AA to recall 545 FAs and 250 pilots

[damajagua]

Am glad that they are recalling these flight attendants and hopefully they will recall everyone on the
recall list asap. But I really do not understand why they are doing this recall.
We are still way over in flight attendant head count. If you look at the manning situations evey month
they are offering monthly leaves both on the domestic and international division.
So even though I am happy to see these flight attendants come back to work. I am
wondering if AA is just playing with numbers and lay them off again once the contract is settle.
According to APFA own admissions the union has agree to productivity that would eliminate approximatelly
800 positions. And being that we are over staff any way.........I really do not see where AA is going with this.
Unless is just a strategy to have as many flight attendants as possible in the event of a strike.
rumors are that the majority of ex twa fligth attendants will cross the picket line. I guess will just have to wait
and see how this whole situations unfolds.

 

[FrequentFlierCA]

Or could this have something to do with all the increased international flying and the fact that AA staffs some of those widebody flights higher than other airlines? And higher than they legally have to? Personally I believe that over a conspiracy related to a strike that is still a long ways off.

 

[jersey777]

Gee, considering the posts on here about our management it's kind of ironic that a management strategy is leading to furlough recalls.

I don't know what department you are in but the recalls in flight service are due to attrition and the fact that the new 737 need 4 f/a's instead of 3. Since the last furlough in 2009, we have lost around 350 flight attendants to retirements etc.....I am very excited about this new ATI and I do believe it is going to be good for AA but this panacea that we are growing and that good time are ahead is just not true. Have you noticed our stock has not budged since all this "great" news was announced. This management team has got to come to agreements with its employee contracts to put faith back in its future.

 

[eolesen]

. Have you noticed our stock has not budged since all this "great" news was announced. This management team has got to come to agreements with its employee contracts to put faith back in its future.

Stock moves with results. Right now, all you have is "hope and change"... Lots of hope that new routes are going to work out, and lots of change at the airline to effect, be it integration of the enhanced alliances, new workrules if they ever come to a contract, new aircraft maybe?....

 

[galleyguy4u2]

Why come back, just to retire? They can retire today, if they want to. They don't get anything better by coming back and retiring after training. Seems like a waste of their time. Especially if they have to take time off work to complete the training. Then you also have the possibility of APFA sending you to a collections agency to get the back dues, if they don't pay. That idea sounds like a huge hassle to me.

Well, I need to accept the recall. I was 48 at the time of furlough thus I could not bridge to retirement. Now I have the years and can retire after recall. I am not the only one in this postion.

Now do you understand IORFA?

 

[damajagua]

I don't know what department you are in but the recalls in flight service are due to attrition and the fact that the new 737 need 4 f/a's instead of 3. Since the last furlough in 2009, we have lost around 350 flight attendants to retirements etc.....I am very excited about this new ATI and I do believe it is going to be good for AA but this panacea that we are growing and that good time are ahead is just not true. Have you noticed our stock has not budged since all this "great" news was announced. This management team has got to come to agreements with its employee contracts to put faith back in its future.

I am a flight attendant. And every month for the last year they have offer monthly bid leaves. Including next moth.
So even though I am very happy to see people on the recall list come back to work;Its obvious we are over staff.
If we were not why would they be offering monthly leaves every month?

 

[galleyguy4u2]

Oh, so they have to come back just to get the retiree travel privileges? That makes sense. I knew that the $ portion for the retirement was minimal at best, although some people STILL think they get a ton if they come back. No matter how many times the union says otherwise. Thanks for the clarification.

Also Medical which is more important than passes. We will have to prefund for the entire time we were out.

 

[jersey777]

I am a flight attendant. And every month for the last year they have offer monthly bid leaves. Including next moth.
So even though I am very happy to see people on the recall list come back to work;Its obvious we are over staff.
If we were not why would they be offering monthly leaves every month?

Yeah, but I bet the bid leaves are getting more and more senior because there are fewer of them. For the most part, AA has offered bid leaves on a month to month basis just like they offer PVD's on a daily basis. The monthly leaves you see are not in lieu of furloughs. Option II was open at JFK and LGA for several days in September and I am sure that was the case throughout the system. We are not overstaffed and if anything we are getting too tight for the holidays hence the recalls. Read this from Laura Glading regarding manning from early September....


http://blogs.star-telegram.com/sky_talk/2010/09/labor-day-apfa-president-laura-glading.html#ixzz0yoFSW7Kg

 

[kirkpatrick]

Its obvious we are over staff.
If we were not why would they be offering monthly leaves every month?

