Under new Sideletter N, American Eagle acknowledges that due to unusual work-related duties, a Flight Attendant may reach a point where she/he believes that her/his physical state has deteriorated such that she/he could not safely perform work-related duties during flight.  When this circumstance arises, you will now have the opportunity to call in “fatigued.”

Here is the procedure:

1.                  You sincerely believe that you cannot continue to safely perform your work-related duties.

2.                  Call the Captain of the flight and Crew Scheduling.

3.                  The Company will remove you from the trip without pay.

4.                  The Absence Code will be denoted “UA.”

5.                  You must follow up with your supervisor to explain the situation.

6.                  If the Supervisor believes that your situation constitutes a bona fide case of fatigue, the absence code will be changed to “NF.”  The occurrence will not be counted as an attendance occurrence.

7.                  If the Supervisor does not believe that the situation constitutes a bona fide case of fatigue, the absence code will be changed to “MA.”  An MA means Missed Assignment and the event will be counted as an attendance occurrence.

On a quarterly basis, the AFA MEC Grievance Chair will meet with Eagle Management to review the fatigue calls in which the Flight Attendant’s absence has been coded MA and the Flight Attendant has notified AFA that she/he intends to challenge them.

During this meeting, circumstances surrounding the call are examined.  While the Union does not “vote” as to whether or not an absence should be coded NF, AFA will act as an advocate on the Flight Attendant’s behalf.

A couple of important points to remember:

1.                  For a fatigue call to be considered bona fide, all the facts and circumstances of the individual trip sequence will be examined.  Unusual or unanticipated events will increase the likelihood that an absence will be coded NF.  A routine trip, with no events out of the ordinary will decrease the likelihood of receiving the NF code.

2.                  The burden is on the individual flight attendant to provide the information for the Fatigue Review Committee to consider.  Be as thorough as possible with your explanation.

We have attached a form below for you to complete and submit to AFA describing all the facts and circumstances of the incident.  Please complete the form and submit it. You will be notified of the outcome after the Fatigue Committee has reviewed the incident.   

Once you have been notified that the absence will not be considered as a fatigue call, you may contact a Local AFA Representative and file a grievance to further challenge management’s decision. Remember that pursuant to the terms of the contract you have thirty days to file a contractual grievance.

Note: ALL form fields MUST be completed in order to process your request. When adding legs on the form, please add a space between each leg by using your "enter" button.