Is any other F/A's out there having trouble meeting their schedule reqiurements due to lack of flying? I know here in STL things are pretty rough..Those who have lost trips due to cancellations, etc..are not able to even get trips on makeup to get to their gurantee. Not to mention, those on availaability have nothing to pickup, and reserves only flying 40 hours a month. This is really scary...Any thoughts from other bases? I would rather be furloughed knowing my co-workers are at least able to fly their schedules.
Making Ends Meet
- Thread starter Flyboy4u
- Start date
Over 70 of us were bumped back to domestic and I got AVBL with no trips plotted. Like you in STL, here in ORD, there's nothing but turns. I put myself on MU but there is nothing in OT. I'm desperately waiting for a transfer to LGA. At least, there you can get more trips. Still, it's better than being furloughed.I lost hours due to diverting this month but I'm just worried about how I am going to commute and fly out of ORD. Good luck to us all.
Has the company cut back the flying so much that it can't sustain the number of F/A's on the line? ANybody have any information on this?
If you have not TT down in time, your guarantee is protected.
Both are guarantee protected.
Yea from IMA learn your contract.
jersey777
Veteran
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The guy was trying to make a legitimate comment and you belittle him. Ever thought about the fact that most people can not live on the guarantee? What a jerk.
THank you jersey777. Everytime I post something on here Mikey has to belittle me. I only wish the moderators on this board would end his actions. Instead, they continue to turn thier heads at his comments.
He asks about FA's unable to make guarantee on MIC's and reserve. Every situation sited is a guaranteed scheduled. I didnt read anything about how some people who cannot live on their basic salary. If you cannot live on your guarantee, than you should be picking up of HIBOARD or OP2. Its really that easy.
jimntx
Veteran
Flyboy, always remember what my granny used to say, "It's better to be insulted than ignored. It's when they stop talking about you that you have to start worrying." 
It is not your imagination, but the lack of flying is not due to the cutbacks in flying as much as it is giving SLT flying to other bases. In July we lost 28 bid positions on 757 (7 lines of flying). That same month DCA gained 20 bid positions on 757 and DFW got 8 bid positions. What a coincidence. Our 75 sequences to SFO are now through flights from DFW, flown by DFW crews.
Look at the allocation sheet page on the bidsheet. We lost another 3 bid positions in SLT from Sept. to Oct. It was explained to me that because we had 3 people take the VBR, we lost 3 bid positions. However, LAX which had a whole bunch of VBR-takers gained 20 bid positions for October.
When I was recalled in Nov. 2004, SLT had 381 bid positions each month (21 lines of 757 flying, 99 lines of S80 flying). As of October, we have 249 bid positions. Yet, the number of f/as in the base is about the same. Do the math, as they say.
For October, out of 370 active flight attendants, we have 42 on reserve and 52 on availability! If you include vacation relief holders, one-third of the active base falls into one of those 3 categories.
Don't expect a lot of sympathy. The dinosaurs from the other bases all believe that every single one of us is former TW and therefore deserving of nothing. I had a conversation on a hotel shuttle in August of last year with one of the DFW domestic 777 ladies that went something like
"You're St. Louis-based?"
"Yes."
"Well, then you are a TWA flight attendant?"
"No, ma'am. The few former TW f/as that are back on the payroll are all in LGA, DCA, and BOS. And, the correct term is former TW f/as. At the time they were furloughed, they were on the AMR payroll and paying dues to the APFA. I believe that makes them AA flight attendants."
"But, that's a violation of our contract. All the TWA f/as have to stay in St. Louis."
"No, ma'am. Our contract doesn't say a word about that. It was the Seniority Integration Agreement which has now expired that addressed where and when and under what conditions the former TW f/as could be based other than STL."
"Oh, no. You're wrong. My girlfriend who used to work at the APFA told me that the contract prohibited them from being based anywhere but STL."
At the word girlfriend, I gave up. Facts written in black and white on paper are never as accurate as girlfriend galley gossip.
This story would be ancient history if it were not for the fact that just last week, I was commuting to St. Louis on the 757 that now flies through STL to SFO. One of the DFW crew members upon learning that I was St. Louis-based said brightly (in a girlish voice inappropriate for someone with more wrinkles than I), "Oh, so you're a TWA flight attendant." I just said, "No" and closed my eyes to nap. There is no point in discussing it further with any of them.
It is not your imagination, but the lack of flying is not due to the cutbacks in flying as much as it is giving SLT flying to other bases. In July we lost 28 bid positions on 757 (7 lines of flying). That same month DCA gained 20 bid positions on 757 and DFW got 8 bid positions. What a coincidence. Our 75 sequences to SFO are now through flights from DFW, flown by DFW crews.
