SECTION 9
PURSER
A. Application
There shall be one (1) Purser position on each of the following:
1. All international flights except international narrow body flights to and from Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico and the Caribbean.
2. All international charter flights.
B. Filling of Purser Vacancies
In order to provide coverage for flights on which Pursers are required, the Company shall determine the number of Flight Attendants required to be qualified as Pursers at each base, as follows:
1. Operational requirements shall be determined by dividing the number of aircraft hours per month for the flights on which Pursers are required by the average line value for Regular Flight Attendants, assuming there are no flex options at the base as provided in Section 5.E. and 5.F.
2. The number of Flight Attendants qualified as Pursers shall include an additional minimum of one hundred percent (100%) above the operational requirements as provided for in subparagraph 1., above.
3. Prior to the initiation of Purser qualification training classes, the Company shall provide the MEC President and each LEC President with an analysis of the number of Purser vacancies to be filled at the base.
4. Purser vacancies shall be offered in seniority order at each base to eligible Flight Attendants who successfully complete the Purser qualification training program.
5. At least once annually, the Company shall offer additional Purser training as necessary to maintain the number of Purser qualified Flight Attendants up to or above the minimum provided in subparagraphs 1. and 2., above.
C. Eligibility
1. To be eligible for Purser qualification training, a Flight Attendant must meet the following criteria:
a. Have a minimum of one (1) year of active service as a NWA Flight Attendant under this Agreement, and
b. Be projected to be available for active flight status by the commencement of the training process, and
c. Have a minimum of one hundred and fifty (150:00) international and/or Lead Flight Attendant hours flown within the six (6) most recent months of active flight status preceding the application deadline. If an insufficient number of bidders have this qualification, the Company may fill remaining positions, in seniority order, from among those bidders who do not possess this qualification, and
d. Have completed or be willing to complete, if available, other qualification training specific to markets or positions potentially flown as a Purser, and
e. Possess a record free from any formal discipline related to job performance, conduct, safety, or dependability and a satisfactory record of attendance.
2. The Company shall post a list of successful bidders and a waitlist for the Purser qualification training program at each base no later than the fifth (5th) day of the month prior to the commencement of qualification training. Flight Attendants shall have five (5) days from such posting to notify the Company of their intent to decline the opportunity to participate in the Purser qualification training program or to remove their names from the waitlist. A Flight Attendant who notifies the Company before such training commences shall not be considered ineligible to bid for a subsequent Purser qualification training program. At the time the list is posted, Flight Attendants shall be advised of the length of such training.
D. Training and Maintaining Qualifications
All Purser training shall be conducted in accordance with Section 11 of this Agreement, except as provided in subparagraph 5., below. To qualify as a Purser, a Flight Attendant must complete the Company designated training program(s) and pass a specified, objective qualification test(s). The training program(s) and qualification test(s) shall be determined by the Company after review and input from the MEC President, or his/her designee, and the MEC Purser Committee Chairperson.
1. Training dates shall be awarded in seniority order at the bases in which Purser patterns are available.
2. A Flight Attendant who begins Purser qualification training and then voluntarily withdraws from the training program shall not be eligible for qualification training for a period of six (6) months following his/her withdrawal.
3. A Flight Attendant who does not successfully complete the Purser qualification training shall not be eligible to bid for Purser qualification training for a period of one (1) year.
4. In order to maintain his/her Purser qualifications a Flight Attendant must:
a. Complete any Purser requalification training successfully. Such requalification training shall be offered in seniority order by base to Purser qualified Flight Attendants up to the number required under the provisions of paragraph B. of this Section.
a. Complete any other training associated with a Purser flight assignment successfully.
b. Maintain a record free from any formal discipline related to job performance, conduct or safety and maintain a satisfactory record of attendance and dependability.
2. When Purser qualification or requalification training exceeds two (2) days, such training shall be awarded to successful bidder(s) prior to the monthly PBS bidding process. Such bidder(s) shall receive, for pay and credit purposes, four hours and fifteen minutes (4:15) for each day of training.
3. When more than one (1) Purser qualification or requalification class is being offered in a year, the classes shall be offered in a minimum of two (2) months.
