First Trimester CBT Completion - Due January 29, 2020 – 8 Days to Complete!
As a reminder, the first Trimester CQ CBT is due no later than January 29, 2020 at 2359 CT. This CBT session is anticipated to take approximately three (3) hours to complete. Once completed, we suggest that you take a screen shot of your completed CBT.
Review information on the changes to the CQ 2020 Program and CQ 2020 Guide at www.unitedafa.org.
Contract 2021 Negotiations SURVEY is OPEN! 
Your Voice Matters! The Contract 2021 Flight Attendant Negotiation Survey is now open. For additional information, please visit our website at
Contract 2021.org
AFA Negotiations Listening Tour Completed for IAD and ORD – Onward to CLE!
MEC Negotiations Committee
Our Negotiating Committee is on the road and has successfully completed the scheduled roadshows in Washington, D.C. and Chicago. The Cleveland Roadshow is tomorrow at the Sheraton Airport Hotel. More information on the AFA Negotiations Listening Tour is available at www.contract2021.org.
Welcome New Hire Class 1931
MEC Communications Committee
On Tuesday, January 21, 2020, AFA welcomed the 76 graduating Members of Class 1931 to the line. Our newest flying partners will be reporting to their respective bases atDEN, EWR and IAH on January 29, 2020 for orientation and will be available to fly on January 31, 2020. Join us in extending a warm welcome to the newest Members of our Flight Attendant community.
United’s Fourth Quarter & Full Year Earnings Reported
United’s Fourth Quarter and Full Year Earnings Live Event will be held tomorrow, January 22, 2020.For more information on our financial performance, please visit ir.united.com. Also, remember that Earnings Live is Wednesday from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. You can find more information about Earnings Live on the company’s website.
United reported fourth quarter net income of $641 million, diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.53, up 50% versus the fourth quarter of 2018, pre-tax earnings of $844 million and pre-tax margin of 7.8%, expanding pre-tax margin 2.5 points versus the fourth quarter of 2018.
United also reported fourth quarter adjusted net income of $676 million, adjusted diluted EPS of $2.67, up 11% versus the fourth quarter of 2018, adjusted pre-tax earnings of $889 million and adjusted pre-tax margin of 8.2%, expanding adjusted pre-tax margin 0.5 points versus the fourth quarter of 2018.*
For the full year, United reported net income of $3.0 billion, diluted EPS of $11.58, up 51% versus full year 2018, pre-tax earnings of $3.9 billion and pre-tax margin of 9.0%, expanding pre-tax margin 2.6 points versus full year 2018.
Finally, United also reported full-year adjusted net income of $3.1 billion, adjusted diluted EPS of $12.05, up 32% versus full year 2018, adjusted pre-tax earnings of $4.1 billion, adjusted pre-tax margin of 9.4%, expanding adjusted pre-tax margin 1.7 points versus the full year 2018.
* Excludes special charges, unrealized gains and losses on investments and imputed interest on certain finance leases. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures are included in the tables accompanying our earnings press release.
AFA Voluntary Supplemental Insurance Benefits Open Enrollment
MEC Benefits Committee
The Open Enrollment period for AFA Voluntary Supplemental Insurance benefits is right around the corner. Once again, Flight Attendants will have the option to secure Voluntary Supplemental Insurance Benefits through one of two brokers, Design Benefits and National Group Protection (NGP) Beginning February 17 through March 15, 2020, enrollment representatives from each of these brokers will be available in hub locations for the entire open enrollment period during the hours of 5AM – 8PM daily to answer questions and to enroll those interested in the following variety of voluntary benefit plans:
· Group Voluntary (Short Term) Disability Income
· Critical Illness with Cancer
· Cancer Policy
· Group Voluntary Accident Insurance
· Group Hospital Indemnity Coverage
· Life Insurance
In addition to the personalized base visits, Flight Attendants will have opportunities to enroll online and via telephone appointments. Additional information can be found on our website at www.unitedafa.org.
Cabin Jumpseat Authority- How to Identify the Number of Available Jumpseats
MEC Communications Committee
Whether Flight Attendants are commuting to/ from work or are leisure traveling, knowing how to determine the number of available open jumpseats helps us plan our travel accordingly.
The Fleet Reference Guide is a chart that displays all aircraft configurations, aircraft numbers, capacity and total number of jumpseats. The Fleet Reference Guide is found in multiple locations:
· Link – Content Locker- Fleet Reference Guide
· Flying Together- My Work- Fleet Guide
· CCS- “Other” tab- SHARES- type “GG JUMP FLEET”
Once the total number of jumpseats is identified, the number of working Flight Attendants needs to be determined for the respective flight number to find out how many open/ available jumpseats there are.
In CCS- SCHEDULE tab, choose CREW LIST from the drop-down menu. Simply input the flight number and the date of the flight you are interested in, then click on the orange “Crew” next to the flight details.
For more general information about Cabin Jumpseat Authority (CJA), review these previous articles:
CJA Authority on Weight Restricted Flights
Cabin Jumpseat (CJA) Etiquette
Revision 31 – Safety Changes Require Our Attention 
Revision 31 has been released and contains a number of significant safety changes. While Flight Attendants are aware of the requirement to review the revision, there are a number of items we seek to bring to your attention and recommend your review as part of the full text revision.
