Section 11 - Training & General Meetings

SECTION 11 

TRAINING & GENERAL MEETINGS

11.A. DEFINITIONS

11.A.1.

Training means instruction to obtain a skill, knowledge, and/or maintain a qualification. Training includes instruction required by government regulation, e.g., FAA mandated Continuing Qualification (“CQ”), recurrent, and equipment (aircraft) training. Training also includes service training (e.g., international) and training for certain positions (e.g., International Purser FSL).

11.A.2.

General meetings mean meetings of general interest to a group of Flight Attendants, such as workshops, Company presentations, product launch, etc. General meetings do not include personal meetings between an individual Flight Attendant and management, such as meetings covered in Section 23 related to investigations and discipline.

11.B. COMPENSATION

See Section 4 – Compensation.

Trainings and general meetings shall be compensated as follows:

11.B.1.

A Flight Attendant shall receive no less than three (3) hours of flight time pay and credit foreach day of training.

11.B.2.

Home study and Computer Based Training (CBT) assignments shall each be paid one hour (1:00) flight time pay and credit for every three hours (3:00) of home study or training, prorated, based on reasonable times established by the Company to complete the training. In no case shall Flight Attendants receive less than one hour (1:00).

11.B.1.

Note:  Deadhead to training will be paid for full pay and credit. Used to be capped at 5 hours.

A Flight Attendant shall receive one hour (1:00) of flight time pay and credit for each hour of deadhead travel to/from training up to a maximum of five hours (5:00) for deadhead to training and a maximum of five hours (5:00) for deadhead from training or general meeting(s).

11.B.2.

Flight Attendants who are required to drop trips to attend required training or meetings because the training/meeting was not offered on their originally awarded line days off, shall be allowed to elect either to be released from duty with no protection (i.e., their her/his pay guarantee shall be reduced accordingly) for non-training/meeting days where trips were dropped, or to be protected in accordance with the provisions of Section 7.Q. A Lineholder who has elected such protection shall receive full pay and credit for the trip(s) missed, or for the training/meeting plus any credit from reassigned trips, whichever is greater.

11.B.2.

Flight Attendants who require retraining shall not be entitled to pay or credit for retraining, trip(s) missed or additional travel to or from training. Flight Attendants who require retraining shall be entitled to positive space travel and a hotel room if the training is not at their Domicile.

11.B.3.

The above provision (11.D.1.a. B 4 ) for a Lineholder to receive full pay and credit for trip(s) or trip pairing(s) missed shall not apply to Flight Attendants who as a result of voluntary transfers are required to receive training in order to qualify on equipment flown by the new Base, and shall only receive training pay as prescribed in Section 4. by Paragraph B 1 above.

11.B.4.

Flight Attendants who are on Reserve shall receive the flight time pay and credit value of the training pairing toward their monthly line value.

11.B.6.

Rigs shall not apply to any pairings for training/meetings.

11.B.7.

Flight time credit for training and deadhead travel for training will not count towards monthly flight time maximums.

11.B.5.

Should the training/general meeting(s) pairing be cancelled, or a Flight Attendant is unable to attend due to operational circumstances, the Flight Attendant shall be given priority for rescheduling the training/general meeting(s) pairing to any remaining training/general meeting dates in the month, or coming month if none exist in the current month at the location assigned to their base. A Flight Attendant shall not be forced into their Grace Month without concurrence unless there are no training dates remaining in the current month. 

11.C. EXPENSES, TRANSPORTATION, AND LODGING

11.C.1.

Per diem expenses as described in Section 5.A shall apply to all training and general meetings pairings, except that retraining required by the Company is specifically excluded from this provision.

11.C.2.

Flight Attendants will be provided single occupancy hotel rooms for layovers related to training or general meetings, except when a Flight Attendant chooses to attend at a geographic location other than the one designated by the Company. Where available, hotel gainsharing provisions, as provided in Section 5.C , shall apply.

11.C.3.

