12.01.16 – HIBOARD Etiquette/Professional Standards/Customs

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Hello Miami! This is a short base blast for the hot topics of the week. Professional Standards has requested this Blast be published and it is a good reminder. We published a Base Brief on the subject before, and it seemed to help the issue for a while so we are going to readdress it.

HIBOARD Etiquette

We have seen another dramatic increase in disputes between Flight Attendants over trading and picking up trips. The new trip trade app appears to be causing much of the confusion, as well as not paying attention to the comments in a HIBOARD listing. Most of the instances end up being mistakes or misunderstandings on one or the other’s part. However, before the situation is figured out, some are going right to social media publishing names, declaring Flight Attendants thieves, etc. There are very few people who are out to steal trips.

The best way to protect yourself from unauthorized activity on your schedule is to make sure your trip trade authorization is set to NO when you are not actively processing a trade, or immediately after a trade transaction. This is done by typing HIN in DECS. To change your authorization to YES, type HIY. You can verify this on your HI1 at the top right. While many FAs leave themselves in TT mode in order to facilitate trades, it does not authorize you to alter their schedule without their consent. Much in the same way you might leave your house unlocked, it doesn’t give someone the right to take what they want from your home when you aren’t there. As a precautionary measure, we lock our doors and should remember to take ourselves out of TT mode.

You do, however, run the risk of missing an opportunity to drop a trip that you may really need to drop. Many Flight Attendants will pass you by if you aren’t in TT mode. He or she may not want to wait for you to reply to a phone call or text at the last minute. Being in TT mode, or not, is a gamble.

When posting a trip in HIBOARD, it’s a good idea to put as much information as possible so there is no confusion as to what you want to do with your trip. Using phrases such as “TT ONLY, PLEASE CALL, or CALL FIRST” gives the person a better idea as to what your intent is with the trip listed. If you are flying international trips and want to drop ASAP, you might consider using an email address or WHAT’S APP number in the message for a quicker reply, or simply leave yourself in TT mode. If you don’t mind people calling at any hour of the day or night, put CALL ANY HOUR. A good rule of thumb when calling another Flight Attendant for a TT is to call between 9a-9p, unless it is specified differently. Due to the way the apps work, it’s better to say, “TT ONLY” versus “NO DROP.” Also important, make sure you are listing the correct sequence and choosing TT for trip trades or OE for optional exchanges (drops). A particularly easy mistake can occur during the finalization of the bid awards going into the new month, as both the last trips of the current month are listed as well as the new month’s trips.

To easily facilitate your requests, if you are a speaker, designate it in your remarks with SP. Additionally, if your trip is an open time trade (OT) you cannot OE drop the trip. You should note that in your remarks and/or have a plan to change the trip to a TT.

The “5 rights” when doing a trip trade:

When you have found a trip in HIBOARD and you are ready to pick it up or trade, there are 5 “rights” that should be verified to ensure one has the correct sequence:

Right Name/Employee#
Right Sequence
Right Position
Right Date
Right Type of transaction

Sequences change ownership instantaneously and multiple times. When a trip appears in HIBOARD, by the time you are processing your trade/OE, someone may have beaten you to the punch. It is important to check HIBOARD immediately before processing a transaction to ensure the trip is still listed, and that the name and sequence number correspond to the person who is dropping the trip. Taking a photo of, or keeping the HIBOARD posting is also a good idea, especially when sequences are listed as “JUST TAKE,” or when the person has offered money to pick up the trip. Just because you thought you were first to the trip, doesn’t mean you were.

If everyone would take the time to double check these 5 things before processing a trade and remember to take themselves out of TT mode after doing a transaction, it would greatly reduce the number of unauthorized trades and errors. As a reminder, when you post a sequence in HIBOARD, it automatically sets your TT authorization to NO.

If you find your schedule has been altered without your permission, the first step should be to contact the other Flight Attendant involved. If you cannot contact him/her, you can then contact your FSM or Professional Standards.

Professional Standards

And speaking of Professional Standards…for the month of December, Patrick Farrell will be the rep for Miami. He can be reached at 404.661.5935. Please use this service before going into the office.

Customs

There has been an increase in agriculture fines for crews going through customs. There are severe restrictions on importing fruits, vegetables, meats, and other food items. When in doubt, either discard questionable food items, or declare them and allow the customs officials to determine if they may be brought into the country.

Until next time, fly safely! Happy Holidays.

Randy
[email protected]