5.28.21 – Monthly Vacation Buyback Available for the July Bid Month

Friday, May 28, 2021

Monthly Vacation Buyback Available for the July Bid Month

We anticipate this to be a busy summer of flying for our Flight Attendants. Demand for air travel is increasing dramatically, and the Company is ramping up our summer operation in response. As a result, the Company will open Monthly Vacation Buyback for the month of July per JCBA Section 8.F.2. This will give our members who were not awarded Annual Vacation Buyback the option to be paid out for July vacation hours. Vacations that originate in July and carry from July through August are eligible for this buyback option. Vacations that originate in June and carry into July are not eligible. Vacations that are completely in July are eligible.

Per the contract, the Company may make the vacation buyback available by base. What this means is it’s possible some bases may see little or no buyback. We want to be as transparent about this aspect as we can.

Monthly Vacation Buyback for July opened Friday, May 28th, at noon CT, and will close on Friday, June 4th, at noon CT. You may submit a ballot via the Vacation Management System (VMS) on Crew Portal. Buyback awards will be posted by June 5th.

Once in the Vacation Management System, select the ‘Vacation Actions’ Tab:

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Monthly Vacation Buyback awards will be posted in the monthly buyback tab in VMS. If you are awarded vacation buyback, the designated vacation days and any VEX days attached will be removed and you will be able to bid trips on those days in PBS.

Here’s the fine print:

• Vacation buyback will be paid during the normal pay cycle at your pay rate, excluding premiums.
• Blocks of seven (7) or more days will be paid at four (4) hours per day. Blocks of less than seven (7) days will be paid at three and one-half (3.5) hours per day.
• If you were considering changing your Reserve Rotation, but could not because of your July vacation, this may be a good opportunity to use the Monthly Vacation Buyback and then bid onto Reserve. (If you have more than three days of vacation in a contractual month AND you bid onto Reserve that month, it would not count as your rotation per JCBA Section 12.A.3.b.)

In Solidarity,

Jeff Petersen
APFA National Contract Chair
[email protected]

Marti McMillan
APFA National Scheduling Chair
[email protected]

Renée Mayer
APFA JCBA Specialist
[email protected]