5.17.06 – (LAA/LUS) – WTS for VC at BOSI and LGA, Cleaning Procedures, Bid Sheets, International Mutual Transfers

This is Leslie Mayo, National Communications Coordinator with an update to the APFA Hotline. The National Ballot Committee (NBC) has notified APFA of the following:

Today, May 18, 2006, the NBC picked up Willingness-to-Serve Notifications for the Vice Chair position at BOSI and LGA. There will be elections at both bases. The candidates for Vice Chair at Boston International are Joann Matley and Sean Nowicke and at LGA the candidates for Vice Chair are Alan Montana, Travis Pfahler and Louis A. Safdie.

Ballots will be mailed to the members at BOSI and LGA on June 6, 2006, and are due in the designated post office box no later than 0900 Central Time on July 6, 2006. The election will be conducted immediately thereafter at a location to be announced. Any member in good standing is welcome to observe the election process. Questions may be directed to the APFA National Ballot Committee at (800) 395-2732, Ext. 8311.

Please stay on the line for the rest of the APFA Hotline…

This is Leslie Mayo, National Communications Coordinator, with the APFA Hotline for Wednesday, May 17, 2006. We have 3,949 members on furlough and 10 members serving full time in the military. Please keep them in your thoughts.

APFA News: We would like to remind our members that there has been NO change to Flight Attendant cleaning procedures. The contractual language in Article 2.N., page 10, specifies which flights we are not responsible to clean. Our colleagues at TWU have requested that we respect the scope of their jobs and NOT assist them on the ground in cleaning flights that are either terminating or are through flights over 1100 miles. Based on recent schedule changes some stations have had a reduction in force for Fleet and/or Cabin Service.

June bid sheets reflect the mix of some S80 and 737 flying. As a result there is no longer a separate section within the bid sheet for 737 flying. You can identify pure 737 selections by looking for the B8 equipment code. We will be working with crew resources to find a better way to identify pure equipment and mixed equipment flying for future bid sheets.

Based on input from our members, APFA recently reached an understanding with the Company to increase flexibility for International Mutual Transfers that require either an A300 or 767 qualification. Qualification on these aircraft cannot be triggered at all International bases. Flight Attendants desiring to mutual lateral into JFK or MIA who need the A300 qualification or out of DCA-I who need the 767 qualification will obtain this qual once they are at the new base. Details are posted on the Contract Administration page of the APFA Webs ite. The increased flexibility is available for International Mutual Transfers that are effective with the contractual month of July.

Jill Frank Smoak, APFA’s retirement specialist and a company representative will be conducting two seminars in Boston on May 23rd. The first one will begin at 11:30 and the second one at 2:00. Both will be held in the Flight Service Conference room and require reservations with the BOS Flight Service MOD. Please call 617.634.5351 to secure your spot.

If you plan to attend a retirement seminar please go to Jetnet, and follow this path: BENEFITS, RETIREMENT PLANNING, MY PENSION, REQUEST/VIEW ESTIMATES and create then print an estimate. On the estimate page, there is a highlighted link called PLAN CALCULATION FORMULAS. Open the link, print out the information and bring both documents with you to the seminar. If you are eligible to retire and unable to access Jetnet, please call HR at 800-447-2000 extension 5 and request a pension estimate be sent to your home.

The new APFA Web site is in its final stages and will be ready for publishing online shortly. One of the many new features will be a link for safety and security updates behind the Members’ Only Section of the APFA Web site. Stay tuned for the new site.

Bankruptcy Watch: Northwest Airlines reported a $1.1 billion dollar loss under bankruptcy in the first quarter of ’06 compared with a $537 million loss for all of last year. Excluding the reorganization and one-time item costs, their loss would’ve totaled $129 million for the quarter, compared with $450 million in the same quarter last year.

Northwest’s baggage handlers and the airline were at odds in bankruptcy court this week as Northwest attempted to persuade the judge to throw out their contract. As reported on this Hotline, the pilots and flight attendants have reached agreements, but the IAM-represented baggage handlers are threatening to strike if their contract is abrogated. The Flight Attendants’ ratification balloting on their restructured bankruptcy agreement concludes on June 6th.

Industry Watch: United Airlines management is considering moving its Headquarters from the Chicago suburbs to either downtown Chicago or Denver in order to “optimize and consolidate” their facilities. United has been unprofitable since 2000 and emerged from three years of bankruptcy this past February.

Fuel Watch: As of Tuesday, May 16th, a barrel of crude oil cost $69.53, down $1.16 from last Tuesday’s price. The crack spread price was $16.40, down .17 cents from last week’s price. This brings the cost of one barrel of jet fuel to $85.93 – down $1.33 from the price of jet fuel last week. One year ago May, the price of a barrel of crude was $49.87, and the crack spread price was $11.86. The total for one barrel of jet fuel a year ago was $61.73, nearly $25 less than the price of a barrel today.

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That’s it for this week. Thanks for calling the APFA Hotline.