The bidding period to add your name to The Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) list is now closed. As we reviewed in the announcement that bidding for the CRAF program was open, CRAF is United’s commitment to support the United States Department of Defense during emergencies when the need for airlift exceeds the capability of military aircraft. This is work that is done by Flight Attendants on the System Seniority List and Letter of Agreement #8 (LOA#8) provides for the rates of compensation, rules and working conditions with respect to the CRAF operations.
In terms of next steps, the company and AFA will meet to confer on the size of the active CRAF list. Please be aware that all information regarding the CRAF list and flights is deemed Sensitive Security Information (SSI) and should be treated as confidential. This includes information about individuals working the flights and departure and arrival times and locations. Disclosure of any information regarding CRAF flights to the news media or social media or others who do not have a need to know should be avoided. Please refrain from all discussion about CRAF flight details in all public spaces and in any on-line forum. We want to keep both our passengers and our fellow crew members safe while we work to protect individuals, aircraft and all operating locations.
Additionally, we want to offer some clarification on the difference between AMC charters and CRAF flights; the differences are very important.
CRAF flights are assigned by the Crew Desk to individuals on the CRAF list. Unlike the AMC charters, these flights are not in open time. AMC pairings are not covered by the CRAF Letter of Agreement and are, instead, covered by Section 10 of the Contract. That the payload and passenger loads on these AMC flights may be similar to what will potentially be carried via CRAF is not germane. The flights we are currently operating are pre-existing military charters that were scheduled on the books prior to the company being notified of the CRAF activation. These cannot be converted to CRAF missions because the positions were not awarded from the CRAF list and the contracts for these flights pre-date the CRAF activation notice.
If you have additional questions, please contact your Local Council Office.