # 3 /# 1 description of charter(s) / # 2 to bid – SBC (s) are open to all flight attendants.

It was discovered that this is not the first time a flight attendant in reserve status placed a bid and was awarded SBC on an AVL day but it is the first time it was brought to the attention of AFA.

You may have many more questions regarding this issue, please contact your local office/officers/local reserve chairperson for assistance / clarification and especially if you are successfully awarded a SBC on an AVL day.

Take care and fly Safe,

Sherri Baker
MEC Reserve Chair
Sbaker@afausairways.org

New Reserve Processing ETB/SBC Flow Chart
(Revised 8-26-09)

This is a different process than how a reserve who does not have an ETB trip will be processed in the event that all trips available conflict with OFF days (not INV or VAC days).  Those reserves will be processed in accordance to the Conway decision that was rendered in 2003.  The options available to those reserves, depending on whether coverage is adequate or inadequate, are listed below:

If the only trips available at the time the reserve is contacted conflict with non-inviolable days and reserve coverage is adequate, the Company will offer the following options to the reserve in the order listed. If the reserve declines to select from the options offered, the Company may require the reserve to remain on call.

  • Give up all or a portion of the non-inviolable days off to complete the trip in which case such days will not be restored;

  • Release early into non-inviolable days with Company consent;

  • Remain on call with Company consent;

  • Select a trip to split in domicile;

  • If no trips are available that can be split in domicile, then with Company consent, select a trip to split in a domicile that operates in the same time zone as the reserve’s domicile in the continental United States, or,

  • If no trip is available that can be split in a domicile that operates in the same time zone as the reserve’s domicile in the continental United States, then with Company consent select a trip to split in any station in the continental United States or Canada.

If the only trips available at the time the reserve is contacted conflict with non-inviolable days off and reserve coverage is inadequate, the Company may require the reserve to fly into such off days. If this occurs, the Company must restore those non-inviolable days as follows:

  • Days will be moved to the end of the affected period or if not practicable, moved to another period of off days in the same month;

  • With mutual consent, move such off days to create an additional period of off days within the same month provided that such additional period of off days is not adjacent to an existing period of off days;

  • With the reserve flight attendant’s consent, move the non-inviolable off days to another period of off days in the subsequent calendar month.

Sherri Baker
MEC Reserve Chair
 SBaker@afausairways.org
Copyright 2009 - AFA USAirways MEC Reserve Committee - SBaker@afausairways.org