kwri10s

I'm being told by the expense report people and our union contract Enforcement that we are no longer allowed to expense a hotel domestically. Except, as a hotel in leu or as an early check in.

Am I out to lunch on this? We've always been able to delay for up to 24 hours domestically during our travel and expense a hotel. As long as the travel began with in 3 days of the start or ended within 3 days of the end of the paring. I asked Erik at the union where we were supposed to stay during our 24 hour delay, and he said he did not know.

Has this changed?

Adlerdriver

No. You're not out to lunch based on my experience. If our own union CE is telling you this is acceptable than they're the ones out to lunch.

I have at least 9 years of history on this in old expense reports I keep. Any hotel (one night) that I've expensed within 3 days of a trip has always been approved and paid.

I saw that new "in lieu" of button when I filed my last expense report but didn't think much of it. If the company is trying to change this after years of doing it a different way, then CE's response better not be "oh well you're SOL".

There's a lot of BS happening. The company is regularly using non-refundable fares with cancellation and re-booking penalties for the baseline and established fares on foreign carriers. No problem for them to eat the occasional fee. Try deviating on that flight using the standard refundable fares available through global travel and not over-spending.

kwri10s

I've used this for years. For example, Fly EWR to OAK Arrive in the evening; catch the last flight out for ORD or DFW or IAH then get a hotel there. Sleep for the night, then continue home. Put the expense on my report and done.

No more apparently. I understand the company constantly trying to screw us over, but for CE to say this is the first time he's ever heard of someone trying to expense a domestic hotel is just stupid.

Maybe I've just been lucky to have mine approved over the years. 😘😮

MaydayMark

Check out the out-n-back backing lot when you get back and see if you can figure out which Manager got a bonus for saving a few cents?

I'd rather they got bonuses for helping us out ...

MM

Cargo Pirate

I know grievances are a pain and expensive but this is worth one.

pinseeker

Try talking to the grievance chairman. He may understand what you are asking better than the paralegal who doesn't work under our contract. Not saying he doesn't know what he is talking about, it could just be a communication issue. CW, the chairman, will understand what you are asking.

kwri10s

Well got a hold of a pilot in Grievance and was told after he conferred with ALPA legal, that yes, we are not authorized deviation hotels on a domestic pairing. So we have 3 days to complete travel, and we can stop for up to 24 hours at a time, but we are not authorized a hotel. We can travel by train, boat, hired vehicle, commercial airlines, but if you stop for your 24 hour delay, it must be in a van...down by the river.

Not sure where I'll go with this now. I guess I need to build a grievance.

Flaps50

I also got hosed by this, apparently it's based on the trip being domestic/continental or not?? Who knows... All I know is the way this contract has surprised me I am an automatic no vote to changing the retirement unless it's just a matter of increasing numbers! Change the wording and we will see this type of stuff with our retirement too!

Adlerdriver

The only thing that changed in this area of the contract was substitution of the word "non-intercontinental" for domestic and "intercontinental" for international. Other than that, the language is essentially the same. There's really nothing to support a serious change to policy. It seems like just another grab by the company under the cover of a new contract.

If one reads the actual language related to hotel use, the CBA (old or new) has always limited allowable hotel deviation expenses to deadhead trips regardless of whether they were domestic or international.

However, I think most of us who have been around a while know we've always been able to expense at least one night in a hotel within 3 days of any trip.

I used to stop in SEA on my way home from ANC routinely when I had extra bank. I'd sleep there and then continue on my way. The times I did this, I either had a front DH or no DH at all on that trip. I did this year over year and have all my expense reports to prove it.

My point is, I wasn't deviating from DH travel as the contract says. I was simply commuting home from domicile. But I always got the hotel approved when I filed my expense report. If the company has simply decided to tighten their previously loose interpretation of this section, it seems like we should have a lot of folks with a lot of well established precedent to file a grievance.

A new contract shouldn't allow the company the latitude to reinterpret old language that hasn't changed simply because the date on the CBA did.

MEMA300

Every new contract sucks. Let's stop negotiating them.

And what's our 5 year look back win ratio on grievances? Why waste money when we usually know the outcome.