FALL NETWORK CHANGES – CROSS FLEETING UPDATES

Furloughs  |  Job Protection   |  Staffing   |  Satellite Bases  |  Voting   |  Pattern Length  |  Jobs

Dear Colleagues . . .
 
Change is inevitable in this economy – our legally binding contractual Scope language, Recall protection, Retirement provisions, Filling of Vacancies, Transfer Expenses, and much more provide our profession with needed safeguards in the volatile airline industry.  We understand the frequent cross fleeting, route cancellation/suspension, and reduction in flying memos have caused considerable concern among flight attendants at both Northwest and Delta, so we'd like to address some of the questions we are hearing as comprehensively as we can: 

Q — Will this result in furloughs?  How many?

A — At this point, we do not know if there will be furloughs this fall.  We do know that there is a significant overage forecast at both Northwest and Delta.  However new, incentivized SLIP leaves are being offered, as well as ongoing CCLs and 75% + of all trip drops are approved.  The cross training has basically eliminated the overage for the summer months, due to the staffing levels needed to accommodate all of this training.  The company has continued to assure us in briefings that they will do everything possible to avoid involuntary furloughs and displacements.  AFA is negotiating with Northwest to reach agreement on a new Split Line Program that could also help to reduce or eliminate pre-merger Northwest flight attendant staffing overages this fall.  We meet again next week to try to wrap up a new Split Line Letter of Agreement for our contract.  Our current contract does not prevent furloughs, but it does provide legally binding protections and guidelines that the company must follow, should we come to a point where it is necessary.

Q — Is this a violation of our Section 1 Recognition, Scope and Job Protections? 

A — We will continue to provide as much legally binding protection as possible for our members - in good times and in bad - and to enforce and uphold the provisions of our collective bargaining agreement.  We have no indication at this time that there has been a violation of our contractual Section 1 provisions.  However, we have sent a formal Section 1 Information Request to Mike Campbell, Delta EVP of Human Resources and Labor Relations.  We will collect all relevant data from Northwest and Delta, to continue to monitor compliance with Section 1.  You can view the latest Section 1 Information Request, by clicking HERE.  We will share as much information as we can, as often as we can. 

Q — If we are overstaffed and losing money, why are we adding all of these amenities and spending so much on airport refurbishing and painting?

A — Delta markets a "brand" and is trying to sell an image that will make our airline stand out from the rest.  From our new safety video and Richard Tyler collection, to our Delta branded cookies and duvet, the marketing effort is focused on luring travelers in with our branded product.  Northwest believed customers wanted on time transportation at an affordable price, rather than a brand.  There are pros and cons to both marketing strategies and it is unknown whether this branding strategy will succeed.  However, we understand why our members are disturbed to see all of this money spent, when many of us are worried about losing our jobs. A June 11 Memo from the company reads, "We will not allow the economy to negatively affect our merger integration – in fact; the current environment gives additional urgency to accelerate our efforts.  You will see us move more quickly to rebrand and consolidate facilities, repaint aircraft and ramp up our frontline training activities."   While AFA and its membership are equally committed to a successful merger and continue to provide excellent customer service, it is our hope that non-essential costs will not come in place of job preservation.

Q — How will this impact our bases and satellites? What can be done about it?

A — Of course AFA representatives do not dictate the flight schedules, operations, or aircraft utilization at Northwest Airlines or Delta, and neither do IAM or ALPA union leaders.  The detail of the impact of the announced cancellations, route suspensions and cross fleeting on Northwest flight attendants is unknown at this time.  We are seeing the type, amount of flying, and duration of patterns change in our bases from month to month.  However, AFA representatives have been informed that there are no plans for base closures or forced transfers, and more recently that there are no plans to close any satellite bases.  We were glad to hear that the company plans to move flying, not people.  With that being said, over the years we've not often observed this much volatility in the Company's business plan – decisions at Northwest before the merger were made further in advance and more conservatively.  On the one hand this flexibility could end up ensuring the viability of our airline, but it can also wreak havoc on our lives at times.  We will continue to bring your perspectives to the table, and whenever possible to propose more worker friendly alternatives. 

