Collective Bargaining Agreement

2005-2010

Section 22 -- Filling of Vacancies

SECTION 22
FILLING OF VACANCIES

Transfer Procedure
1. A Flight Attendant desiring to transfer to a different domicile may file in duplicate a permanent bid in writing to her/his Manager of Onboard Service, stating the domicile to which she/he desires to transfer. Flight Attendants bidding for vacancies in domiciles where there is more than one operation may either file a bid for one of the operations or may file a bid for all of the operations at the domicile. Nothing herein shall prohibit two (2) domicile bids from being on file by a Flight Attendant.
2. When permanent domicile vacancies occur, the senior Flight Attendant who has a bid on file will be offered an opportunity to transfer and fill the vacancy. A Flight Attendant may withdraw her/his bid at any time prior to the time offered an opportunity to transfer. However, a Flight Attendant who refuses an opportunity to transfer in accordance with a bid shall not file another bid for a period of three (3) months from the date of refusing to transfer.
3. Upon transfer, the Flight Attendant shall not file another bid for a period of six (6) months from the date of transfer, except:
  1. A Flight Attendant transferred under Paragraph K of this Section may bid back to the domicile from which surplused without having to wait six (6) months.
  2. A Flight Attendant recalled from furlough, under Section 21, Paragraphs B and C, to a different domicile from which furloughed may submit a bid to any domicile without having to wait six (6) months.
4. A Flight Attendant transferred to fill a vacancy shall be available to begin the assignment on the date set by the Company, which shall not be less than ten (10) days from the date notified of the assignment. A Flight Attendant shall be allowed a reasonable period between the time relieved of duties and time required to report at the new location. Such time shall be established in advance and shall be dependent upon the means of travel.
5. A Flight Attendant on furlough status will have any existing bid(s) on file canceled. Upon return from inactive status, she/he may again submit a bid(s).
Moving Expenses
Successful bidders on Flight Attendant assignments to newly established domiciles shall be considered as transferred at Company request and Section 24 (Moving Expenses) of this Agreement shall apply.
Alternate Transfer Procedure
When no bids are on file or are received, the Company may request any Flight Attendant willing to accept the assignment, or may assign the most junior Flight Attendant qualified, to fill the vacancy subject to the provisions below:
1. No Flight Attendant assigned to a Domestic domicile may be involuntarily assigned to an International domicile.
2. No Flight Attendant assigned to an International domicile may be involuntarily assigned to a domicile in any country for which she/he is unable to acquire the necessary immigration approval as provided for in Section 12.C.3. or meet the residency requirements.
Domicile Locations
1. The Company shall advise the MEC President in writing ninety (90) days before establishing or terminating a domicile location. The recommendations of the Union shall be considered by the Company before making changes in the location of domiciles.
2. In the event of the geographical relocation by the Company of a portion of, or all of the Flight Attendants' assignments from a particular domicile, each Flight Attendant affected shall be considered transferred at Company request and Section 24 (Moving Expenses) of this Agreement shall apply. Such assignment must be filled by local bid at the domicile so affected.
Minimum Eligibility
Unless a lesser restriction is determined by the Company, a Flight Attendant shall be eligible to bid vacancies only upon completion of her/his probationary period.
Mutual Transfers
When few or no vacancies exist on the system, the Company shall consider requests by the MEC President or designee that the Company honor mutual transfer requests by seniority.
Moving Provisions
1. Successful bidders on permanent domicile transfers, and Flight Attendants making mutual transfers by seniority with the approval of the Company and Flight Attendants transferring in accordance with Paragraph I of this Section shall pay their own moving expenses to their new domicile location except that the Company shall furnish free contingent air transportation on the Company's system for such Flight Attendants and their spouse and dependents to the extent permitted by law, and shall allow such Flight Attendants to ship up to five hundred (500) pounds of personal effects to the new domicile as space available COMAT on Company aircraft.
2. All Flight Attendants who have been assigned to their initial domicile after Flight Attendant training shall be provided with the following:
  1. Free contingent air transportation for the Flight Attendant and her/his spouse and dependents, if relocating, on the Company's system to the extent permitted by law.
  2. Shipping allowances up to five hundred (500) pounds of personal effects to the new domicile as space available COMAT on Company aircraft.
  3. (1) Free hotel accommodations at the new station for a period of seven (7) days, which may be extended on an individual basis by the Manager of Onboard Service.
    
    (2) The Company will make its best effort to arrange single room accommodations. If an insufficient number of single hotel rooms are available at the designated hotel to accommodate all such Flight Attendants, the Company agrees to make its best efforts to locate and arrange for single room accommodations at other equivalent hotels.
    
