11.27.02 – (LAA) – AA Notifys APFA Expected Overage of 1,100 FAs, AA Announces that It Will Cut Domestic Capacity by 3.3%

Hello. Today is Tuesday, December 3, 2002. This is George Price, APFA National Communications Coordinator, with an APFA HotLine Update.

The company notified APFA yesterday that it expects to have an overage of 1,100 Flight Attendants in February 2003. In accordance with Article 16 of the contract, American will offer Overage Leaves and Partnership Flying prior to any furlough. The APFA was provided with a copy of the WARN Letter, which is the required 60-day notification of potential furloughs. A copy of this letter will be posted on the APFA Web site under “Hot Topics.”

APFA President John Ward signed a Letter of Agreement on Monday, which limits the actual number of Flight Attendants subject to furlough in this round of reductions to 400 versus 1,100. In other words, only the most junior 400 Flight Attendants on the combined system seniority list will be subject to furlough. A copy of this Letter will also be included on the web site under “Hot Topics.” If, after the leaves and Partnerships are awarded, a furlough is necessary, it will be effective January 31, 2003. Letters notifying those Flight Attendants subject to furlough will be mailed next week.

To clarify, only the most junior 400 Flight Attendants on the combined system seniority list are subject to furlough.

The proffer for Overage Leaves will open on Wednesday, December 11, 2002 and will close at 0800 Central Time on Tuesday, January 7, 2003. The leaves will be offered in key blocks of 12-months beginning February 2003 and running through January 2004 and 6-months running from February 2003 through July 2003. Auxiliary blocks may also be offered in 3-month and 9-month blocks for the 12-month key blocks and 3-month and 3- month blocks for the 6-six months key block. Partnership Flying will also be offered for the period February through April 2003. Awards should be available on or about January 10, 2003.

The company also informed the APFA that overages exist throughout the system for the month of January. For this reason, there will be leave time available throughout the month.

For more information on Overage Leaves and Partnership Flying, please visit the APFA Web site “Reduction in Force.” The APFA Partner Finder will be reactivated no later than Wednesday, December 3rd in order to assist Flight Attendants in locating a partner at their base.

Please stay on the line for the latest edition of the APFA HotLine.

Hello. Today is Wednesday, November 27, 2002. This is George Price, APFA National Communications Coordinator with the APFA HotLine.

On Monday, American announced that it would cut domestic capacity by 3.3 percent in March 2003 over the same period in 2002. This reduction is 3.2 points deeper than the original plan announced earlier this year. The company had projected domestic capacity to be relatively flat for the first quarter. American has not notified the APFA on just how this capacity reduction may affect Flight Attendants. When more information becomes available, we will update the hotline and the web site.

News reports this week quoted AMR CEO Don Carty as saying that he may approach APFA, APA, and TWU for some type of concessions. This would be statement is in direct conflict with what all of the union officers were told by Mr. Carty just a few weeks ago. The officers were told that union concessions were a quick fix to a long term problem. They were told that the company wanted the employees to help identify areas of cost savings, not offer up concessions. APFA wants to make this point perfectly clear, the company has not approached us about concessions at this time.

The company has notified the APFA that transfers and mutual/lateral transfers will be processed more frequently beginning in December. If you have a transfer request or mutual/lateral transfer request on file, please make sure that they are current.

The quarterly APFA Executive Committee meeting will be held December 4-5 at the DFW Sheraton Grand Hotel North of the DFW Airport. All members in good standing are welcome to attend all open portions of the meeting.

In preparation for future membership action on proposed federal legislation, APFA is asking all members with e-mail addresses to register them with the APFA Membership Department. Simply send an e-mail to [email protected]. Include your name, employee number and your e-mail address. Then, watch your e-mail for an “Action Alert” from the APFA!

No date has been set to hear the lawsuit filed against the APFA on TWA seniority integration and related matters. We will keep you updated on the status of this case as information becomes available.

Last week, APA entered into an agreement with the company that would delay the sale of Executive Airlines. The agreement grants management interim relief concerning the available seat miles, block hours, and Revenue Passenger Miles attributed to Executive Airlines while APA and American continue discussions on mutually acceptable alternatives. The agreement can be terminated by either party at any time. APA and American will begin five day a week negotiations beginning December 4th under the auspices of the National Mediation Board.

In industry news:

Delta and Continental this week chimed in on United Airlines federal loan application. United’s rivals prepared an analysis of United’s concession deal with its unions, which argued United would, in some cases, be paying its employees more than it did at the beginning of 2002, even with the various concessions. Unions at United dispute this claim, saying that the sacrifices of the United employees would be immediate and would help the airline become more competitive.

On Tuesday, US Airways announced it would furlough an additional 2,500 employees over the next three months in an effort to cut additional costs. The airline also said it would meet with the various unions on property in an effort to secure work rules concessions.

The APFA Offices will be closed on Thursday, November 28th and Friday, November 29th in observance of Thanksgiving. If you have an emergency, an APFA officer-on-duty will be available. All calls of an non-emergency nature will be routed to the appropriate department or representative for response the next available business day.

That’s it for this edition of the APFA HotLine. Please visit the APFA Web site for the latest information. Keep in mind that the web site has an “Aviation Daily News” page that is updated daily with information about American and the airline industry.

Remember, there are 2,124 Flight Attendants on furlough.