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Much confusion has stemmed from the verbiage ‘virtual
base’. Many Flight Attendants have confused this term to mean ‘base’ ,
‘domicile’ or ‘hub’. The Virtual Base is actually none of these.
The easiest way to clarify virtual base is to acknowledge
what it really is: trips that begin and end in Orlando, Florida.
Nothing more and nothing less. The Flight Attendants that bid into the
MCO and TPA Virtual Base are actually trading off the perk of flying in and out
of their home state in lieu of using a crash pad in ATL, commuting to
ATL and finding transportation to and from a crash pad in ATL. The
bottom line is this- the concept was mutually agreed upon by both the
AFA-CWA Negotiating Committee and the Company- and essentially it is the
concept to accommodate the Florida pool from having to commute to ATL.
Your ‘commitment period’ is recognized by the Company as
a tool in which to see how many Flight Attendants the Company can
utilize in MCO for a three (3) month period. This does not guarantee,
however, that all F/As will be utilized and that some will not opt to
bid ATL certain months if there are not enough lines built in MCO and
TPA.
The Reserve coverage in MCO and TPA is NOT based upon reserve
coverage in ATL. However, if there are excess reserve F/As in ATL for a
particular month, it is possible that the Company will redistribute them
to sit reserve in virtual bases, but this is not a guarantee.
The bottom line is this- the virtual base is not a base. It
is recognized lines of flying that begin and end in MCO and TPA as opposed to
ATL. The record of domicile for ALL AirTran Flight Attendants is
Atlanta, Georgia.
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Council 57
AirTran Airways
www.afaairtran.com
Ask the Union 