    (3) If, however, despite the best efforts of the Company, it is unable to arrange single hotel rooms for all such Flight Attendants, double occupancy may then occur.
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Settling Time & Monthly Guarantee
1. Upon arrival at a new domicile, a Flight Attendant who voluntarily changes domiciles, is involuntarily transferred, transfers to a newly established domicile or is initially assigned will be allowed up to three (3) days at her/his option for the purpose of settling, to be allowed at any time within twelve (12) months of the effective date of the new assignment. Such time may be delayed by the Company for not more than seven (7) days according to the needs of the service.
2. A Flight Attendant who voluntarily changes domiciles for the first time, is involuntarily transferred, transfers to a newly established domicile within six (6) months following the date the domicile is opened or is initially assigned, will be eligible for her/his normal monthly guarantee during the transfer and settlement period. For all subsequent voluntary changes of domicile, with the exception of transfers to a newly established domicile, a lineholder's guarantee will be reduced according to the scheduled flight time lost during the actual travel and settling time, and a reserve lineholder's guarantee will be reduced according to the scheduled days of availability missed during the actual travel and settling time.
Emergency Transfer
When a Flight Attendant desires to vacate her/his domicile assignment for personal reasons due to hardship, the request to vacate shall be considered jointly by the Senior Vice President - Human Resources or designee, and the MEC President or designee, and in accordance with their mutual agreement, a decision may be rendered, permitting such Flight Attendant to vacate the assignment and be assigned to another domicile on a temporary or permanent basis.
Surplus Procedure
1. The Company shall notify and confer with the MEC President or designee at least fifteen (15) days prior to bulletining a notice of surplus.
2. If a surplus of Flight Attendants exists at any domicile, the Company may move any Flight Attendants at that domicile, who desire to move, in order of seniority from the domicile at which the surplus exists or, if none desire to move, the Company may then move the surplus Flight Attendants out of such domicile to other domiciles in inverse order of seniority in accordance with the procedure outlined in Paragraph 3, below, notwithstanding Paragraphs A and B of this Section of the Agreement.
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3. a. A surplus at one or more domicile(s) shall be considered to exist when the Company has posted notice of the surplus on the Flight Attendant bulletin boards at those domiciles affected and all domiciles across the system. The notice will be posted no fewer than forty-five (45) days before the effective date of report to a new domicile and will include the vacancies determined by the Company across the system. The bulletin shall state the number of vacancies if more than one, location of the vacancy and the place where bids are to be sent and the last date on which they will be received. Such date will be a minimum of fifteen (15) days after the date a bulletin is posted.

b. Flight Attendants deemed to be surplus will be permitted to put a bid on file for all domiciles on the system.

c. From the deadline date posted in the notice to surplus Flight Attendants the Company will begin to process transfers from the system on a seniority basis. Transfers will be processed to the vacancies posted in the surplus bulletin up to the posted surplus number.

d. At the end of the fifteen (15) days of processing transfers in sub-paragraph c. above the Company will then process any transfers filed by the Flight Attendants deemed to be surplus which have not been processed under the provisions of sub-paragraph c. above to vacancies at those domiciles posted in the surplus bulletin or to vacancies that have resulted from transfer activity.

e. Any Flight Attendant transferring to fill such vacancy shall be available to begin the assignment on the date set by the Company, which shall not be less than fifteen (15) days from the date notified of the assignment.

f. A Flight Attendant shall be allowed a reasonable travel time between the time relieved of her/his duties until the time required to report at the new location. Such time shall be established in advance and shall be dependent upon the means of travel.

4. a. A Flight Attendant who is declared surplus and is transferred to another geographic domicile shall have preferential right to return to her/his former assignment when a vacancy occurs. Such preferential right shall not exceed five hundred forty (540) days and shall be exercised only for the first opportunity. During the initial one hundred eighty (180) days of such period, the Flight Attendant shall be given unlimited non-revenue space available (NRSA) business passes and two (2) round trip NRPS business passes per month for travel between the domicile to which transferred and the former domicile.

b. A Flight Attendant who is declared surplus and is transferred to another domicile at the same geographic location shall have preferential right to return to her/his former assignment when a vacancy occurs. Such preferential right shall not exceed five hundred forty (540) days and shall be exercised only for the first opportunity.

