3.12.21 – APFA ORD Base Brief – April 2021 Allocations

Friday, March 12, 2021

Hello ORD Flight Attendants,

It’s hard to believe it is March, and that we have been living through this pandemic for one year. With vaccines now available, APFA Government Affairs continues to push for Flight Attendants to keep our priority status. We are fortunate in Illinois to be in Tier 1B- essential worker status. Many Flight Attendants are receiving their vaccine throughout the city and surrounding counties. On March 4, ORD became the first station to distribute the vaccine directly to AA employees at the K19 former Flagship Lounge. Call the Vaccine Reservation Center for appointments at 773-686-3234 (0800-1600 daily). Be patient with high call volume.

Passenger demand continues to grow, and we’ve seen our job hours increasing every month. This is good news for Flight Attendants and the Company. We remain cautiously optimistic that the growth will continue or, at least, hold. Let’s not forget the world is still in the middle of a pandemic. All we know is things are changing quickly. Long-term planning, personally and for the Company, is increasingly complex. Our mantra remains: make the best decisions with what you know is true today.

If a steady increase in jobs holds, the days of living in a world with unlimited leave of absence options are coming to an end. We saw this firsthand when only a very limited number of JCBA compliant, unpaid VLOA’s were awarded for April, and no paid leaves were needed. Could this change in the upcoming months? Unsure, and the crystal ball has been a little foggy lately. In the 3/9/21 Crew News, Doug Parker addressed this to level-set expectations. Some Flight Attendants may be faced with tough decisions regarding working in the months ahead. APFA will continue to work in the best interest of all Flight Attendants and respect the JCBA.

Recall of Flight Attendants

A warm welcome to the 2,493 recall Flight Attendants returning systemwide in April, including 397 to ORD. This is excellent news! While the fingerprinting process has been moving along, there will still be about 1,900 recalled Flight Attendants who will not return until May. 98 Flight Attendants were also scheduled to return from leave in April, but we do not know how many chose to extend and take the one-month VLOA for April.

Allocations

The systemwide job hours continue to increase month over month. ORD April 88,034 (last year 133,758) versus March 64,325.  MSP April 1,266 versus March 1,174. The sequence construction is similar to March. We continue to push for a balance in trip length distribution. ODANs are slightly up at 2.4 starts per day.

IPD

The new SEA-LHR route is now scheduled to operate three days a week with passengers. ORD will fly the trip as a 5-day on Mondays in April. The current plan is for the trip to move to LAX when it operates seven days a week with passengers.

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PBS Preliminary Manning Plan – April 2021

Job Hours ORD: 88,034 (April 2021) vs. 64,325 (March 2021)
Job Hours MSP: 1,266 (April 2021) vs. 1,174 (March 2021)

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Remaining April 2021 Bidding Timelines

Thank you for your hard work and commitment to safety. We remain available for questions and feedback. Be kind to one another. Take care and stay safe.

In Solidarity,

Susan Wroble
APFA ORD Base President
(630) 802-2268
[email protected]

Dray Howard
APFA ORD Base Vice President
(630) 215-8410
[email protected]