Reserve Christmas Wish List

Flight Attendants on Reserve for the month of December, have an opportunity to preference where they would like to layover for the three (3) days preceding and two (2) day following Christmas.  Section 10.C.13.c. of our Contract provides for the Reserve Christmas Wish List and for these assignments to be made in seniority order. When submitting your requests, you will be asked for your Reserve LOF number as well as your Reserve status (CLLR/RSV).  Requests may be submitted for up to four layover stations.

You may submit your holiday layover requests through the link which is available our AFA website.  We encourage you to put an initial request on file early and modify your request if your circumstances change later in the month to take full advantage of the flexibility of our programming.  The last request on file will be the request that will be considered at the time of assignment.  The submission page will detail the dates of your request and must be finalized to be considered. 

The company has stated that the Reserve Preferencing system will not be utilized in tandem with the Reserve Christmas Wish List. We disagree with the company’s decision: Three days before Christmas and two days following, Reserve assignment procedures provide for the Christmas Wish List. These assignments are seniority based exclusively so they would not be accomplished through the Reserve Preferencing process which is based on time accrued order. It is possible, in our view, for both process to be accomplished consecutively. MEC 7-15 was filed based on the company’s misapplication of our Contract.

For a full list of deadline dates for the holiday period, as well as more detailed information please visit unitedafa.org/wishlist.  United Crew Scheduling will make every attempt to accommodate the Reserve Christmas Wish List layover requests to the best of their ability.

AFA and IAM Announce Reciprocal Cabin Jumpseat Opportunities

Following the merger of United, Continental, and Continental Micronesia airlines, United management revised its policy which previously provided IAM Flight Attendants with access to the cabin jumpseat. Because of that change, IAM Flight Attendants lost their access to the cabin jumpseats on the new United Airlines aircraft.  Today, AFA, the IAM and United Airlines are happy to announce an agreement has been reached that will provide a reciprocal opportunity for IAM-represented ExpressJet, CommutAir, and United Airlines Flight Attendants to occupy vacant cabin jumpseats on each other’s aircraft. Priority access will be given to the Flight Attendant(s) accessing the cabin jumpseat(s) on her/his own carrier. In addition, true to AFA’s Constitutional priority to establish jumpseat reciprocity, Flight Attendants at Mesa and GoJet Airlines, United Express carriers, will also benefit from this collaborative effort of our Unions. 

More than two years in the making, this agreement is the result of meetings and intensive discussions with both United management and the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), representing Flight Attendants at United Airlines.  We are pleased to announce this agreement was reached through a combination of patience and persistence.  Because access to the cabin jumpseat was subject to the terms of the pre-merger United AFA collective bargaining agreement (CBA), resolution to the issues that impeded other airlines Flight Attendant access to our cabin jumpseat was difficult if not impossible while we were negotiating a joint collective bargaining agreement for the three pre-merger airlines.  

As soon as the joint collective bargaining agreement was ratified, discussions between the IAM, AFA, and United Airlines Senior Vice President of Labor Relations, Doug McKeen resumed in earnest.  With the support of AFA, resolution was accomplished while, at the same time, extending access to AFA represented Flight Attendants at Mesa and GoJet Airlines, both United Express carriers, who will also benefit from this collaborative effort of our Unions.

There are currently no automation processes in place for Flight Attendants of other airlines to jumpseat on United metal. Therefore, United must implement process and technology changes based on specific contractual parameters agreed to with AFA.  Details on the actual process and the date of implementation are being worked out, but all parties agree that these benefits should be in place for Flight Attendants as soon as practicable.  

We will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

The AFLAC representative is no longer in the base for his visit, that concluded Friday, December 16.  However all of us still have access and are able to change/enroll in AFA offered coverage.   Until January 17 2017, you can still be sure you are protected if you believe you might need additional insurance.  Please click HERE  for the direct link to the AFLAC website.

  Have a wonderful week.

Andrew  Jerome  Cameron  Craig  Graham