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What good is PPT if we can't use it?

One of the best things about being a Flight Attendant is the flexibility. Or at least it used to be.

Management has slowly chipped away at our flexibility as Delta Flight Attendants – without our input. Biweekly pay forces us to fly more often in order to get a paycheck.

Our flexibility is further eliminated with the lack of awarded PPT.

PPT in December was awarded for only 45% of requests this year, making the seniority cut-off as high as 26 years in some bases. Even after hiring thousands of new Flight Attendants who we are all helping to welcome and train on the job, we were only granted a total of two months of 100% SPT in March and April.


Management sells our 56 hours of PPT as a benefit. But what good is a benefit that can’t be used by half the workgroup or more?

Some Flight Attendants converted a week of vacation into PPT: “I thought since I could not hold the time off as a vacation week, but I historically could as PPT, it was a smart move. Nope. I haven’t been awarded a single day of PPT all year. I basically lost a week of my vacation. Never again!”

This wouldn't happen with a union contract. We need to know what we can count on.

After a Flight Attendant rolls over a certain amount of PPT it becomes “certified time” that one would lose if you separate from the company. So if you aren't calling out, and aren't awarded PPT, you may completely lose the hours. This is a real bait and switch by management. Most state laws require a company to pay out vacation because you earned it! It's like stealing if management keeps your money on a technicality.

We are human beings with families and obligations. Management likes to blame unscheduled absences for our staffing issues, but decreasing our flexibility has the consequence of making it harder for us to help cover our trips when life happens. Some things can’t be moved. By not awarding PPT at the same rates they have in previous years or proportionate to our current staffing and operation, they have created a cycle that we have to struggle to manage.

We need a PPT program that is actually usable (not to mention a real, defined sick policy)! As Flight Attendants, we know what will fit our lives best. When we negotiate our first contract, we can propose a system that works for us and for the operation. And when we get our contract we'll know how everything works with protections in black and white.

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In Solidarity,

Your Delta AFA Organizing Committee