1.7.19 – JCBA Changes to Reserve Rotation
JCBA Changes to Reserve Rotation
As 8 new bases transition to PBS in February there are new rules that govern reserve rotation.
There are effectively 3 different types of rotation in the JCBA. If you are unfamiliar with the new rotation provisions, they can be found in Section 12.A.3. Keep in mind that all 3 rotations are “as needed” and your individual reserve rotation depends on your seniority in your base.
Straight Reserve:
A Flight Attendant is eligible for straight reserve the first 12 months after initial training. This begins with the first full month of flying. How is this determined? Take your occupational date (first day of training) and add 40 days to account for the new hire training period. If this date was to fall mid month then your first full month would be the subsequent month.
Example: Your Occ date is 4/5/18 +40 days= 5/15/18. Rounding up your first full month would be June 2018. In this example the Flight Attendant would be reserve eligible for the next 12 months until May 2019 and then move to the next reserve rotation.
1 on/ 1 off Reserve:
Once a Flight Attendant completes their first full year of reserve eligibility, a Flight Attendant will be reserve eligible for 1 month on/ 1 month off for a period of 3 years. To break it down it would be 13-48 months following initial training (see above example).
For the Flight Attendant in the example above, their 1 on/1 off rotation would start with June 2019 and would end May 2022.
1 on/ 3 Off Reserve
If needed as a reserve following the first 4 years after initial training, a Flight Attendant will be reserve eligible for 1 month on/ 3 months off.
For the Flight Attendant in the example above, their 1on/ 1off would end in May 2022. Depending on the status in May, the following would apply:
End 1on/1off Begin 1on/ 3off
April May June July Aug Sep Oct
on off on off off off on
or, since a Flight Attendant cannot be scheduled two months in a row:
End 1on/ 1off Begin 1on/ 3off
April May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov
off on off on off off off on
As with previous reserve rotations a Flight Attendant can Senior Bump onto reserve. This can be for various reasons but it is often used to reset your reserve rotation. A significant change from past rules is that if you have more than 3 days of vacation in a month that you senior bump on to, it will not count as a month of reserve for your rotation obligation.
Beginning with the first month of PBS implementation at your base, the JCBA rotation will be implemented and will cause some flight attendants to revert back to straight or 1 on 1 off due to the differences in the JCBA rotation from the past LAA rotation.
As a reminder, check your LRD (Lineholder/Reserve Designator tool) between the 3rd and 7th every month to verify your status is correct.
And again, this change to reserve rotations transitions in with PBS per the JCBA language. This is not a result of a Letter of Agreement, nor has there been any amendment to this language. You can find additional information on reserve rotation on the APFA website at:
https://apfa-prod.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/reserve-rotation.pdf