E. Withdrawal and Disqualification
1. Upon successful completion of training, a Flight Attendant must serve as a Purser qualified Flight Attendant for a minimum of six (6) months before he/she may withdraw from the program. A Flight Attendant who then elects to withdraw shall notify his/her Base Director or Manager no later than sixty (60) days prior to the effective month of such withdrawal. Once he/she has withdrawn, such Flight Attendant shall not be eligible to bid for Purser qualification training for six (6) months.
2. A Flight Attendant may request to withdraw from the Purser program prior to the end of the six (6) month period due to personal hardship. Such withdrawal shall require the mutual agreement of the MEC President, or his/her designee, and the Vice President Inflight Services, or his/her designee.
3. A Purser qualified Flight Attendant who does not maintain a record free from any formal discipline related to job performance, conduct, safety and a satisfactory record of attendance and dependability shall be subject to disqualification.
F. Scheduling
1. General
When multiple patterns are constructed that cause more than one (1) Purser qualified Flight Attendant to be scheduled on a flight, the Purser Qualified Flight Attendant (PQ) who has been awarded or assigned to the working PQ position on the flight shall work as Purser and shall be paid and credited at the Purser rate of pay. Patterns which contain a combination of PQ and non-PQ segments shall have the non-PQ segments designated in the pattern.
2. Monthly Bid and Award Process
a. Purser patterns shall be designated as “PQ” and shall be constructed as separate patterns.
b. The PBS bidding process shall be utilized in the determination of a Purser qualified Flight Attendant’s bid and award. Such award shall be made on the basis of his/her seniority at his/her base, subject to the following:
(1) The PBS system shall ensure that all Purser flying is awarded or assigned in the monthly bid process.
(2) A Purser qualified Flight Attendant shall not be required to bid Purser designated pattern(s) but may be subject to assignment to either:
(a) Two (2) Purser designated patterns; or
(b) Twenty-five credited hours (25:00) of Purser designated flying;
whichever is less in total credited hours in each month that he/she serves as a Purser qualified Flight Attendant.
(3) Should it become necessary to assign uncovered Purser designated patterns, PBS shall, to the extent practical, assign Purser designated patterns to the most junior Purser qualified Flight Attendants whose seniority warrants holding a Regular line.
(4) A Purser qualified Flight Attendant shall be assigned such minimum required patterns in the event his/her bid is insufficient and his/her seniority warrants such assignment.
(5) In the event a Purser qualified Flight Attendant has carry-in, vacation and/or absence credits which prevents him/her from being awarded or assigned the minimum required patterns, one (1) Purser designated pattern shall satisfy the minimum bid requirement.
(6) If such minimum requirement does not complete his/her line, Regular Flight Attendant patterns shall be awarded or assigned in order to complete his/her line, seniority warrants holding a Regular line.
c. A Purser qualified Flight Attendant whose seniority warrants holding a Regular line and who has not bid for, or been awarded, a full line of Purser designated patterns may also bid Regular Flight Attendant patterns in order to complete his/her line.
d. A Purser qualified Flight Attendant who is unable to hold a full line of Purser designated patterns and/or Regular Flight Attendant patterns due to the criteria set forth in Section 6.C.6. of this Agreement shall be awarded a Priority line provided his/her bid and/or seniority warrants such a line.
e. A Purser qualified Flight Attendant whose seniority is insufficient to hold a Regular line, a Priority line or a Short line shall be awarded a Reserve line, provided his/her bid and/or seniority warrants such a line.
a. In the event PBS is unable to build or complete a line from the bid requests provided by a Purser qualified Flight Attendant in his/her bid, PBS shall optimize his/her line honoring as much of his/her bid requests as practical.
b. Any Purser patterns remaining open after the PBS bid award process shall be placed on the open flying list and shall be awarded or assigned in accordance with paragraph F.3. of this Section.
3. Line Adjustments
a. In the event a Purser position becomes available on a pattern, the most senior Purser qualified Flight Attendant holding a Regular Flight Attendant position on the Flight Attendant crew shall be required to fill such open Purser position. His/Her original pattern shall then be posted on the Open Flying List as a Regular Flight Attendant pattern.
b. In the event a Purser position becomes available on a pattern where there are no Purser qualified Flight Attendants on the Flight Attendant crew, the position shall be posted on the Open Flying List as a Purser pattern.
c. Such pattern shall remain on the Open Flying List until it has been awarded or assigned to a Purser qualified Flight Attendant prior to the Secondary Line Adjustment Period (SLAP) immediately preceding the date of the pattern departure, in accordance with Section 6.K. of this Agreement.
