June 25, 2008

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We are pleased to announce that United Airlines has signed a Flight Attendant Reciprocal Cabin Seat Agreement with US Airways effective July 1, 2008, in addition to an extended agreement with JetBlue that now has no expiration date.  This is a step in the right direction as we continue to advocate for improvements to world-wide travel benefits for Flight Attendants.

The agreement guidelines for using open cabin seats on US Airways (.pdf) is posted on our website.  In summary, the agreement provides:

• United Flight Attendants with a crew badge will have access to free, space available economy seating on US Airways flights within the United States and U.S. Virgin Islands effective July 1.
• US Airways Flight Attendants with a crew badge will have similar benefits on United effective July 1.
• Priority on flights will first be given by each carrier to its own NRSA passengers (employees, retirees, buddy pass holders, ID 90, etc.)
• Next, crewmembers participating in Reciprocal Agreements will be awarded space available seats on a "first come, first served" basis.

Cabin seat agreements have become commonplace across the industry and it is long past time for United to join its competitors in offering comparable benefits and commuting options for United Flight Attendants. We appreciate the efforts Onboard Senior Vice President Alex Marren to try to find ways to work with us on issues that are important to Flight Attendants.  This is a positive step, but we have further to go before we have travel options for United Flight Attendants in line with the rest of the industry.

This new agreement with US Airways will become effective in less than a week.  We encourage all Flight Attendants to thoroughly review the Reciprocal Cabin Seat Agreements with US Airways and JetBlue (.pdf) to ensure you are able to fully benefit.

In Solidarity,

Greg Davidowitch, President
United Master Executive Council

More Reciprocal Cabin Agreement information >