When Flight Attendants are attending required training/general meetings away from their Domicile, the training/general meetings will be available as a pairing containing deadhead segments to and from the training/general meetings. Such deadhead segments shall be booked in accordance with Section 3.I. Flight Attendants who attend training/general meetings by picking up these pairings will receive per diem in accordance with Paragraph C.1 above, starting with the Flight Attendant’s check-in for the deadhead to attend the training/general meetings and ending with their her/his block-in for the return deadhead segment. Flight Attendants who are attending required training/general meetings away from their Domicile, and who elect to do so without flying such deadhead segments pairings shall receive per diem in accordance with Paragraph C.1. above, from their report for training to their release from training. Except as otherwise provided above, when the Company directs a Flight Attendant to attend training or general meeting(s) away from their Domicile, they will receive fee-waived positive space “must-ride” (PS-5B or equivalent) Company Business passes from either their home or Domicile to and from the training or general meetings.

11.C.4.

Except as otherwise provided in Paragraph C 3 above, when the Company directs a Flight Attendant to attend training or general meeting(s) away from her/his Domicile, she/he will receive fee-waived positive space “must-ride” (PS-5B or equivalent) Company Business passes from either her/his home or Domicile to and from the training or general meetings. When returning to Domicile from such training or meetings, if necessary to return to duty on the same or the following day, the pass will be designated as “must ride.” If a Flight Attendant who is returning to their her/his Domicile is not scheduled for duty in the same day or the following day, and or if the Company elects not to designate the pass as “must ride,” and the Flight Attendant is required to remain at the training/general meeting site for additional day(s) due to any circumstances not in their control, they she/he shall receive three hours (3:00) of training pay as delineated in Section-4 for each additional calendar day(s) that they are she/he is required to remain at the training/general meeting site. For each such day, the Company shall provide suitable hotel accommodations and expenses as provided in Paragraphs 1. and 2. above. The Company will make every reasonable effort to return the Flight Attendant to either their her/his home or Domicile as soon as possible.

11.C.4.a.

A Flight Attendant who becomes ineligible for their next pairing(s) due to being required to remain at the training/general meeting location, or due to other circumstances beyond their control, shall be pay protected for the lost pairing(s), subject to the terms of Section 7.Q., providing the pairing was in their line prior to the event which led to the Flight Attendant becoming ineligible.

11.D. SCHEDULING

11.D.1.

Required training/general meeting(s) shall be scheduled in the form of a “training pairing/general meeting pairing.” Lineholders will be able to select a training/general meeting pairing from available training/general meeting pairings. Such selection through the Company’s computer system shall begin current with the Mutual Trade Window as provided for in Section 7, Appendix A. open time. Training/general meetings for Reserves will be scheduled on Reserve days of availability. Reserves may request to be assigned a training/general meeting pairing on specific Reserve day(s).

11.D.1.a.

Flight Attendants who are required to drop trips to attend required training or general meetings because the training/general meeting was not offered on their originally awarded line of days off, shall be allowed to elect to either be released from duty with no protection (i.e., their pay guarantee shall be reduced accordingly) for non-training/general meeting days where trips were dropped, or to be protected in accordance with the provisions of Section 7.Q. A line holder who has elected such protection shall receive full pay and credit for the trip(s) missed, or for training/general meeting plus any credit from reassigned trips, whichever is greater. The trip to be dropped shall be by mutual agreement with the Company. If the agreement can’t be reached, the trip of least value shall be dropped.

11.D.1.b.

Rigs shall not apply to any pairings for training/general meetings.

11.D.1.c. 

Flight time credit for training/general meeting and deadhead travel for training/general meeting will not count towards monthly flight time maximums.

11.D.2.

When possible, required training/general meeting dates will be available during the general scheduled bid process. In no event, however, shall the Company announce dates for required in-person training or a general meeting with less than ten (10) days’ advance notice, except in the case of training or general meetings necessitated by emergency or unforeseen regulatory requirements.

11.D.3.

Flight Attendants who fail to pick up required training/general meeting(s) pairings by the last day of the bid month prior to the designated dates by the 5th of the month shall be assigned training/general meeting(s) pairings dates.