Look at the allocation sheet page on the bidsheet. We lost another 3 bid positions in SLT from Sept. to Oct. It was explained to me that because we had 3 people take the VBR, we lost 3 bid positions. However, LAX which had a whole bunch of VBR-takers gained 20 bid positions for October.
When I was recalled in Nov. 2004, SLT had 381 bid positions each month (21 lines of 757 flying, 99 lines of S80 flying). As of October, we have 249 bid positions. Yet, the number of f/as in the base is about the same. Do the math, as they say.
For October, out of 370 active flight attendants, we have 42 on reserve and 52 on availability! If you include vacation relief holders, one-third of the active base falls into one of those 3 categories.
Don't expect a lot of sympathy. The dinosaurs from the other bases all believe that every single one of us is former TW and therefore deserving of nothing. I had a conversation on a hotel shuttle in August of last year with one of the DFW domestic 777 ladies that went something like
"You're St. Louis-based?"
"Yes."
"Well, then you are a TWA flight attendant?"
"No, ma'am. The few former TW f/as that are back on the payroll are all in LGA, DCA, and BOS. And, the correct term is former TW f/as. At the time they were furloughed, they were on the AMR payroll and paying dues to the APFA. I believe that makes them AA flight attendants."
"But, that's a violation of our contract. All the TWA f/as have to stay in St. Louis."
"No, ma'am. Our contract doesn't say a word about that. It was the Seniority Integration Agreement which has now expired that addressed where and when and under what conditions the former TW f/as could be based other than STL."
"Oh, no. You're wrong. My girlfriend who used to work at the APFA told me that the contract prohibited them from being based anywhere but STL."
At the word girlfriend, I gave up. Facts written in black and white on paper are never as accurate as girlfriend galley gossip.
This story would be ancient history if it were not for the fact that just last week, I was commuting to St. Louis on the 757 that now flies through STL to SFO. One of the DFW crew members upon learning that I was St. Louis-based said brightly (in a girlish voice inappropriate for someone with more wrinkles than I), "Oh, so you're a TWA flight attendant." I just said, "No" and closed my eyes to nap. There is no point in discussing it further with any of them.
You mean I call you on your lies and inaccuracies. That is not belittling you, thats calling you out on the facts, nothing more.
The OP's post had nothing to do with not being able to live on the guarantee. The post was about his difficulty finding enough flying to fill his guarantee, which isn't his problem. As FA Mikey pointed out, he'll get his guarantee even if he flies less than the guarantee, unless he's traded away trips. "What a jerk?" Calling people names certainly puts you in that category.
Ok, everyone just stop and take a deep breath. It is not necessary to call someone a liar in order to disagree with them. It is not necessary to call someone a jerk because they disagree with you. Namecalling and personal attacks are not allowed. A word to the wise...
If there are no OT trips than OPII is pretty much out of the question, wouldn't you say?
Hiboard is probably pretty dry as well. You're lucky to get a trip at JFK this month. Nobody is dropping.
Good news for those who want to be at LGA and pick up trips............you can get whatever you want. You just can't drop what you have if it is on a weekend in order to pick up what you want.
To me, this is just a great argument about why we DON'T need a monthly threshold. The leaves are killing HIBOARD and OT.
jimntx
Veteran
For those of us stuck on availability, HIBOARD is out of the question. In order to pick up trips from HIBOARD, you have to have at least one trip on your own schedule (unless you are using OE which is pretty dumb unless you have no other choice). They are not pre-plotting trips on most people's schedule. And, since about the only thing in open time is turns, you can't plot those on your schedule until 4 days prior to the date of the trip (if 1st or last day of a block of avbl days) or 1 day prior otherwise. Not much to work with for DBLTTs.
And, as I've said before, most of the people who put trips in HIBOARD seem to be looking at a different bidsheet that what I see. They put a 7.30 turn in HIBOARD, but specify "need higher time, no si before 10am, back before 4pm, no #1." Or, they will only trade a block of 3 turns for a 3 day trip with a long MIA layover. OK, no problem.
And, as I've said before, most of the people who put trips in HIBOARD seem to be looking at a different bidsheet that what I see. They put a 7.30 turn in HIBOARD, but specify "need higher time, no si before 10am, back before 4pm, no #1." Or, they will only trade a block of 3 turns for a 3 day trip with a long MIA layover. OK, no problem.
I am not seeing a shortage. I have some South America on HIBOARD to drop. I was on MU a couple days this month and they called with plenty of trips open to pick from. What is the complaint, that not as many 7 year FA's are able to drop their 5 hour turns and pick up a NRT?
Living with in our means and having to fly what our seniority holds is the reality some FA's have to face up to. There are those times when we have all the choices in the world, and thee are times when things are a bit tighter. Thats life folks.
Living with in our means and having to fly what our seniority holds is the reality some FA's have to face up to. There are those times when we have all the choices in the world, and thee are times when things are a bit tighter. Thats life folks.