Bid leaves, PVD's, option II, etc are the company's way of tweaking the system on a daily basis. There have been critical times all summer; option II open at all bases for days in a row, a couple of months when no bid leaves were offered, people deadheaded to other bases to cover flying, international reserves used on domestic, etc. In the shoulder seasons many more vacations are scheduled, so there might not be the overage of FA's you think. November, for example, is dead for the first half, then hopping around T-Giving.

The company is not in the business, nor should they be, of creating jobs just to be nice. If you're so overstaffed, why didn't they simply furlough more people last fall? There's little incentive not to; no furlough pay is paid and they can recall for the cost of a stamp. Even the training is negligible since we would have needed EPT's anyway if we hadn't been furloughed.

Of the 545 offered recall, only 225 are going on line this year (Dec 17) and not all of them will accept recall. We will only increase headcount by about 1%. The company does its homework; if they're recalling it's because they need people, plain and simple. The remaining 320 or so will be back in the first quarter of 2011, which could be the end of March. A few flight additions have already been announced and more are to come.

All sources seem to indicate the rest of the furlough list will be cleared this year, and hiring off the street may begin as well. This is good news for all of us.

MK

 

[Maark767]

Bid leaves, PVD's, option II, etc are the company's way of tweaking the system on a daily basis. There have been critical times all summer; option II open at all bases for days in a row, a couple of months when no bid leaves were offered, people deadheaded to other bases to cover flying, international reserves used on domestic, etc. In the shoulder seasons many more vacations are scheduled, so there might not be the overage of FA's you think. November, for example, is dead for the first half, then hopping around T-Giving.

The company is not in the business, nor should they be, of creating jobs just to be nice. If you're so overstaffed, why didn't they simply furlough more people last fall? There's little incentive not to; no furlough pay is paid and they can recall for the cost of a stamp. Even the training is negligible since we would have needed EPT's anyway if we hadn't been furloughed.

Of the 545 offered recall, only 225 are going on line this year (Dec 17) and not all of them will accept recall. We will only increase headcount by about 1%. The company does its homework; if they're recalling it's because they need people, plain and simple. The remaining 320 or so will be back in the first quarter of 2011, which could be the end of March. A few flight additions have already been announced and more are to come.

All sources seem to indicate the rest of the furlough list will be cleared this year, and hiring off the street may begin as well. This is good news for all of us.

MK

Very good points !!! And yes FINALLY some good news for all.
Also I hope that we can all become one someday (AA/TWA) and make this job the best it can be. We all need to realize that if we function as a whole we will be much better off in the long run.

 

[s80dude]

Does anyone have any numbers on how many accepted the first recall? I think the deadline was the beginning of this week.

 

[kirkpatrick]

Does anyone have any numbers on how many accepted the first recall? I think the deadline was the beginning of this week.

I was just logging on to post that. An astounding 221 our of 227 have accepted. That's 97.35%!

I started a thread on this topic. Best to continue there.

MK

 

[galleyguy4u2]

Why come back, just to retire? They can retire today, if they want to. They don't get anything better by coming back and retiring after training. Seems like a waste of their time. Especially if they have to take time off work to complete the training. Then you also have the possibility of APFA sending you to a collections agency to get the back dues, if they don't pay. That idea sounds like a huge hassle to me.

Some of us were not quite 50 at the time of furlough and need to return unless they can Paper Out those who do not want to go for 3 1/2 weeks of training and then go on payroll. Trust me, I would Paper Out if I could now that I am 55. I think it is a waste of money to train, house and feed those who intend on retiring.

 

[IORFA]

No news yet on the most recent recall numbers? Also, anyone have any idea why AA said that 220 out of 227 accepted recall from the first recall, yet the union said 221? The new Lauri Curtis, forget her name, stated those numbers on her hotline message a few weeks ago. I tried to find out, but no answers. Just curious.

 

[IORFA]

Kirkpatrick, when does your training start? It is only one day, correct? Not including one day for travel I assume. Any other fun facts on the recall training?