11.D.4.

Training and general meetings pairings shall be constructed and scheduled in compliance with all rules regarding duty time and rest, as set forth in Sections 6.V. and 6.W. Such rules may be waived by the Flight Attendant; however, in no case may FAR requirements be waived.

11.D.5.

When Flight Attendants are required to travel to training, a minimum fifteen (15) hour rest between scheduled arrival and training shall be provided if the scheduled flight time (whether non-stop or multi-segment with no intervening rest) from the Flight Attendant’s Domicile to another Domicile or city designated by the Company for training, exceeds nine (9) hours. The provisions of this Paragraph may be waived by the Flight Attendant.

11.D.6.

A Flight Attendant returning to her/his home Domicile from training whose scheduled flight time exceeds nine (9) hours, whether non-stop or multi-segment with no intervening rest, shall receive a minimum twelve (12) hour rest prior to her/his next assignment. The provisions of this Paragraph may be waived by the Flight Attendant.

11.D.5.

Each general meeting or training shall not exceed eight hours (8:00) excluding a thirty minute (0:30) unpaid meal break except as provided below. A single day of CQ or Requalification (RQ) recurrent training which is not in conjunction with any other type of training or training day(s) shall not exceed nine (9) hours, excluding a thirty minute (0:30) unpaid meal break. No required training or general meeting shall occur between the hours of 0100 and 0500 local time, except in an emergency or with the concurrence of the Flight Attendant.

11.D.6.

Flight Attendants may choose to attend CQ training in their “early” or “due” or “grace” month as provided herein. With the exception of the “early” month, Flight Attendants who fail to pick up training dates by the last day of the prior 5th day of the bid month shall be assigned training dates, but with no fewer than three (3) seven (7) days’ notice before the start of the pairing. A Flight Attendant may waive the three (3) day requirement. reschedule an assigned training to her/his grace month because of illness, personal emergency, PTO, personal drop, DAT, or cancelation of training.

11.D.6.a.

A Flight Attendant may only reschedule a CQ training in their grace month due to:

11.D.6.a.(1)

Illness, or personal emergency, PTO, personal drop, DAT, or

11.D.6.a.(2).

Cancellation of training.

11.D.6.b.

A Flight Attendant may not be forced to attend CQ training in their grace month due to awarded scheduled incompatibility, but shall be, scheduled in accordance with 11.D.1.a., above.

11.D.7.

Beginning with the 1st 6th day of the bid month, Lineholder Flight Attendants may pick up training/general meeting dates at locations other than the designated training/general meeting location for their Base.

11.E. TRADING

11.E.1.

A Lineholder Flight Attendant may trade training/general meeting date(s) for any open dates in the same bid month or trade with another Lineholder.

11.E.2.

Reserves may only trade to attend training/general meeting(s) on either the first or last day(s) of availability in a Reserve block, with approval from Scheduling.

After a Reserve Flight Attendant has been scheduled for a training/meeting date(s), she/he may trade for any open dates in the same bid month or trade with another Reserve with approval from Scheduling.

11.E.3.

All trades must be completed at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance of the start of any training or general meeting.

11.E.4.

When trading, Flight Attendants must be able to complete all training prerequisites.

11.F.

Flight Attendants are responsible for maintaining their flight qualifications by completing all required training. Failure to do so will result in removal from flight status and may result in release from the Company. For leave of absence and furlough rules, see Sections 15 and 18.

11.G.1.

Flight Attendants may voluntarily elect to attend training/general meetings during their vacation, and shall be paid and provided expenses and transportation as set forth in this Section.

11.G.2.

Flight Attendants who elect to attend training/general meetings while on vacation shall contact the Company in order to schedule the training/general meeting during vacation. The value of the vacation day(s) vacated in order to pick up a training/general meeting pairing will be placed in add pay. 

11.H.

In the event any training or general meeting is canceled or rescheduled, the Company shall make every reasonable attempt to notify the Flight Attendant(s) affected.