Q — If we had our representation election this month, could we fly together this autumn? 

A — No.  Our IQ and AQ training has only just begun, with Aircraft Qualification Training continuing until March 2009.  Our Single Operating Certificate from the FAA is still months off, and we do not have a single transportation system.  We have separate PBS bidding systems that are programmed with company policies at Delta and with our completely different contractual provisions at Northwest. Even Delta has announced that we would be unlikely to fly together before May 2010.  Our election is not holding up anything at this point and it's certainly not holding back this freight train of a "merger by memo" that all flight attendants at Northwest and Delta are experiencing.  In any event, changes are coming so quickly with emergency and onboard procedures; it's unclear how much more we could add to this frequently overwhelming pace, to speed this merger up any more.  There is plenty of time to proceed with our original plan to file for an election this summer and we are moving quickly toward that goal.  Help us now at www.deltaafa.org - we need every one of us, to make a legal contract at Delta a reality.

Q — Why are patterns from my base so long?  Will this change?

A — With continual decreases in flying, over staffing has once again become widespread in the airline industry.  Frequency reductions tend to mean those flight attendants native to a base are flying most or all of the departures from that base.   For example, if a 757 flies from Seattle to Detroit 5 times per day, several crews are needed for various pattern durations.  Some could be a DTW crew on a high value or as part of an overnight, while SEA and possibly other bases crew the remaining departures.  When the frequency is reduced to 3 times per day, pattern variety becomes more limited.   With reduced frequency throughout the system, there are fewer connections to make for the crew at a hub. Once a crew goes out into the system, the patterns become longer and operate less frequently.  All indications are that domestic patterns will be longer as frequency and routes are pulled back. 

International pattern length is somewhat simpler in its calculation:  Daily flights to Europe and Asia (with some exceptions) create more 3-day patterns. If a flight from ATL-AMS operates only 4 days per week, trips could be from 3-5 days in length depending on departure spacing.  Flying South and West of Japan can vary from 4 days to 6,7,8 and even 9 days.  Frequency of S/W flying, contractual duty limitations, and flying allocation to different bases all factor into international pattern development.  The company has said Asia flying may indeed become 7+ day trips for pursers and chasers.  AFA will work with the company to distribute the flying to vary trip length and layovers between bases, however right now our top priority has shifted to saving all members' jobs.  

Q — I thought this merger was supposed to preserve our jobs – what is happening?

A — As we travel through this merger that has been widely touted as a "merger of addition" by our executives, we can’t help but notice that so far the "additions" are a bit elusive to the naked eye.  In Cincinnati the Delta flight attendants are seeing a massive cut back in flying and both DL & NW are seeing cuts all over the system.  While the economy has taken a sizable downturn and that has affected our airline, it is also true that executive decisions appear a bit impulsive and at times extravagant.  Delta changes its flight schedule on a dime and they don’t mind moving into a market for a few months and then pulling out. The additional flights added to the company’s ambitious "global footprint" require more flight attendants to staff more aircraft going to more places.  When routes begin to under perform and/or the economy goes sour, so goes the number of flight attendants required to staff the aircraft.  Again, there are pros and cons to both types of business plan, but we are accustomed to more predictability at Northwest and this will continue to be an adjustment.  This merger could save jobs or it could cost flight attendant jobs, it remains to be seen.  Click the chart* to the right for a few examples of flight cancellations and cross fleeting since the merger was announced.  At this time, it is hard to tell whether the merger has contributed to this staffing overage, or if it’s just the shaky world economy.  We reserve our judgment on this matter and sincerely hope for the best.  We will do everything we can, to see to it that our merger creates a strong and viable airline, while still achieving a decent quality of life and job security for all of us. 
 
*Note:  This is not a conclusive list.  It is provided to illustrate some of the movement of flying in the system and the resulting staffing issues.  Route changes shown can be a result of the merger, economy, or both.