Continuous charging of electronics gate to gate: Passengers are now allowed to continuously charge their portable electronic devices from gate to gate. It is important to note that AFA has voiced our objection to what we view is an unsafe practice and we have identified many risks we believe will present themselves under this policy. To a certain extent, the greatest risk we identified will be mitigated as charging will not be permitted in the exit rows for taxi, take-off and landing. We are seeking a requirement to have all devices unplugged as part of the emergency procedures for cabin preps.
Opening of all window shades- Incorporation of a new announcement (part of the Announcement Booklet) encouraging but not requiring all window shades to be open for taxi, take-off and landing.
Use of the EFAOM for all safety checks –All Flight Attendants will be required to use their eFAOM (available on the LINK device) when preforming all safety checks.
Thermal Containment Bags – Guidance for TCBs (Thermal Containment Bags) has now changed and post flight the bag and passenger information will be delivered to the CSR. This is to ensure there is a process by which the bag is to be removed from the aircraft and to ensure it does not inadvertently fly additional legs before removal.
Engine Run ups- If an engine run-up is being performed at above idle power, all Flight Attendants are required to deplane the aircraft.
Fueling with Passengers Onboard- The regulatory requirement for passengers to unfasten their seatbelts has been added to our procedures. This is aligned with the regulatory guidance for fueling with passenger onboard.
USB port use –USB ports in the crew bunks on 777-200 (E,N and Y) are not to be used as they run on a different frequency which can cause damage to devices and could be a potential fire hazard.
For additional information, please contact your Local Safety Committee.
Job Share “Split” Reminder
Following the award of February schedules, we received a number of questions and concerns from Flight Attendants about the timing of the processing of the line splits for those in a Job Share. Because there appears to be some confusion, we offer the following review:
· Within 48 hours after a line of flying (Primary or VRL) has been awarded, Flight Attendants are required to divide the line using the form available from Help Hub.
· All requests must be submitted by 0800 CT on the 20th of the month for primary line awards and by the 25th for VRL awards. If not submitted by the respective deadline, the company will split the line for you.
It is important to remember that the first opportunity Crew Schedule Planning has to apply the splits to the Job Share line is the morning of the 18thafter all lines have been house kept into the system. Crew Planning makes a diligent effort to process line splits as quickly as possible but there may be times when the processing may affect the timing of a Flight Attendants ability to participate in mutual trades.
Please review the COLA, Job Share and Multiple-Month Partnership Program Overview Handbook which explains in detail how to conduct the line-split on Help Hub, the time frame Job Share partners have to complete the line-split and all other Job Share JCBA provisions.
Novel Coronavirus Outbreak 
January 21, 2020 — The novel coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019, is creating growing concern for air travel. The first known case has now been confirmed in the United States. AFA is contacting our airlines in an effort to put in place information and precautions for crewmembers. We are sharing what we know about the virus now, although health officials are still determining the full implications of the virus and how it is spread.
NOTE: It is important that crew redouble efforts to take the best steps against spread of communicable disease. Review universal precautions in your Flight Attendant manuals.
The virus implicated in this outbreak is part of a large family of coronaviruses that circulate in animals and occasionally cross species barriers to infect humans. Past examples of coronaviruses that have infected humans and adversely affected international travel include SARS and MERS.
Within the past week, there have been reports of deaths due to the virus in China and travelers returning from China and Thailand with infections in Japan, Korea and most recently, the state of Washington in the U.S.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated, “[w]hile originally thought to be spreading from animal-to-person, there are growing indications that limited person-to-person spread is happening. It’s unclear how easily this virus is spreading between people.” CDC also reports that since January 17, 2020 they have begun “implementing public health entry screening at San Francisco (SFO), New York (JFK), and Los Angeles (LAX) airports” and this week “will add entry health screening at two more airports – Atlanta (ATL) and Chicago (ORD).”
AFA is calling on all airlines to institute emergency measures immediately, including providing crew members the latest information regarding the 2019-nCoV outbreak, identification of signs/symptoms of illness (in oneself and others), and procedures to manage potentially ill persons – utilizing information from relevant U.S. authorities including the CDC, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and international authorities including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). We are also encouraging airlines to adopt AFA recommendations from our Communicable Disease Incident Response Checklists.
We will provide additional updates as more information is available. We will continue to press airlines for action on this as we work to keep aviation’s first responders, our counterparts in the flight deck, and our passengers safe and healthy.
New Option of Pre-Check for Non-Uniform Crewmember 
January 21, 2019 — The Transportation Security Administration today announced an expanded option for non-uniformed crewmembers transiting security checkpoints with a crew badge. Crewmembers with a badge may now utilize the PreCheck lines out of uniform. All security screening requirements for PreCheck still apply. Liquid and gel exceptions continue to only apply to uniformed crewmembers
Please note that this is a new procedure that recognizes our trusted status as federally certified crewmembers. The new procedure is being communicated to all airports, but it is possible the new procedures may take a few days or a week to be fully implemented. As always, respectfully question if you receive instruction from a TSA officer that is different than what we have communicated, but always comply with the TSA officer’s instructions.
Non-uniformed crewmembers may still access KCM checkpoints, but please note that random, alternate screening procedures are still in effect at high occurrence rates. This new option for non-uniformed crewmembers is a provision of the overall Known Crewmember program that recognizes our role in aviation security.
We fought hard to be included in KCM program. It is both a privilege as trusted crewmembers and a responsibility as part of aviation security. We all need to work together to ensure it continues to promote security and compliments our work as aviation’s last line of defense.
Continue to follow all KCM program requirements.