7.09.24 – APFA LAX Base Brief – August 2024 Staffing and Allocations

Tuesday, July 9, 2024

As we are all aware, LAX Reserve seniority is driven, in part, by the Company’s refusal to return our displaced Flight Attendants.

Concerning the current situation, I continually request the Company consider returning our displaced flight attendants due to overages created at other IPD bases due to IPD reductions. I pointed out that the incremental loss of IPD flying at the other IPD bases justifies the return of our displaced flight attendants.

The Company denied the request, citing LAX’s sick usage. Regional Manager Eric Roig made this decision after two attempts to get an answer.

The Company remains silent on its ultimate staffing goals for LAX.
I will again be escalating the issue of returning our displaced Flight Attendants. The LAX Base Manager has offered no assistance in addressing this critical issue.

The PHX base has received new hires through mutual and vacancy transfers, but the Company has raised its Reserve percentage to stratospheric levels.

The Company’s insistence on not returning our displaced flight attendants is not persuasive. Thus far, the Company has declined to implement any creative proposals to resolve this situation. Returning our displaced Flight Attendants to LAX would be a win for LAX Flight Attendants, our displaced Flight Attendants, and the Company regarding reliability and morale.

We continue to dispute the daily transfer of trips. However, this situation needs to be approached carefully, as we also do not want the Company to use it as a reason to increase LAX Reserve percentages.

While we are on the subject of Reserve, the current Reserve system is a nightmare for all. Every Flight Attendant deserves better, from the most junior to the most senior. It is truly a broken system. I once again challenge the Company and the union to explore options that enhance flexibility and restore humane treatment to our system.

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August 2024 Allocations

• LAX Total Block Hours: 96,849
• Widebody Percentage: 43%
• IPD/NIPD Widebody Hours: 40,886
• Domestic Widebody Hours: 603
• IPD/NIPD Narrowbody Hours: 10,859
• Domestic Narrowbody Hours: 44,501

Satellite and Co-Terminal Block Hours

• ONT: 4,172
• SNA: 5,063
• LAS: 1,595
• SAN: 1,647

Month-Over-Month Comparison (August 2024 vs. July 2024)

• 1-days increased from 23% to 26%
• 2-days decreased  from 34% to 32%
• 3-days decreased from 37% to 36%
• 4-days remain at 6%

Please email your concerns and feedback to LAX Base Manager Andrew Masiello at [email protected].

Your local LAX Allocations Group also provides their feedback on a monthly basis once the preliminary allocations are published. They are, with their primary areas of focus, Michele Genovese (LAX), Wilson Ngai (ONT and IPD/NIPD), Dottie Long (transcons), Pam Askew (SNA), Ellen Eherts (LAS) and Keri Sartell (SAN).

A decent bid sheet that takes into account our feedback as Flight Attendants also benefits the Company in terms of reliability. Sadly, the Company often chooses to ignore feedback that would benefit all parties.

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SurgeryPlus

A USPS mailer went out a few weeks ago regarding a new “service” called SurgeryPlus, a limited network of providers for various surgeries. Last year, AA attempted to make SurgeryPlus mandatory for all joint, spinal and bariatric surgeries. APFA disputed this requirement, and the joint/spinal requirement was reversed.

The mailer you received is misleading. Joint and spinal surgeries DO NOT have to be done through the SurgeryPlus network. The ONLY type of surgery required to be performed within the SurgeryPlus network is bariatric surgery. APFA has requested that AA send out a correction to all flight attendants but the company has yet to do so.

Considering the large number of Flight Attendants who ultimately require some form of joint and/or spinal surgery, and considering that most of these already had an ongoing relationship with an orthopedic surgeon, this is significant.

Any questions, please contact the APFA Health Department at [email protected].

Please note: SurgeryPlus does not apply to IODs or the Sedgwick network. Under California Workers Compensation law, Sedgwick, the third-party administrator for all AA IOD cases, is permitted to direct treatment through their own network unless you have predesignated a provider prior to the injury.

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Co-Terminal Transportation

The co-terminal transportation system at the LAX base has a long history dating back to the merger with AirCal in 1987. It is a vital option for many of us when flying out of the co-terminals of SNA or ONT.

Co-terminal transportation from LAX to SNA and ONT is available to all LAX-based Flight Attendants before and after SNA and ONT sequences. This applies to Reserves and Lineholders.

Even though we do not currently have BUR sequences on the LAX bid sheet, Flight Attendants who work one-off BUR departures…obtained via reserve, Red Flag, or UBL are entitled to co-terminal transportation from LAX to BUR and return.

Co-terminal transportation falls under the APFA Hotel Department. Any feedback or complaints about co-terminal transportation should be sent to [email protected], with copies sent to me at [email protected] and [email protected].

We work very hard to protect our co-terminal transportation and maintain it as a vital option for all LAX Flight Attendants.

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Negotiations

AA knows precisely what it would take to get a contract. However, they chose not to, preferring instead to play a game of brinksmanship. They want to wear us down, diminish our expectations, and make us doubt our worth.

As has often been said, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Keep the faith. We will prevail.

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Understanding Pay and Credit (JCBA 11.D)

Our contractual pay and credit provisions, also known as trip rigs and duty rigs, form a complex system of pay formulas that partially protect us from losing money due to inefficient scheduling, delays and reschedules. These formulas work together to provide us minimum protections. Obviously, it is still not nearly enough for all the time we put in.

All completed trip sequences, in total, must receive the greater of:

• Flight Time, actual or scheduled, or
• 3-hour minimum duty period credit, or 5-hour average per duty period (G-time) containing flying, or
• Duty Rig (E-time), or
• Trip Rig (F-time)

Minimum Guarantee Pay 11.D.1 (displayed as G-time)

Minimum Guarantee Pay ensures that a Flight Attendant is paid the minimum sequence guarantee. It is a form of pay and credit that occurs if there is insufficient flight pay, taking into account any E-time or F-time on a sequence to guarantee that the minimum value of 5 hours for a turnaround or the minimum average of 5 hours per duty period on multi-day trips is paid. This would appear on the bottom line of a sequence next to Pay and Credit. Keep in mind that the minimum duty period on a multi-duty period is 3 hours, but when the value of each duty period is averaged over the totality of the sequence, it must average out to at least 5 hours for each duty period.

Duty RIG/1 for 2 11.D.5 (displayed as E-time)

This RIG guarantees you a minimum of 1 minute of pay for every 2 minutes of actual on duty time.

Trip RIG/1 for 3.5 11.D.4 (displayed as F-time)

This RIG Guarantees one minute of flight time pay and credit for each 3.5 minutes away from base.

The best place to track these calculations is via the HSS in DECS. (HSS/pos/seq/date). You may also reference the Flight Attendant Pay Resource Guide for more detailed information on pay.

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August 2024 Bidding Timelines

That’s all for this update. Safe travels.

In Solidarity,

John Nikides
APFA LAX Base President
[email protected]