3.05.22 – APFA PHX Base Brief – April 2022 Allocations and Staffing

Saturday, March 5, 2022

April 2022 Allocations and Staffing

*****Note to PHX FAs: Going forward, we will be sending an Allocations/Staffing brief at the beginning of the month. We will follow that up with news and contractual information mid-month.  We are hoping with this change, the information will not be lost in communications that contain too much information.
Secorra and Robin will be out of office March 7-10^th at the Board of Directors meeting in DFW. Gidget Clayton will staff the union office on Tuesday March 8th, Ralph Huerta will staff the union office on Wednesday March 9th, and Gene Labat will staff the union office on March 10th. The office is located upstairs in Flight Services just east of the briefing room, and across from the Purser office.  Please use 800-595-1471 during those days. You may also call APFA National at 817-540-0108, or use Live Messaging on APFA.org  in our absence. *****

On Thursday, March 3rd, 2022, we had the monthly staffing call with the Company. On this call for PHX were Robin Agee and Secorra Flowers. We were advised that PHX has 989 available FAs for April with 771 line holders and 218 reserves (22%). PHX, along with LAX, DFW, and SFO, are the only bases with required reserves above 20%. The high number of sick calls were referenced as to the percentage of reserves needed in PHX due to the Easter weekend and the number of flights that pass through PHX that may require restaffing, as well as the ability to get PHX FAs to a downline city to repair a broken sequence.

As a reminder, reserves in each base are not used only for that bases sequence. The reserves are there to repair any AA sequence that falls apart in that base or a sequence that can be repaired most efficiently by a reserve from that base. As an example, on an ABQ overnight a DFW FA becomes ill. The first available flight to get a reserve to ABQ that will be legal to operate that FAs sequence is from PHX. A PHX reserve will be sent to replace the DFW ill FA. Just as if a FA overnighting in PHX from CLT gets ill, a PHX reserve would replace that FA. No reserve in a particular base is designated to be used only for that base. Should we run out of reserves because PHX had to cover flying for another base, then scheduling/tracking will replace the FAs with the reserve from the base that will keep that sequence on schedule. However, should there be PHX reserves available and a premium sequence is sent to another base for staffing, then we will address that contractual violation (order of assignment). We did express our concerns that 22% is too high, and asked for a reduction to 20%.

We have communicated our desire to the Crew Planning to work with them in making PHX successful and bringing back as many displaced FAs as possible. Secorra and I believe that Planning heard us and is open to working with Base Management and your APFA leadership.

The allocations call to discuss the sequence construction, type of trips (i.e. number of 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-day sequences, ODANs, red eyes, etc.), any contractual violations, the length of duty day, and overnights, was held March 3rd after the planning call. PHX will see an increase of 2,030 hours of flying, going from 49,721 in March to 51,751 in April. We will see an increase in 1 days by 3%, 2 days will increase by 1% of our flying, with a decrease in 3 days of 3% and a decrease of 1% of our 4-day sequences. ODANs increase from 1.9 to 3.2. The most exciting news was the return of our LHR starting on April 5th and flying daily. There is a positioning sequence leaving on the 2nd that will route a PHX crew thru DFW to LHR for the first flight back into PHX operated by AA, arriving on April 5th.

With the return of LHR on the 777, we will see the 787 leave PHX on our OGG flights, replaced by the A321. Please be cognizant of this change when bidding on either sequence 623 and 624. These are the transition sequences from the 787 to the 321. Sequence 623 is for positions 1-4 and will operate both segments, while sequence 624 is for positions 5-8 and will work the PHX-OGG and deadhead home.

We will be sending out a LHR brief next week with information to make sure we are prepared for the return of IPD flying to PHX.

Contract Negotiations and the Contract ACTION Team

The updated Negotiations section on the APFA website launched last week. The new Negotiations page offers more transparency to the negotiations process then we have seen in the past. Remember, knowledge is power! This is your source for factual information, and exactly where we are in the negotiation process. Check the page often for updates.

As Activists for the Contract ACTION Team, you will be a direct link between the general membership and our Negotiations Committee. You will be tasked with talking to your flying partners about communication sent out by the Union’s Negotiations Committee, directing Flight Attendants how to sign up for the hotlines, how to access information as well as how to participate in ACTION events such as: email campaigns, base, regional and systemwide events.

As we continue to build our movement, we encourage all PHX Flight Attendants to sign up as Activists.

https://www.apfa.org/contract-action-team-sign-up/

You can get the latest updates on negotiations by visiting ContractAction.org.

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APFA PHX Phone Number
800-595-1471

• Ext. 1 – National Office and Contract & Scheduling Desk
• Ext. 2 – PHX Base President Robin Agee
• Ext. 3 – PHX Base Vice President Secorra Flowers
• Ext. 4 – Mandatory Meeting Representation
• Ext. 5 – Medical and Injury on Duty
• Ext. 6 – Reserves
• Ext. 0 – General Questions

 

Save the image below, for when you do not have access to the internet:

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

In Solidarity,

Robin Agee
APFA PHX Base President
480-238-2303
[email protected]

Secorra Flowers
APFA PHX Base Vice President
602-551-8116
[email protected]