(1) In the event the pattern has not been awarded or assigned under paragraph c., above, it shall be awarded or assigned during the Secondary Line Adjustment Period (SLAP) immediately preceding the date of the pattern departure in the following category order:
(a) Purser qualified Flight Attendant requesting such pattern in CENTRY, in seniority order.
(b) Time available Purser qualified Flight Attendant, in reverse seniority order.
(c) Purser qualified Reserve Flight Attendant, in accordance with Section 7.D.3. of this Agreement.
(d) Regular Flight Attendant requesting such pattern in CENTRY, in seniority order.
(e) Time Available Regular Flight Attendant, in reverse seniority order.
(f) Reserve Flight Attendant, in accordance with Section 7.D.3. of this Agreement.
(2) In the event the pattern is not awarded after the last line adjustment period for the day on which the pattern is scheduled to operate, it shall then be assigned in accordance with the provisions of Section 6 of this Agreement.
d. Open Purser positions which are not filled through the process above shall be offered during the predeparture briefing as follows:
(1) In the event there are no Purser qualified Flight Attendants on the flight, the Purser position shall be changed to a Lead Flight Attendant position and filled in accordance with the provisions of Section 6.Q. of this Agreement.
(2) In the event there is one (1) Purser qualified Flight Attendant on the flight, he/she shall fill the Purser position.
(3) In the event there are two (2) or more Purser qualified Flight Attendants on the flight, the Purser position shall be offered first (1st) in seniority order and then assigned in reverse seniority order.
(4) A probationary Flight Attendant shall not be assigned to the Purser position. When the entire crew of Flight Attendants are probationary Flight Attendants, the most senior Flight Attendant shall assume the Lead Flight Attendant position.
e. The provisions of Section 6.G.4. of this Agreement shall apply to Purser qualified Flight Attendants except that a Purser qualified Flight Attendant may not trade a Purser pattern for a Regular Flight Attendant pattern unless he/she is trading a pattern with another Purser qualified Flight Attendant.
4. Rescheduling of Flight Attendants shall be made in accordance with the provisions of Section 6.L. of the Agreement except that a Purser qualified Flight Attendant may be selected, or bypassed, for rescheduling to ensure that a Purser position remains filled. Such rescheduling shall be offered in seniority order and assigned in reverse seniority order. When a Purser or a Purser qualified Flight Attendant who is part of the common crew is rescheduled, the remaining crew members shall maintain their common crew status.
G. Vacations
1. A Purser qualified Flight Attendant shall be eligible to bid in accordance with his/her seniority at his/her base from a common vacation allocation pool in accordance with the provisions of Section 10 of this Agreement.
2. A Purser qualified Flight Attendant who is paid five hundred and twenty-five Purser credited hours (525:00), excluding vacation, in any Purser position in the previous calendar year shall be eligible for Purser pay for his/her vacation(s) in the subsequent year. The vacation Purser rate paid shall be an average of the rate paid for the total number of credited hours flown as Purser on wide body aircraft and the rate paid for the total number of credited hours flown as Purser on narrow body aircraft in the previous year.
H. Transfers
1. Voluntary and involuntary transfers shall be accomplished in seniority order by base regardless of Purser status.
2. A Purser qualified Flight Attendant who transfers to another base shall be able to exercise his/her Purser qualification even if he/she is junior to the most junior Purser qualified Flight Attendant at his/her new base.
B. Convenience Leaves
A Purser qualified Flight Attendant shall be eligible to bid in accordance with his/her seniority at the base from a common convenience leave pool and in accordance with the provisions of Section 18 of this Agreement.
C. Compensation
In addition to their base pay and reserve guarantee (if any) and incentive pay (if any), Purser qualified Flight Attendants shall be paid for hours flown and credited when actually serving as a Purser qualified Flight Attendant as provided in Section 3.F. of this Agreement.