7.10.22 – APFA BOS Base Brief – July 2022

Sunday, July 10, 2022

Warm greetings and welcome to all the new hires! Summer is officially here in New England, and we hope that you all take time to enjoy everything that this area has to offer: Take in a Red Sox game at Fenway Park; walk along the Charles River; see a concert or play; hike in the White Mountains; eat a delicious Lobster Roll; visit one of the many beautiful coastal towns/areas like Provincetown, Cape Cod, Gloucester, Newburyport, Portsmouth, Ogunquit, Old Orchard Beach, and Portland. While the season is short, we are lucky to live in this gorgeous region.

Boston Base Growth & New Hires

Your BOS APFA Leadership has been meeting with and welcoming new hire classes almost every Monday this year. As most of you are aware, we have seen our base grow quickly, and we are the most junior base in the system. As of July 2022, our Reserve seniority begins at April 2022. Base Council Rep (BCR) Devyn Gourley ran a few numbers for us:

Fun Facts

• Boston has 242 additional New Hire Flight Attendants on the roster since Class 21-01, which is 38% of the base.
• 46% of our base has less than five years of seniority.
• 2021: 56 sent here/17 remain.
• 2022: 234 sent here/168 remain (this excludes classes 22-16 and 22-17, who will join us on 18JUL & 25JUL).
• July 2022 headcount: 601 compared to August 2021 headcount: 395- what a difference a year makes!

LHR Chelsea Hotel

Over the past month, the change to our LHR Hotel has been a hot topic. BOS APFA, the APFA National Hotel Chair, BOS Flight Service, and AA’s Hotel Contracts Dept have been in contact multiple times to address issues and concerns. While we have received a handful of emails and reports with concerns, we are also hearing from FAs that they have had no major issues. This leaves us in a bit of a predicament, as the base appears to be split. The alternative that is being offered to BOS is an airport hotel. As the Company cannot give BOS APFA a definitive answer regarding how long we would remain at the airport hotel, we cannot in good conscience move our crews.

We wanted to make the base aware prior to bids closing on 15JUL that we will remain at the LHR Chelsea hotel. We anticipate once seasonal flying concludes at the larger bases, BOS will relocate to one of the other five contracted LHR hotels. Management’s goal is to have as few LHR properties as possible, but unfortunately, LHR hotels are only interested in housing a limited number of flights. With a previous big box hotel closing, we went from two LHR hotels to six. It has not yet been determined where we will be moved to or when. Please remember that we are in the service industry, as is the hotel. Be sure to address issues directly with the hotel staff when you are there. Also, continue to fill out the APFA Hotel and Transportation Feedback Form should you have to report issues or even submit positive feedback, which is accessible here.

Reporting Systems

Reporting, collecting, and receiving data from our FAs is imperative for both APFA and the Company. We understand that it may take a few extra moments to do so, but please know that both APFA and AA use the data to report trends when it comes to catering, hotels, staffing, and payroll, to name a few. If things are not reported, the assumption made is that everything is fine. Please be sure to report issues via the proper form or channel. Here is a list of some of the most frequent report forms and where to find them:

APFA Website – Issues are reported to APFA HDQ

• Rescheduling Issues Report Form
• PBS Mis-Award Report Form
• Scheduling Systems Issues Report Form
• Hotel and Transportation Feedback Form
• Report an Early Boarding Violation
• Pay Discrepancy Form
• Staffing Levels Report Form
• Professional Standards

Flight Service Website

• DirectConnect – Crew Pay Connection
• CERS – Safety, Security & Inflight Medical
• Cabin ASAP

Crew Portal

• Support Tab
• DirectConnect – Crew Pay Connection

EFB

• FA Reports – Multiple Topics are available to choose from, which are reported to AA, including Catering, Hotel/Limo, IFE, Boarding Issues.

Contract Action Team and the Negotiations Website

Keep yourself informed, get involved and make your voice heard.

• The Negotiations Status page of the APFA website has up-to-date status and user-friendly charts to see exactly where APFA & AA are within the process.
• If you haven’t already signed up to be a member of the Contract Action Team, please do so here. You will receive Hotline updates regarding Contract Negotiations with the Company. Be sure to share this information with your fellow crew members.
• Check to see if you are dues current and that your address on file with APFA is correct, remember that only members in good standing may vote. If you have any questions about your dues status, please contact the APFA Dues Department at [email protected] or at 817-540-0108, ext. 3.

Click here to update your information with APFA

The APFA BOS Base Leadership has provided you with our email addresses and cellphone numbers. Please reach out to us as soon as possible if you have questions or should issues arise. Phone and live messaging representatives are also available through APFA Headquarters:

APFA Contract & Scheduling Desk
Call 817-540-0108
Monday – Friday, 0700 – 1900 (CT)

APFA Live Messaging
Monday – Friday: 1500 – 2300 (CT)
Weekends and Holidays: 0900 – 1700 (CT)
(Link may be found on homepage of APFA.org)

Fly safely and stay informed.

In Solidarity,

Amy Milenkovic
APFA BOS Base President
(617) 233-3172
[email protected]

Kelli Powers
APFA BOS Base Vice President
(603) 661-5297
[email protected]