7.19.02 – (LAA) – AMR Reports Second Quarter Loss of $465 Million Dollars, TWA Flight 800, Diversion Pay

Hello. Today is Friday, July 19, 2002. This is George Price, APFA National Communications Coordinator, with the APFA HotLine.

On Wednesday of this week, AMR Corporation reported a second quarter loss of $465 million dollars. This brings the total loss for the first half of this year to just over one billion dollars. In a special JetWire messages to employees, Don Carty credited the loss to the reduction in business travel and the inability of American to raise fares against the insurgence of low-cost carriers into the American route network. Don went on to say that the business plan is not firm and that management continues to look at everything in an effort to cut costs. He reiterated that AA would require fewer employees than are on payroll today. However, he did not identify which work groups would be impacted, how many, or when. Carty did say that the company would focus on long-term reductions through attrition and retirements. Beyond what has been published in this and other messages by Mr. Carty, the APFA knows no details of management’s plans for the company or how it will impact Flight Attendants specifically. When we do, we will provide it to the membership through the hotlines and the web site.

Wednesday, July 17, 2002, marked the sixth anniversary of the crash of TWA Flight 800. There were 28 working Flight Attendants, four Flight Attendants pass riding, and many other TWA employees killed in this tragedy. The APFA wants to take this opportunity to remember all of those lost in this accident.

APFA President John Ward, Secretary Linda Lanning, and Treasurer Juan Johnson attended the quarterly meeting of the Coalition of Flight Attendants Unions in Seattle on Tuesday and Wednesday. Among the topics discussed were Flight Attendant Certification, safety and security concerns, the state of the airline industry, and various pieces of legislation being considered by Congress including “Baseball Arbitration.”

From the Safety Desk: It was confirmed this week that uniform pieces, keys, and Company I.D. were stolen out of the apartment of a Delta Flight Attendant in New York City. The APFA Safety Department would like to encourage all American Airlines Flight Attendants to keep their Company issued keys, ID, and uniform pieces in a secure area of their homes. If any of these items are ever stolen at home or on a layover, contact your service manager immediately to report the theft.

From the Scheduling Desk: The new contract provision for Diversion Pay has been implemented. If you are diverted and you do not go to a gate, the pay and credit will be automatically applied to the HI3 with a “DIV” designation on the right hand side next to the diverted segment. If you are diverted and go to a gate but passenger egress is not allowed, you will need to send an HISEND message to Pay Comp in order to receive pay and credit.

Earlier this week, an HI6 message was sent to all flight attendants regarding an agreed upon enhancement to the vacation-relief bidding procedures. The enhancement provides a mechanism for excluding trip selections from the relief award process. The new “R3” code “excludes” or “skips” a particular trip selection when awarding relief selections. This change takes effect for the current bid run, which opened on Thursday, July 18th, and closes on Monday, July 22nd at 0001 local base time. For a detailed explanation, and to view a sample ballot using the “R3” code, please click onto the vacation-relief bidding link on the opening page of the APFA website at www.www.apfa.org, the AA Flight Service website, or the FOS Directory at HIDIR/FA/CNTC/RLF.

Lori Heidenry, JFK-based American Airlines Flight Attendant and Nancy Frawley (UAL Flight Attendant), who together produced the March 11th Americans Are United fundraiser in NYC, are planning to publish a book containing the first hand accounts of September 11th from the perspective of Flight Attendants and Pilots from American and United Airlines. If you would like to share where you were, what happened to you, your thoughts and feelings upon learning of the tragedy or any related material (e-mails or faxes from your families if you were away, thank-you letters from passengers, special relationships developed since then, etc), please send them to [email protected] or [email protected]. Pictures would also be considered for inclusion in the book. A portion of the proceeds will be split evenly between C.A.U.S.E. and the Wings Foundation.

The response to the Critical Incident Stress Management Survey in the June Skyword has been outstanding. APFA has teamed up with the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation to create this survey in order to gauge just how our membership is coping with the tragedies of last fall. If you have not already completed your survey, please do so. Please remember to only return the answer sheet using the self-addressed envelope provided.

Please remember that there are 1,566 American and TWA-LLC Flight Attendants who remain on furlough. Until next week, please be vigilant and carry your contract!