DEPARTURE DEPENDABILITY

June 27, 2011 – APFA President, Laura Glading is currently in discussions with the company about this form. Stay tuned for updates.

American’s new ‘Enhanced Boarding’ has been met with mixed reviews. More often than not the result is congested aisles, and Flight Attendants having to explain to the bewildered and already stressed passengers why there is complete chaos in the cabin.

Being the consummate professionals, we do the best we can with what (little) we have to work with and our Agent colleagues to get the plane out on time.

We continue to receive reports from Flight Attendants that Agent requests to board early are on the rise as a result of this streamlined boarding initiative. Keep in mind it is not the Agents that designed the new boarding process. They are under pressure from their managers.

We have created a document that Pursers and #1 Flight Attendants can use to help address boarding times with Agents. APFA believes it is not necessary to board earlier than our standard boarding times that have been in place for years to achieve an on-time departure. In fact, according to the company's own communication regarding streamlined boarding they anticipate the new boarding initiative would actually result in a quicker boarding process. Therefore it should not be necessary to add additional time for boarding to achieve on-time or early departures.

This document is designed to let the Agents know we are not their adversaries, and will work with them to get the plane out on time. Please print copies to carry on your trips and coordinate with the Agents to achieve an on-time departure within the 30 or 40 minutes allotted.