APFA Q&A regarding 40-hour minimum schedule

[jimntx]

Q: Is the 40-hour monthly minimum a threshold to maintain employment?

A: No, we do not have a threshold for employment with the T/A. The current AA threshold for accruing sick and vacation and maintaining company-subsidized medical will no longer exist.

Q: I’m a low-time flyer and I don’t care about company-subsidized medical benefits. At LAA, today we have to fly 420 hours a year in order to maintain those benefits. However, I don’t ever meet that threshold because I don’t need health insurance. I just don’t want to fly 40 hours a month. How will this work for me?

A: You have plenty of options to fly less or not at all in a given month.

You can split out your vacation bids in up to 9 different places throughout the year. (Read the Q&A below regarding vacation splits.)

You can request one of the many leaves of absence available to flight attendants:
* Voluntary (Bid) Leave of Absence
+ You will accrue full vacation, sick, and subsidized company health benefits.
* Personal Leaves and Educational Leaves.
* If you are sick, you have sick leave available (paid or unpaid)
* Family Medical Leave

Q: I’m a low-time flyer. I like to fly a couple of zero hour months during the year. With this new provision of 40 hours, how will I be able to do that?

A: You can split out your vacation bids up to 9 different places throughout the year; or,

You can request one of the many leaves of absence available to flight attendants:
* Voluntary (Bid) Leave of Absence
+ You will accrue full vacation, sick, and subsidized company health benefits.
* Personal Leaves and Educational Leaves.
* If you are sick, you have sick leave (paid or unpaid)
* Family Medical Leave

Q: I’m a high time flyer and I’m concerned I won’t be able to fly high time because of the 40-hour scheduling minimum for all flight attendants. Meaning, no one will be dropping trips because they all have to fly 40 hours.

A: With PBS, if you desire high-time flying you can bid and hold up to 110 hours with Preferential Bidding. In addition, you can pick up more time via the Electronic Trade Board (HIBOARD)/Trip Trade System if you desire.

With PBS, Flight Attendants will be able to bid for lines as low as 40 hours and as high as 110 hours. This provision will allow flight attendants to be awarded a line that will require fewer transactions to achieve their monthly optimal schedule.

Q: I do a lot of trip trading and I’m concerned that I will lose flexibility with the 40-hour monthly minimum.

A: The new contract will provide increased flexibility for the LAA work group with the new Trip Trade System, including new parameters for picking up trips, vacation filler days, “double up,” i.e. the ability to schedule two trips in one duty day, working on vacation days if desired, and “double dip” i.e. the ability to work on days you are receiving pay protection.

Q: With PBS, can I bid a 40-hour line and then drop my trips to another flight attendant bringing me below 40 hours?

A: No, you will not be able to trip trade/drop below 40 hours with another flight attendant or with the Electronic Trade Board (ETB).

Will we have to fly an additional 40 hours in our vacation months?

A: No, your vacation hours will be included in the 40-hour monthly calculation. If you bid/hold 7 or more days of vacation, you will have priority to hold a low-time line.

Q: What is a vacation split?

A: A flight attendant may split his/her vacation into multiple periods of time off throughout the year. The minimum vacation split is 4 days, with the exception of one split, which may be between 1-3 days.

If your vacation accrual is 35 days, you could split your vacation up to 9 times.
* You could split your vacation into 8 periods/months of 4 days plus 3 filler days or a 3-day vacation equaling 35 days.
+ 4 days of vacation in each month of January, March, May, June, July , August, October, November, December and 3 filler days to use throughout the year.
+ In each of these months, you would be required to work 24 hours to meet the 40 hour monthly minimum.

* You could split your vacation into 5 months of 7 days each.
+ 7 days of vacation in May, July, August, November, December.
+ In each of these months, you would be required to work 12 hours to meet the 40 hour monthly minimum.

* You could split your vacation into 3 months of 10 days plus 5 filler/vacation days.
+ 10 days of vacation, entire month off with low bid line of 40 hours in May, August, November.  The 5 filler days could then be used throughout the year.

Q: If I take a voluntary bid leave, will I have to pay for my health insurance?

A: No. You will continue to accrue full vacation, sick and company-subsidized health benefits while on voluntary bid leave. This was a provision AA flight attendants lost in 2003, and have now regained with this T/A.

Q: How many hours do I have to fly to maintain my company subsidized health insurance? What do I have to do to be considered “active” for the month so that I can receive full vacation and sick accrual?

A: At the end of the year, there will be no “look back” to make sure you have achieved a certain number of hours for sick accrual, vacation, medical or employment. As long as you are considered active for the month, you will continue to accrue full vacation and sick hours and retain company-subsidized health benefits.

Q: What does it mean to be “active” in any given month in order to accrue vacation, sick and company-subsidized medical benefits?

A: Being available to the company for 15 days of the month means that you are considered on “active status” and, technically available to the company. Your days off, days between paid sick leave, voluntary leaves of absence (bid leaves) and vacation are considered active days. You change to inactive status only if you have an unpaid personal leave or unpaid medical leave that brings your active days within a given month below 15 days.

Q: When will the 40-hour scheduling minimum begin?
A: The 40-hour scheduling minimum will not begin for LAA Flight Attendants until after PBS begins. This will give Flight Attendants time to get acquainted with Preferential Bidding. Therefore, it will not be for at least two years or longer.

