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December 12, 2003
To All Flight Attendants:
The future success of US Airways is dependent upon a reliable schedule and reliable service for our customers. Our ability to maintain dependable service is profoundly jeopardized if we are unable to meet our schedule and service demands 365 days a year. In order for the Company to meet such competitive demands, the regular attendance of it flight attendants is critical.
Unfortunately, the difficulties crew scheduling continues to face while covering trips due to unexpected and excessive sick calls as well as reserves failing to be in base while on duty often contribute to an unreliable schedule for our customers. We believe it is important to emphasize that we fully recognize that the majority of our hard-working flight attendants report to work regularly and properly and that they are also impacted when they are required to cover trips left open by those who are excessively absent.
We would like to share a few recent situations with you to illustrate the impact that late sick calls, sick calls received when reserves are assigned a trip or reserves positioned out of base while on duty can have on our operation:
*On October 31, 2003, crew scheduling was forced to contact five flight attendants to cover just one position on a trip departing the following day. After the lineholder called in sick, the first four reserves that were contacted claimed they were too ill to fly. These were reserves that were scheduled to be available and crew scheduling had counted on as being available.
*You may have also heard of a recent situation in which crew scheduling was forced to replace a transatlantic crew who had become illegal due to a maintenance delay. When crew scheduling began the process of contacting replacement flight attendants, they were severely thwarted in their efforts due to reserves either being positioned out of base or alleging they were too ill to fly. After an unsuccessful attempt to fully staff the flight with in-base flight attendants, the decision was made to staff it with out of base flight attendants. The problem continued, however, when reserves in the alternate base alleged they were unavailable to fly for similar reasons. The flight was eventually staffed and departed over six hours after crew scheduling was notified of the need to re-crew the flight, further inconveniencing our valued customers.
* Most recently, on December 5,2003, crew scheduling was once again faced with the need to replace an entire transatlantic crew. They were eventually successful in filling the nine positions necessary to avoid canceling the flight. However, of the nine flight attendants who fulfilled their obligations, nine additional reserves were unavailable for reasons similar to those in the previous example.
Similar scenarios are occurring with more frequency and increasingly impacting our operation. As a result, we wanted to take some time to review the Company's expectations of you by reiterating current requirements and defining the parameters regarding notifications of absence for both lineholders and reserves. Please familiarize yourselves with the following definitions, requirements and action that will be taken should a flight attendant fail to follow the parameters as outlined below:
Excessive Sick Calls- Sick calls are intended to be used for the employee's own illness. Any sick occurrence in excess of five (5) is considered excessive. Unless there are mitigating circumstances surrounding a sick call, flight attendants will be progressed in the Dependability Control Program (DCP) for any occurrence above five.
Late Sick Calls- All flight attendants are required to report their legitimate illness/injury as soon as practicable after realizing they are unable to report to work. Effective December 19, 2003, a sick call received by crew scheduling less then two hours prior to check in time will be documented as a Late Sick Call and will be considered a dependability event in the Dependability Control Program (DCP).
Sick On Contact- A reserve flight attendant who is unavailable due to his/her own legitimate illness/injury is required to report his/her sick status prior to becoming available to crew scheduling. Effective December 19, 2003, a flight attendant who fails to notify crew scheduling that he/she is sick prior to being contacted will incur a Sick On Contact. The Sick On contact may be considered both a dependability event in the Dependability Control Program (DCP) and a conduct event wherein the flight attendant will be put on notice that any future misconduct event of the same or similar nature may result in his/her termination.
Reserve Out of Base- A flight attendant is considered to be out of base is he/she is not positioned within one (1) hour of traveling time by surface transportation of the check-in point when he/she is on reserve duty. Effective December 19, 2003, a Reserve Out of Base may be considered both a dependability event in the Dependability Control Program (DCP) and a conduct event wherein the flight attendant will be put on notice that any future misconduct event of the same or similar nature will result in his/her termination.
A flight attendant may be required to speak to a supervisor, a duty manager and/or a medical professional depending on the circumstances surrounding a sick call and, in some cases, he/she may be required to seek medical treatment.
While the above reminders and definitions may be considered extreme by the majority of flight attendants who are dependable and report to work regularly and with the utmost professionalism, the Company finds it necessary and appropriate to address those few individuals who do not meet their obligations as employees. We thank you in advance for your understanding of the need to put the measures in place to ensure we do our part to maintain a reliable operation.
