3.15.21 – Secondary Round of Annual Vacation Bidding Closes Tomorrow

Monday, March 15, 2021

Secondary Round of Annual Vacation Bidding
Closes Tomorrow, March 16

The Secondary Round of vacation bidding will close tomorrow, Tuesday, March 16 at 1200 (CDT). The secondary round allows you to bid for any remaining vacation days not awarded in the primary round of vacation bidding. Additionally, any carry forward days are bid in the secondary round. You may only be awarded from the remaining dates available at your base. You will be awarded at your seniority until all your vacation days are awarded, or the system is unable to satisfy any more of your preferences. All vacation days will be awarded or assigned upon the completion of the secondary round of bidding.

The Final Results of the Annual Vacation Award will be posted on Saturday, March 20 at 1200 (CDT). To view your award details, go to Crew Portal > Monthly Bids > Vacation > Annual > Summary. To view your award details, click on the Show Detail button.

If you have any questions, please email [email protected] for assistance or email an APFA Contract and Scheduling Rep. on duty at [email protected].

Q1: What happens if I cannot hold my vacation bid in the Secondary Round?
A1: The remaining days are assigned in seniority order according to the following logic:

1. Reverse chronological order starting with December 31 through May 2, then
2. Reverse chronological order starting with May 1 through January 1

Vacation days are assigned in blocks of seven (7) days. If you have less than seven (7) days remaining, or there are no seven (7) day blocks left, the assignment is made to the first block that matches the amount of your remaining days. However, based on availability during the assignment process, your remaining number of days may not be awarded as a single block.

Q2: What is a Filler Day and why would I want to designate Filler Days?
A2: A Filler Day is an accrued vacation day that you decide to set aside during the annual vacation bid. You may set aside up to 20% (or a maximum of six (6) days) of your vacation days as Filler Days. These days are subtracted from your accrued vacation days. If you designate Filler Days during the annual vacation bid, you will bid to schedule the days during the monthly Filler Day bids throughout the year. You may want to utilize Filler Days to bid to have a holiday off that you cannot hold in the annual bid or to add one more day to an existing vacation block.

Q3: What is a Vacation Extension (VEX) day?
A3: A Flight Attendant who is scheduled for at least seven (7) consecutive vacation days may elect to place up to a total of four (4) days off (at sole discretion of the Flight Attendant) before, after, or split on either side of such vacation period. The VEX days will act as a pre-planned absence and will carry neither a value for pay nor credit. Such days off will be counted toward a Reserve’s scheduled Golden Days. Such block of four days, or portion thereof, may be extended into the next bid period. Such election shall be honored unless the PBS program cannot produce a solution honoring such election.

Q4: When does the Vacation ETB, Vacation Monthly Rebid (MRB), May Filler Day Bid, and VEX Day bidding open?
A4: The monthly process timeline for the May bid month (beginning of the vacation fiscal year) differs slightly from the remainder of the year due to the annual vacation bid and award timeline. The timeline for May vacation processes is adjusted as follows:

In Solidarity,

Marti McMillan
APFA National Scheduling Chair
[email protected]