For some time now, AFA and the company have had an ongoing dispute regarding the layover facility that has been in use in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  (As a matter of Flight Attendant safety, we won’t discuss the name of the old or the new property.)  It is a hotel that has been used for a number of years.Over the course of the past several years, the number of complaints regarding the property have risen.We have received complaints about the ongoing construction, the inability to rest and overall conditions at the property that do not comply with the Hotel Standards negotiated in our Contract. The current hotel is undergoing renovations involving construction on the exterior of the building which has presented challenges in getting appropriate rest and we have received a number of reports on the lack of cleanliness at the hotel as well as other issues that have the potential to present personal health issues for our Members.

For some time now, AFA has attempted to work with United management to persuade the hotel to address the deficiencies at the property.However, those efforts have not been met with success. 

During the course of the regular sourcing and inspection process in the city, our MEC Hotel & Transportation Committee was not able to approve the hotel because it did not comply with the parameters negotiated in our Contract. During that visit, we also inspected those hotels who responded to a Request for Proposal (RFP) from United expressing an interest in United’s crew business.  

We understand that the disapproval of this hotel property may not be well received because of its favorable location in the city.However, it is also important to understand that our MEC Committee is obligated to ensure that hotels used for the lodging of Flight Attendants meet the negotiated standards – safe, clean, quiet with food availability.Our continued stay at a hotel that does not meet all of these negotiated standards has, as a consequence, a degradation of the standard for the system.

The overall evaluation of the new hotel was the subject of scrutiny by the MEC Hotel & Transportation Committee and the review of the hotel was completed by more than one Member of the MEC Hotel & Transportation Committee - some of whom frequently layover in Sao Paulo.While we realize this is a significant change for those who have stayed in Sao Paulo for a number of years, the decision to disapprove the hotel was not one that was taken lightly but was instead done on the basis of an informed decision ensuring compliance with all negotiated standards.Based on the hotels interested in accommodating United’s needs for hotel rooms for Flight Attendants, we believe the hotel that has been selected as a replacement, while not is the same area of the city, does meet the negotiated standard and we trust you will find to be an improvement over the current property.