02.06.09

InfoReps,

NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE

On Tuesday, February 3, members of the APFA Negotiating Committee met with members of the Negotiating Committee from the Allied Pilots Association. During the meeting, the two teams discussed areas of common interests, mediation and the direction of our respective unions during the course of those mediations. Both APFA and APA believe that continuing dialogue between our two committees will be critical in the upcoming months.

On Wednesday, February 4, your APFA Negotiating Team conducted internal meetings in preparation for upcoming mediations. Members of the Team will be traveling to Washington, DC next week for three days of mediated talks with the company.

FROM THE SAFETY DEPARTMENT

On January 15, 2009, the Cabin Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) began for AA Flight Attendants. Since the onset of the program, many Flight Attendants have called or emailed APFA with questions or concerns pertaining to the Cabin ASAP. This InfoRep Hotline will address these concerns.

Foremost, Cabin ASAP is NOT a program to report other Flight Attendants or co-workers. Any report of this nature will not be accepted into the program, and the reporting Flight Attendant will be redirected to APFAís Professional Standards.

The formation of Cabin ASAP was not a part of contract negotiations. The development of this program was well under way prior to beginning our contact negotiations with AA. This program reflects the desire of APFA, AA and the FAA to solve safety related issues through proactive solutions and education by identifying hazards in order to prevent incidents and accidents.

APFAís involvement in the formation of the Cabin ASAP was brought about by a desire to create a mechanism to monitor safety violations and at the same time, allow Flight Attendants to report their own inadvertent violations of AA policy or FAA regulations through a non-disciplinary , non-punitive system. It is a voluntary, confidential self-disclosure program for Flight Attendants that will allow APFA, AA and the FAA to determine specific commonalities surrounding these violations. Some commonalities include: are these issues happening on a regular basis, do these issues happen repeatedly on the same aircraft type, or are the occurrences happening after an extended duty day. Trending could also help identify potential changes to the EPT or training programs and company policies. All three parties have agreed to the program and, all three parties hold an equal position within the program.

Hereís how it works:

A Flight Attendant reports an inadvertent safety violation that they, them self, did or failed to perform via the Cabin ASAP reporting system. The report is de-identified (name and employee number removed) and forwarded to the Event Review Team (ERT). The ERT consists of an APFA representative, an AA Flight Service representative, and a representative from the FAA. The team reviews the report and, collectively, decides to either accept or reject the report based on set criteria agreed upon by all three parties. Exclusion from the program includes criminal activity, the use of a controlled substance or alcohol, or intentional falsification. The event must also be unintentional, and not involve behavior that is considered reckless. Once the report is accepted into the program, the Flight Attendant involved is protected against any Company discipline and any FAA civil penalties. Following the outcome of the ERT review, the Flight Attendant may have to participate in some follow-up activities recommended by the ERT in order to keep the reported event in the Cabin ASAP program. Follow-up activities may include interviews, procedural reviews and/or training.

Examples:

1. In flight, a fellow Flight Attendant asks me a question about the current revision that came out last week. I realize that I donít have the revision, making my manual out of date. Upon landing in DFW, I run off and submit an ASAP report disclosing that my manual was out of date. As I am updating my manual before we continue on to LAS, an FAA Safety Inspector boards the LAS leg of my flight and requests to see my manual. I inform the inspector that I am in the process of updating my manual. The Inspector questions me, knowing that I just flew in to DFW with an out of date manual. I inform the Inspector that I have filed an ASAP report.

   Possible Event Resolution: The FAA inspector takes no further action. The Cabin ASAP ERT accepts my report into the program and sends me back an electronic response reminding me to keep my manual up to date.

2. I am Flight Attendant #4 on a 737. During boarding, there are 10 UMís brought on board, 5 minutes before departure. I am asked to escort the UMís to their seats and give each of them their special UM briefing. I finish just as Flight Attendant #1 says ìprepare for departureî. The flight takes off and all is well. The flight is great, the 10 UMís are met upon arrival and we head home. On my drive home I realize that I never did an exit row briefing. I, upon getting home, ASAP the event and the circumstances surrounding the event.

   Possible Event Resolution: The ERT receives my report, acknowledges it, and informs me electronically that it was accepted into the program. Two weeks later, my Flight Service Manager calls me and says that a passenger sitting in the exit row on that flight reported that they did not receive a briefing. At that point, I tell my Manager that I ASAPíed the event. No further action is taken by my FSM.

3. I am sitting stand-by and get called out to be Purser on a 767 to LAX. I have never flown the purser position, nor have I flown the 767. I have a very supportive crew and we make it to LAX without too much drama. The First Officer says ìprepare for arrival and cross checkî. I proceed to the 1R door, jam up on the handle and deploy the 1R slide. I am met by Flight Service and I advise them that I would like to ASAP the event. I submit the Cabin ASAP report.

Possible Event Resolution: I am contacted by the APFA member of the ERT informing me that me that it was accepted into the program. The ERT reviews the incident and recommends that I travel to DFW to attend some additional training on the 767 trainer. I attend the training, with pay, and the event is closed with no further action, and no discipline from the Company.

How to submit a report:

Flight Attendants may choose ASAP as an option when submitting a safety related report. The ASAP designator is listed on the Category Selection page of the AMR On-Line Event Report; select ëDo you want to include this report in the ASAP Program?í If a computer is not available, an initial notification may be called in to the ASAP Hotline at 888-294-0017. Leave your name, employee number, base and brief details of the event. The call must be followed by a detailed ASAP report utilizing the AMR Event on-line reporting system. This must be done as soon as possible for the event to be accepted into the program.

Cabin ASAP is a voluntary safety program. If you have any questions or concerns, please email them to [email protected].

We are aware that currently APA and AA have suspended their long standing ASAP program. As you know, Flight Attendants and Pilots are subjected to different regulatory requirements, thus presenting different organizational goals needed in an ASAP program. We are optimistic that both APA and AA will be able to reach a resolution and be able to reinstate their program.

DID YOU KNOW?

Article 29-Safety Committee, first entered our Collective Bargaining Agreement in 1968. It was three (3) paragraphs long and provided for three (3) members from the Association and three (3) members from the company to meet twice a year to ìÖstudy and evaluate matters relating to Stewardess Safety.î

Today, Article 32-Safety and Security is six (6) paragraphs long. It provides for both a Safety Committee and a Health Committee. Each committee has grown to five (5) members from both groups and they still meet twice a year. Article 32 also contains language concerning uniform flammability testing, immunizations, and cabin air quality.