12.01.06 – (LAA) – Trip Cancellation on Origination, Bankruptcy Watch

This is Leslie Mayo, National Communications Coordinator, with the APFA Hotline for Friday, December 1, 2006.

APFA News: In the event of a trip cancellation on origination, one member of the crew – preferably the Purser – should contact Crew Tracking to determine if the crew will be rescheduled, held or released. Both the Tracker and FA should be clear whether or not this decision is applicable to the entire crew or whether the Tracker needs to speak to each FA individually. The other FAs should remain with the Purser or the FA who is contacting Crew Tracking until it is clear whether Tracking needs to speak with each FA individually.

Hopefully, this will help eliminate some of the problems FA Crews have been experiencing in an effort to receive call out pay. Don’t forget that you may be subject to assignment due to a Misconnect/Illegality/Cancellation (MIC), the language of which can be found in the CBA – Article 9.P. and I.9.P. Also, you should review the protection procedures for the last five days of the month. If you experience any problems with these procedures, please review the On-Duty Contract Guide, which can be found online at www.apfa.org, or contact the APFA Scheduling Department at [email protected].

Also, another reminder about the tests in effect beginning December 2, 2006, including Option II Trips for International to Domestic and vice versa as well as Reserve Trip Trading throughout the contractual month of December. Please visit www.apfa.org and click on Letters of Agreement, then Scheduling Letters of Agreement to review these tests.

Many of you have wondered what happens to your layover hotel room once you opt to cancel it when you sign-in for your trip. The answer is this: Once the AA Hotel/Limo Desk receives notification of the cancellation, they will then try to place a FA that is on a VM sequence or an off-schedule operation in that room. AA still pays for the room since the room is removed from the hotel’s general for-sale inventory.

Bankruptcy Watch: The Northwest Flight Attendants were back in court on Tuesday requesting that a federal appeals court reverse the judge’s decision prohibiting the NW Flight Attendants’ right to strike. The company and the FA union are arguing on whether a Strike would be legal – the company arguing the point that since the parties are in mediation, a Strike is not legal. The FAs position is that since their contract was abrogated they have the right to Strike. No decision has been rendered to date.

Delta Airlines has agreed to give their Pilots nearly $720 million more in unsecured claims to aide them in recouping some of the pension money they gave up in bankruptcy when their Plan was terminated. The amount of pension money the pilots will actually receive will not be clear until the company emerges from bankruptcy since unsecured creditors usually receive a fraction of what a bankrupt company owes them.

Fuel Watch: As of Tuesday, November 28th, a barrel of crude oil cost $60.99, up .82 cents from last Tuesday’s price. The crack spread price was $15.14, down .20 cents from last week’s price. This brings the cost of one barrel of jet fuel to $76.13 – up .61 cents from the price of jet fuel a week ago.

The total for one barrel of jet fuel a year ago November was $71.02 – about $5 less than the price of a barrel of jet fuel today.

Please remember that we have 2,654 APFA members still on furlough.

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That’s it for this week. Thank you for calling the APFA Hotline.