7.10.19 – PHL Base Brief

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO OUR AIRLINE?!

Are we seriously watching this airline sink?  The operation in Philadelphia has been nothing short of a nightmare.  The amount of delays and cancellations are off the charts.  Do you remember a time when IPD flights operated at all costs?  We are witnessing multiple IPD cancellations each week.  I am at a total loss over what we are witnessing.  I don’t know about you, but I’m over it.

Our Flight Attendants are being rescheduled left and right, and crew scheduling is robbing Peter to pay Paul to cover trips, often times doing so illegally.  Flight Attendants are being pushed to the max duty day and minimum layovers on many duty periods.  Flight Attendants are sitting on hot airplanes with passengers waiting for pilots who, through no fault of their own, show up hours late, and become illegal.  Add all the weather related events to this horror show, and you have a disaster.

Fighting for your pay because everything now is based on a ‘removal code’ has become the norm. How about letting us know what the removal codes are, and where to find them on our HI 1?  Better yet, put them in the portal calendar when there is a pay adjustment so we can see what we are being paid.  We are used to looking for pay adjustments- now we have to look for removal codes and hope a crew scheduler in tracking enters the right code- because our pay depends on it. We sit with fingers crossed that our pay protection will appear at ‘close out’ for the month. We are flying blindly.

We are expected to come to work smiling, happy to be here, and are expected put up with constant angst and frustration from many directions.  We receive no respect from the company for what we deal with daily. The frustration we endure from our passengers is brutal- but who can blame them?

Something has to change- quickly.  Crew scheduling and crew tracking are out of control. They clearly are struggling with the work rules outlined in the JCBA.  Their mantra is to cover the trip, move on, and deal with the fallout later.

I personally want to thank each an every one of you for giving 110% to this company, because we are professionals, and we will not let what is happening to our airline destroy our personal pride.  We all chose this profession because we love the work- remember that during this turbulent time.  We have many challenges mostly brought on by things outside of our control.  Rise above it, take the high road and we will get through this together.

Rant over.

Kim Kaswinkel
APFA PHL Base President
[email protected]