Source: Elines

Now that we are in the midst of the busy summer travel season, we want to ensure that we take the time necessary to ensure proper safety checks are completed and, to the extent possible, we are prepared for passengers at the designated boarding times.  Boarding is coordinated between the Flight Attendant in the purser position, the Captain and the Customer Service Representative (CSR).  It’s important that we maintain clear lines of communication with everyone involved in the dispatch of the aircraft.  The Flight Attendant filling the purser position should brief with the CSR to establish a clear understanding of the boarding times based on the aircraft type as listed in the Policy & Procedure Manual.  Because our colleagues in Customer Service work with Flight Attendants from the pre-merger subsidiaries, boarding times differ.  As a suggestion, we recommend that you defer to the information contained in the IBS to establish when boarding begins. 

During the briefing with the CSR, it is important to establish if the inbound aircraft will be arriving late.  If the inbound aircraft is late, Minimum Service Times (MST), defined as the minimum amount of time allocated for an aircraft to be at the gate, applies. MST information can be found in the Policies & Procedures manual.  In these situations, communication with the CSR is essential in order to establish the departure time (and any revision to it as a result of the late arrival of the aircraft.)   The purser should coordinate the planned boarding time dependent upon completion of any required Flight Attendant safety checks.  As we always do, the Flight Attendant crew should be prepared to board the aircraft after the last customer and inbound crew disembark the aircraft to begin our safety checks.  If issues arise that would dictate a delay in boarding the aircraft, the purser should notify the CSR when this is known and ensure the captain is made aware of any issues, if she/he is not already aware. 

There may be circumstances where there are disabled customers requiring special service or additional assistance in boarding, or perhaps several Unaccompanied Minors.  Customer Service may ask for a few extra minutes to board the aircraft and, as we always do, we make every effort to cooperate in attaining an on-time departure. We encourage Flight Attendants to use their best judgement in assessing if early boarding is warranted based on the specific circumstances, the time needed to assist the customer or a large number of disabled customers. It is reasonable for us to expect that the CSR will respect our professional assessment of circumstances on the aircraft and trust our communications with them.  We should be prepared to greet customers at the boarding door with the first customer crossing the threshold of the aircraft door at boarding time.  

Under no circumstances is a jet bridge to be used as a passenger staging or holding area for boarding. In the event it becomes necessary to evacuate passengers while at the gate, the jet bridge is the primary escape route.  Using the jet bridge to stage passengers with their baggage is an unsafe practice that is not supported by standard operating procedures and is to be avoided in the interest of safety for every involved.

If you experience problems in establishing boarding times with the CSR, use your professional skills to resolve the issue at the time it occurs and continue to file ASRS (Nasa’s Aviation Safety Reporting System) reports for any FAR violations caused by early boarding.  It is also helpful to follow up with a call, note or e-mail to your Local Council to advise them immediately if you experience problems with early boarding. 

All Members are encouraged to continue to advise our AFA Safety, Health & Security Committee if you witness or become involved in any change in standard operating procedures that contribute to unsafe work conditions or affect your ability to comply with Federal Air Regulations.