Good news from our SIG reps and the build this month. There are no disputed pairings in the LAX bidpack. Thanks to Chip Brown for building, as I hear it was a particularly tough build.

Speaking of bidpacks, you may have noticed that the usual PDF version wasn't available on the website and only individual sections were available to click on in VIPS, making it more difficult to either print the bidpack or to download it for viewing without saving several different files, switching between them to review items. Within minutes of their publication, I began receiving feedback from crewmembers, via e-mail, phone call, and in the crew room. Needless to say, the change was not well received. I phoned our fearless Vice Chairman and SIG Veteran Extraordinaire, Marty Harrington. He had already heard from management that they were no longer planning to produce the PDF bidpacks, but still approached them with these concerns to see if a version could be produced that encompasses the entire bidpack in one file. Just a few hours later, the more familiar bidpack format was back on the website. Thanks, Marty!

Marty also asked management about another interesting scheduling observation. It turns out that Alaska Airlines charges Coach passengers $20 to check a bag, even on tickets purchased through Global Travel. They do not charge First Class passengers to check luggage. The difference between a Coach and First Class fare is only $25 - do you see where I'm going? So, if someone checks two bags, it is more expensive to buy a Coach ticket than it is for a First Class ticket. Marty has requested that a mutually beneficial solution be reached.

With Summer ending and Fall on the horizon, the Pacific winds are growing again. This has the effect of making some of the westbound deadheads longer. For pairings 121 thru 126, the front end deadhead is on Eva Air, which only has Business seating and no First Class. Since the duty period is again over 16 hours, crew members have the option of securing a First Class seat, IAW the CBA. See the below instructions, and if you have any questions, are confused, or haven't done it before, please contact myself, one of our SIG reps, or Sheree, who can work with you to ensure compliance.

You will be getting an email from Global Travel stating that you are booked on an airline that only has 2 classes of service – make sure you keep that email.

If you prefer to go first class, here is what you need to do:

1. Routing MUST be exactly the same – LAX-SYD or LAX-TPE, non-stop.
2. If you change from the scheduled flight your are now deviating and all that entails (i.e. – set up your own ground transportation)
3. Call Global Travel and tell them you want to book first class.
4. You will get the bank for the first class ticket – this will happen when you do your expense report
5. You will need to attach a copy of the email from Global Travel when you do your expense report and make a notation about “first class due to duty time over 16:00 – bank needs to be increased.”
6. See Section 8.A.4.c.iii for more information

Happy Bidding!

Tony Miller
LEC100 Chairman
Anthony.Miller@alpa.org
760-608-0214