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Surplus and Relocation Bidding
1. A Flight Attendant who must transfer because she/he is surplus or because of geographical relocation of Flight Attendant assignments may bid to another domicile in accordance with Paragraph A of this Section. If the bid is honored prior to the involuntary transfer, she/he shall be considered as transferred at Company request and the moving expenses shall be paid by the Company (in accordance with Section 24 of this Agreement-Moving Expenses) to the domicile to which she/he would have been assigned if her/his involuntary transfer has been completed or to the domicile bid, whichever is the closer.
2. If after exhausting all of the options under the provisions of Section 21.B.3., the Company requires furloughed Flight Attendants to be recalled to a continent other than the one from which furloughed, the provisions of Section 24. shall apply to the transfer back to the continent from which furloughed.
International Domiciles
1. Unless eligible under Section 24.A.2., a Flight Attendant will receive two (2) round trip NRSA BP-7 passes per month to be used by the employee, spouse and/or dependents during the initial one hundred eighty (180) days after report. After the initial one hundred eighty (180) days, the Flight Attendant will receive one (1) round trip NRPS BP-3 business pass annually in order to conduct personal business at the location of their former residence.
2. The following provisions shall apply to Flight Attendants who must transfer from an International domicile due to governmental restrictions:
  1. The Company will provide one (1) round trip BP-3 NRPS business pass for the purpose of “househunting” to each Flight Attendant, as well as spouse and dependents, between the International domicile and their new domicile or place of permanent residence for use prior to their effective transfer date.
  2. Transferring Flight Attendants, as well as their spouse and dependents, will be provided one (1) one-way BP-3 NRPS business pass between the International domicile and their new domicile or place of permanent residence for the purpose of this transfer.
  3. Flight Attendants shall be permitted to ship up to one thousand (1,000) pounds of personal effects to the new domicile as space available COMAT on Company aircraft.
  4. Deposits on homes, apartments or utilities in the International domicile which are returned to the Flight Attendant will be exchanged into U.S. Dollars by the Company, subject to governmental limitations, if any. The exchange rate will be that used for the most recent paycheck issued prior to the individual’s date of transfer, and will be reimbursed at that time.

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Emergency Transfer: Procedures for emergency transfers.
Moving Provisions: Moving provision information.
Settling Time: Provisions for settling time.
Domicile Surplus: Procedures for a domicile surplus.

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3.	a.	A surplus at one or more domicile(s) shall be considered to exist when the Company has posted notice of the surplus on the Flight Attendant bulletin boards at those domiciles affected and all domiciles across the system. The notice will be posted no fewer than forty-five (45) days before the effective date of report to a new domicile and will include the vacancies determined by the Company across the system. The bulletin shall state the number of vacancies if more than one, location of the vacancy and the place where bids are to be sent and the last date on which they will be received. Such date will be a minimum of fifteen (15) days after the date a bulletin is posted.
	b.	Flight Attendants deemed to be surplus will be permitted to put a bid on file for all domiciles on the system.
	c.	From the deadline date posted in the notice to surplus Flight Attendants the Company will begin to process transfers from the system on a seniority basis. Transfers will be processed to the vacancies posted in the surplus bulletin up to the posted surplus number.
	d.	At the end of the fifteen (15) days of processing transfers in sub-paragraph c. above the Company will then process any transfers filed by the Flight Attendants deemed to be surplus which have not been processed under the provisions of sub-paragraph c. above to vacancies at those domiciles posted in the surplus bulletin or to vacancies that have resulted from transfer activity.
	e.	Any Flight Attendant transferring to fill such vacancy shall be available to begin the assignment on the date set by the Company, which shall not be less than fifteen (15) days from the date notified of the assignment.
	f.	A Flight Attendant shall be allowed a reasonable travel time between the time relieved of her/his duties until the time required to report at the new location. Such time shall be established in advance and shall be dependent upon the means of travel.
4.	a.	A Flight Attendant who is declared surplus and is transferred to another geographic domicile shall have preferential right to return to her/his former assignment when a vacancy occurs. Such preferential right shall not exceed five hundred forty (540) days and shall be exercised only for the first opportunity. During the initial one hundred eighty (180) days of such period, the Flight Attendant shall be given unlimited non-revenue space available (NRSA) business passes and two (2) round trip NRPS business passes per month for travel between the domicile to which transferred and the former domicile.
	b.	A Flight Attendant who is declared surplus and is transferred to another domicile at the same geographic location shall have preferential right to return to her/his former assignment when a vacancy occurs. Such preferential right shall not exceed five hundred forty (540) days and shall be exercised only for the first opportunity.

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Collective Bargaining Agreement

Section 22 -- Filling of Vacancies