AmericanAirlines + US Airways
"On Our Way"

Leslie Mayo
APFA National Communications Chair

 

[jimntx]

The quote function didn't work like it's supposed to.  I just wanted the email text to be in a box; so, I could comment below.  So, here's the comment.
 
I do not see how bid leaves, voluntary leaves, sick time, etc. can eliminate 40 hours a month of your schedule, and you not fall into the attendance disciplinary system.  Even if splitting your vacation 9 ways allowed you to avoid flying 9 months of the year (which I don't think it will for most people--the max is 35 days/year), you still have the 40 hour minimum on the other 3 months.  AFAIK, bid leaves have never been offered every single month in every single base.
 
One thing that surprised me though was that statement about continuing to accrue benefits as long as you are "active"--which if you are senior enough and bid leaves are offered and you held a full-month bid leave for several months, you are still considered "active."????  I thought we had gotten rid of that business of people never working but drawing benefits anyway.  Where i come from drawing benefits, but not working for them, is called retirement.

 

[jcw]

It's amazing - that we drive for a contract that does not really require you to fly

 

[737823]

It's amazing - that we drive for a contract that does not really require you to fly

Who is "we"? Are you an active AA F/A? What is your connection/affiliation to APFA?

Josh

 

[700UW]

Who is "we"? Are you an active AA F/A? What is your connection/affiliation to APFA?

Josh

And what does it matter to an alleged "passenger"?
 
Are you being mentored by WT?

You still havent answered what was asked of you in the US IAMNPF thread.
 
Something is fishy.

 

[737823]

And what does it matter to an alleged "passenger"?
 
Are you being mentored by WT?

You still havent answered what was asked of you in the US IAMNPF thread.
 
Something is fishy.

Go back and re-read that thread I answered it.

Josh

 

[700UW]

No you didnt, you are not an IAM member, nor a TWU member nor an employee of US nor AA and never have been according to you.
 
You are just an airline obsessed person who insults and attacks workers and unions.

 

[iluvaa]

Sounds a lot like you 700

 

[700UW]

But I can say it that I was a 20 year IAM member and airline employee, he can't.

 

[trentrb211]

And we don't care what you have to say about anything. Go away

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

Jim, how many hours do you like to fly? I'd like to fly less but on my NH salary I can't afford to fly less than 90

 

[jimntx]

I fly my line and that's it.  Of course, the lines are creeping above 80 hours/mo and some over 90.  Fortunately, I have income from other sources; so, it's not necessary for me to pick up extra flying.  A couple of years ago, I flew 105 hours one month.  Didn't like it.  W-a-a-a-y too much like a real job.  
 
I've always said, I don't see how f/as in bases other than DFW and STL make it on what we get paid.  Even $50 hour on a guarantee of 70 hours/month just doesn't cut it in the high cost cities where we have bases.
 
Is your base getting any of the 17-19 day lines?  We have a 19-day line on the Oct. DFW bid sheet.  It's only 16 days of flying because it involves 3 30-hour layovers in Tulsa, but unless you live in Tulsa it's still 19 days away from home.  A friend in STL told me that it was posted on Facebook that MIA had a 22-day line this month!  Why not just get an office job and sleep in your own bed every night?

 

[737823]

I fly my line and that's it.  Of course, the lines are creeping above 80 hours/mo and some over 90.  Fortunately, I have income from other sources; so, it's not necessary for me to pick up extra flying.  A couple of years ago, I flew 105 hours one month.  Didn't like it.  W-a-a-a-y too much like a real job.  
 
I've always said, I don't see how f/as in bases other than DFW and STL make it on what we get paid.  Even $50 hour on a guarantee of 70 hours/month just doesn't cut it in the high cost cities where we have bases.
 
Is your base getting any of the 17-19 day lines?  We have a 19-day line on the Oct. DFW bid sheet.  It's only 16 days of flying because it involves 3 30-hour layovers in Tulsa, but unless you live in Tulsa it's still 19 days away from home.  A friend in STL told me that it was posted on Facebook that MIA had a 22-day line this month!  Why not just get an office job and sleep in your own bed every night?

The BOS/BOS-I F/As I know have spouses who work as attorneys, physicians or in academia. MIA would be perfectly manageable though, as I'm sure ORD would be too.

Josh

 

[jimntx]

$3500/month gross is not really "manageable" in DFW and STL unless you are willing to live in (shall we say) "less desirable" neighborhoods.  I know MIA and ORD rental prices (I've considered transferring to both).  I don't know where you think either city is manageable on our top of scale base salary, but i'm fairly certain I ruled out those neighborhoods.  Or, are you talking about those what I call local commuters?  One of my new hire class mates commuted 75 miles one way from Rockford, Illinois to ORD because it was the least expensive housing he could find.  No, thank you.  I don't even like driving the 22 miles from my home to DFW.
 
And, not everyone gets to marry a lawyer or doctor.  Besides, marriage shouldn't really be seen as a budget management option.  

 

[737823]

I dunno I wouldn't be able to live comfortably on that income but then again people keep showing up in droves to work as F/As for the airlines so it must be doable. And many of the new hires F/As are in high cost cities as you mentioned. I guess you could get by with roommate(s) and not owning a car in some locations. After all your union negotiated an industry leading contract (so they say), unions pride themselves on offering a solid middle class lifestyle but here you are saying it's unlivable, I've long held that opinion but knew I would get flamed on here for saying that.

Josh