Our contract (Section 29.I. and LOA 34-18) includes provisions that are unique in the airline industry for service on the aircraft: no other Flight Attendant contract has a provision that requires management to sit down with the Union to work out a service that is appropriate to the staffing on the aircraft. However, we cannot unilaterally decide what we will and will not do on the aircraft. These provisions provide us with an ability to modify a service based on the staffing levels on an aircraft; it does not give us the ability eliminate a service or refuse to perform a service.
The Pau Hana Cart was first introduced as an In-Flight product in the early 2000’s. Those who were here may recall that the cart was seen as a source of incremental revenue to offset the cost of passenger meals at a time when no other airline was serving meals between Hawaii and the West Coast. Since then the company has looked at its profitability as a stationary “store” versus cart sales, but never really looked at eliminating it entirely.
The Barclays card was first introduced as an In-Flight product in 2014. Since that time the program has grown immensely due to its profitability both to the company and to individual Flight Attendants. Although the company now requires us to self-train (due to banking regulations) to offer the card, we are not required to participate in the incentive program. However, we are required to play the Barclay video and/or make an announcement (like any other arrival video or announcement) and pass out the apps just like Ag forms, maps, and Shuttterfly coupons.
To summarize we can say that the company is allowed to add or remove services on the aircraft provided it is deemed manageable by the AFA and the company for the staffing levels on each aircraft. Not all of these services are spelled out individually in the contract, but the AFA continuously monitors this issue. If we feel that the company has placed an unreasonable burden on the Flight Attendants by adding a service that is not appropriate to the staffing, your AFA leadership will immediately step in and do whatever is necessary to remedy the situation.