8.07.08 – (LAA) – Flight 31 Out of LAX Evacuation, Mobilize to Maximize, APA Submits Proposal to American Managment on Ways to Deal with Expected Jobs Overages

APFA weekly HotLine update for August 7, 2008.

Flight Attendants have once again proved their mettle as safety professionals when five of our members, based at LAX-I, evacuated American Airlines flight 31 after it returned to Los Angeles not long after departing for Honolulu on Tuesday, August 5. Crew and passengers had complained of smoke and fumes in the cabin and oxygen masks were deployed to aid passengers in breathing. After just about an hour of flight, the 757 landed and the crew commanded an orderly and safe evacuation of the 188 passengers via door slides. APFA commends these five Flight Attendants who acted with speed and efficiency in a situation none of us wants to go through but for which all of us are always prepared.

After compiling their extensive notes from the membership Mobilize to Maximize meetings held throughout most of July, the APFA Negotiating Team invites members to regularly visit the Negotiations page of the APFA website for the latest responses to questions and issues raised by our members. Just click on the Mobilize to Maximize link on the main page. Meantime, your continued input to the Team is welcome. Email your Team directly at: [email protected].

With the upcoming long term reduction in force at DCA-I, the positions of Chair and Vice Chair will become vacant as of August 31. In accordance with Article VI, Sections 8.B. and 8.C. of the APFA Constitution, Willingness-to-Serve Notifications for DCA-I Chair and Vice Chair were mailed to APFA members based at DCA-I. If you are DCA-I based and are interested in serving in either of these positions, completed Notifications are due in the designated post office box by 10:00 AM Central Time on September 4, 2008.

Willingness-to-Serve Notifications for the Vice Chair position at LGA and for the Chair and Vice Chair positions at SFO-I are in the mail to Flight Attendants at those bases. These Notifications are due from interested members in the designated post office box by 10:00 AM Central Time on September 2, 2008. Please make note of the different due dates.

Flight Attendants have asked how to address the latest survey on the Flight Service website over their communications policies. Though it is up to each individual Flight Attendant to decide for her or himself whether to participate in these Company-sponsored polls, we remind everyone that their Negotiating Team is charged with addressing management on behalf of all members and that, especially in times of contract talks, it is vital that we remain unified, with one voice. The APFA website should be your first stop for information regarding our working agreement with American Airlines. When management wants your opinion, it’s best to answer: “My negotiating team speaks for me!”

American Airlines Pilots, represented by the Allied Pilots Association, have submitted a proposal to American management on ways to deal with the expected overage of 200 pilot jobs come this fall. We wish our brothers and sisters in the cockpit well in their attempts to save the jobs of their most junior members, some only recently recalled from furlough.

Industry watchers predict that closer ties between British Airways and American are just around the corner. Though attempts to gain antitrust immunity between the two companies have failed in the past, the competitive climate today brings predictions that BA and AA will soon win an exemption to work more closely together, similar to that given to other trans-Atlantic alliances. Your APFA leadership is monitoring these events and is ready to deal appropriately and as necessary to protect our membersí interests to the utmost.

As over three hundred of our colleagues fly their final schedules in preparation for the effective date of their Voluntary Bridge to Retirement, keep in mind that 1,188 APFA members are still on furlough and awaiting recall to the line.

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For those Flight Attendants who will be going on an Overage Leave, please keep in mind that you cannot order uniform items while you are on the Overage Leave. This is particularly important for those who will be taking the 8- and 12 -month leaves as your last opportunity to use 2008 points is prior to August 31, 2008. Since you will not be active for the remainder of the calendar year, any remaining points will expire. If you have any current uniform needs be sure to place an order as soon as possible but no later than August 30.