Sincerely,
Sherry Groff
Vice President, In-flight Services
Robert A. Fuhr
Director, Crew Scheduling and Planning
December 12, 2003
To All Flight Attendants:
The future success of US Airways is dependent upon a reliable schedule and reliable service for our customers. Our ability to maintain dependable service is profoundly jeopardized if we are unable to meet our schedule and service demands 365 days a year. In order for the Company to meet such competitive demands, the regular attendance of it flight attendants is critical.
Unfortunately, the difficulties crew scheduling continues to face while covering trips due to unexpected and excessive sick calls as well as reserves failing to be in base while on duty often contribute to an unreliable schedule for our customers. We believe it is important to emphasize that we fully recognize that the majority of our hard-working flight attendants report to work regularly and properly and that they are also impacted when they are required to cover trips left open by those who are excessively absent.
We would like to share a few recent situations with you to illustrate the impact that late sick calls, sick calls received when reserves are assigned a trip or reserves positioned out of base while on duty can have on our operation:
*On October 31, 2003, crew scheduling was forced to contact five flight attendants to cover just one position on a trip departing the following day. After the lineholder called in sick, the first four reserves that were contacted claimed they were too ill to fly. These were reserves that were scheduled to be available and crew scheduling had counted on as being available.
*You may have also heard of a recent situation in which crew scheduling was forced to replace a transatlantic crew who had become illegal due to a maintenance delay. When crew scheduling began the process of contacting replacement flight attendants, they were severely thwarted in their efforts due to reserves either being positioned out of base or alleging they were too ill to fly. After an unsuccessful attempt to fully staff the flight with in-base flight attendants, the decision was made to staff it with out of base flight attendants. The problem continued, however, when reserves in the alternate base alleged they were unavailable to fly for similar reasons. The flight was eventually staffed and departed over six hours after crew scheduling was notified of the need to re-crew the flight, further inconveniencing our valued customers.
* Most recently, on December 5,2003, crew scheduling was once again faced with the need to replace an entire transatlantic crew. They were eventually successful in filling the nine positions necessary to avoid canceling the flight. However, of the nine flight attendants who fulfilled their obligations, nine additional reserves were unavailable for reasons similar to those in the previous example.
Similar scenarios are occurring with more frequency and increasingly impacting our operation. As a result, we wanted to take some time to review the Company's expectations of you by reiterating current requirements and defining the parameters regarding notifications of absence for both lineholders and reserves. Please familiarize yourselves with the following definitions, requirements and action that will be taken should a flight attendant fail to follow the parameters as outlined below:
Excessive Sick Calls- Sick calls are intended to be used for the employee's own illness. Any sick occurrence in excess of five (5) is considered excessive. Unless there are mitigating circumstances surrounding a sick call, flight attendants will be progressed in the Dependability Control Program (DCP) for any occurrence above five.
Late Sick Calls- All flight attendants are required to report their legitimate illness/injury as soon as practicable after realizing they are unable to report to work. Effective December 19, 2003, a sick call received by crew scheduling less then two hours prior to check in time will be documented as a Late Sick Call and will be considered a dependability event in the Dependability Control Program (DCP).
Sick On Contact- A reserve flight attendant who is unavailable due to his/her own legitimate illness/injury is required to report his/her sick status prior to becoming available to crew scheduling. Effective December 19, 2003, a flight attendant who fails to notify crew scheduling that he/she is sick prior to being contacted will incur a Sick On Contact. The Sick On contact may be considered both a dependability event in the Dependability Control Program (DCP) and a conduct event wherein the flight attendant will be put on notice that any future misconduct event of the same or similar nature may result in his/her termination.
Reserve Out of Base- A flight attendant is considered to be out of base is he/she is not positioned within one (1) hour of traveling time by surface transportation of the check-in point when he/she is on reserve duty. Effective December 19, 2003, a Reserve Out of Base may be considered both a dependability event in the Dependability Control Program (DCP) and a conduct event wherein the flight attendant will be put on notice that any future misconduct event of the same or similar nature will result in his/her termination.
A flight attendant may be required to speak to a supervisor, a duty manager and/or a medical professional depending on the circumstances surrounding a sick call and, in some cases, he/she may be required to seek medical treatment.
While the above reminders and definitions may be considered extreme by the majority of flight attendants who are dependable and report to work regularly and with the utmost professionalism, the Company finds it necessary and appropriate to address those few individuals who do not meet their obligations as employees. We thank you in advance for your understanding of the need to put the measures in place to ensure we do our part to maintain a reliable operation.
Sincerely,
Sherry Groff
Vice President, In-flight Services
Robert A. Fuhr
Director, Crew Scheduling and Planning
