8.06.19 – MIA Base Brief

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

 

Here is your full brief for the month of August. We have many issues to address. Please continue to call us with your comments and concerns. As always, we have Reps available on evenings and weekends.

NEW MIAMI APFA TEAM MEMBER

We would like to introduce Nick Bader. We have brought Nick onto our Miami team as a Phone Rep. He is knowledgeable with our new systems; TTS, ETB, ROTA/ROTD, and general scheduling. Nick also has spent time at APFA headquarters training in other departments to round out his knowledge.

We are very excited to have Nick on our team! His phone number is 407.288.6597. Nick welcomes your challenges, so feel free to reach out.

ADD AND REMOVAL CODES ON YOUR SCHEDULE AND CREW COMPENSATION TIMELINES

LE, VE, RED FLAG…? What do they all mean? Below is a link to a document that explains in detail all the codes that you might see on your schedule, everything from LE to understaffing. It also explains the “how and when” you will see pay adjustments on your schedule.

https://newjetnet.aa.com/message/79621#79621

Here’s an additional chart that has add/removal codes along with pay protection codes that include pay, credit, above guarantee, etc…

CALL OUT PAY

If you are notified of a cancellation three hours or less before your report time and you have already left your residence, notify the scheduler that you are in route to the airport to receive call out pay.

In addition, you are also entitled to mid-sequence call out pay if you report to the airport and return to your hotel. You will need to send a message to Crew Compensation  via Direct Connect advising them you reported to the airport and returned to the hotel. FOS will not populate mid-sequence call out pay unless the plane pushes off the gate. It will need to be manually added by Crew Compensation.

DELAYED DEPARTURES

We no longer have “Deferred Flights”, should your flight be delayed overnight, the company may require you to report the following day provided you have been given legal rest. In addition, contractually, you must arrive within the footprint of the original trip. You are entitled to call out pay and a hotel if you report and the flight is delayed overnight.

DIRECT CONFLICTS/FAR ILLEGAL-PAY PROTECTION

If you have a FAR Illegal removal (FI), you are paid for the value of both sequences. For a Direct Conflict (DC), meaning a sequence overlaps another, the pay of the first trip measures against the second trip.

For example, you have two 10-hour trips back to back. You arrive a day later from your first trip which makes you FAR Illegal (FI) for the second. The first trip is now worth 15 hours. You are pay protected for the full value of the second trip since they did not overlap. The pay value for both trips in this scenario is 25 hours.

In the case of a Direct Conflict (DC), you get in the next day causing a direct overlap with the second trip. The first trip becomes worth 15 hours, the second was worth 10 hours. The original scheduled value of both trips added together was 20 hours. You would be owed the difference of five hours in this scenario as a result of the trips overlapping.

LAST SERIES/ LAST TRIP OF THE MONTH-PAY PROTECTION

If you have a Last Series/Last Trip of the Month Pay Protection in place, in will appear on your HI1 (see bottom of picture). The HI1 will list any/all sequences that are protected.

This pay protection is auto programmed and you will see the protection immediately. Once the protection is applied, the header of your HI-1 will be replaced with “Last with Lock.” This means that any subsequent ETB/TTS time added to your schedule will not be protected under this provision. Illegal through no-fault protection would still apply.

CANCELLATIONS/CREW SUBSTITUTIONS/RESCHEDULES

All pay protection for canceled segments are reviewed by Crew Compensation at closeout on the 9^th of the subsequent month. Should your sequence involve a canceled leg, you are pay protected for the greater of what you fly, or the scheduled time of the entire trip if another crew flies any part of the sequence. In addition, you are pay protected for the greater if you are rescheduled. Other than Last Trip/ Last Series, these are all reviewed by Crew Compensation.

EQUIPMENT SUBSTITUTIONS-DOWNGRADES

The language in the JCBA is very clear on equipment downgrades and who does, and doesn’t, work. If all legs on your trips are downgraded (767 to 737, for example) the crew is reduced to published staffing formulas. If all legs are not downgraded, the flights will be staffed to work to the number of jumpseats on each substituted equipment.

As an example, you are on a 767 one leg, one leg trip. One flight is downgraded to a 737. There are seven Flight Attendants staffed on the 767. There are six jumpseats on the 737, so the most senior person will deadhead and the other six will work because the 737 has six jumpseats, regardless of the published staffing formula of four for a domestic 737 flight.

RED FLAG PAY NOT ASSIGNED

Red Flag has been open quite frequently. While Crew Schedule will post that “all, or certain trips” are red flag, you may not see the designator in open time. Cerw Comp will go back and put the designator on trips that are supposed to be Red Flag. It is a good idea to take a screen shot in crew portal when all some or of the flights have been designated as Red Flag.

PAY PROTECTION LOST WITH ETB TRIP

When you have any pay protection in place, if you pick up ETB flying on any calendar day of your pay protection, you will forfeit your entire protection. If you intend to double dip, you may only pick up company time from TTS or UBL. This can be a very costly mistake. Section 10.E.3.m. below is the applicable language.

 ”A Lineholder may conduct TTS transactions that would result in actual flying on a day(s) pay protected by any other portion of Section 10.  The Lineholder will receive pay and credit for such time.”

RETIREE MEDICAL INSURANCE

There is misinformation out there that we do not have retiree medical insurance. The company does offer retiree medical insurance. While it is not cheap, it is available. It is potentially less expensive than insurance that can be found on the open market, so if you want/need to retire, there is a medical option. Human Resources and Jetnet have more information on the plans and costs.

PARKING LOT CRIME

Our very own Miami Flight Attendant Kerry Knight works with police departments and teaches personal safety. Kerry recently spoke with us about crime in the employee parking lot and some simple things you can do to protect yourself. His number one issue was the theft of gasoline, which has been a big issue recently. He suggests that you go to your neighborhood auto parts store and purchase a gasoline cap lock for your car. He said they are very inexpensive (less than $20) and easy to install.

Theft of parking stickers is another issue. Kerry has suggestions about how to strategically park your car to reduce your exposure to this expensive and damaging loss.

Kerry is willing and eager to help anyone who would like to speak with him about all personal safety. You can email him at [email protected] or call us for his phone number and we will be happy to share it with you.

VEX DAYS

VEX days are simply placeholders to prevent PBS from assigning you a trip during the bid run. You are free to fly any type of trip after the bids are final on those days; TTS, ETB, UBL, Red Flag. Actual vacation days are restricted to ETB trips.

NEGOTIATIONS TIMELINE

Here is where we are with negotiations…

In Unity,

Randy Trautman
APFA MIA Base President
[email protected]

Frank Gentry
APFA MIA Base Vice President
[email protected]