1.04.22 – APFA DCA Base Brief – February 2022 Allocations

Tuesday, January 4, 2022

February 2022 Allocations

For February’s allocation update, we would like to take some time to let you know that your base leadership does identify the reality and the consequences of our undesirable DCA trip construction, flexibility, and quality of life.

We have been vocal with management about change for many months, joining our national and other base leadership.

This starts with the Company’s need for a higher projected monthly Reserve headcount, causing an unreasonable monthly Lineholder average and constraints. The fewer amount of Lineholders in the solution, the more restrictions are applied.

The more Reserves, the more restrictive the PBS solution is, causing the Lineholders to have restraints during processing. The PBS system has had constraints at certain seniorities for several months throughout the processing. We can see this when our number one Flight Attendants in our base is held to a minimum constraint of 70 hours, we definitely have a problem.

We have contract language that offers PBS high-low bidding, vacation low, and a flexible amount of days off. All of which has constraints, and due to these constraints, we are not awarding a quality of life monthly schedule to most of you. Flight Attendants are afraid to bid high because the post-PBS flexibility is nonexistent. In most cases, Flight Attendants become stuck with the trips and have very little room for drops or trip improvement. Also, Flight Attendants not bidding high affects those who would like to utilize their seniority and bid low. This also holds the percentage of vacation low awarded to a minimum.

We have vocalized the need for less Reserves and lower line averages for months.

In DCA we have seen the amount of open time left over after PBS runs as much as 3-4 %, which starts the month out with too much restrictive time in TTS, causing the daily and monthly limitations to reach and stay at the 3% maximum quickly. We hear from you month after month that TTS has no flexibility and ETB has numerous pages of trip drops causing no movement and affecting your quality of life.

Now let’s tie in the miserable trip construction causing fatigue and discomfort, COVID, passenger abuse, to name a few, and we have a recipe for disaster. If a horse stumbles coming out of the gate, they never catch up. We start with the wrong formula, and in the end, it has its consequences. The time has come for changes, and your feedback and vocal prowess must be heard. As we say, “We the People,” it’s time the people are heard.

When PBS processing begins, if additional Lineholders are needed, those with Reserve status will be changed to Lineholder status in the following order:

1. Tentative Flight Attendants who were involuntarily moved to Reserve status.
2. Reserve Flight Attendants who toggled to Pref LH in the LRD who were unable to hold Lineholder status in LRD.
3. Most junior Reserve Flight Attendants involuntarily moved to Lineholder status after all the above have been utilized.

 

***Important***
If you are in one of these 3 categories above, you will want to bid
7 layers of Reserve and 7 layers of Lineholder in PBS

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• DCA: 29,476 flying hours (-2544 month-over-month)
• IAD: 2,473 (+911)
• BWI: 2,512 (-11)
• 34,461 Total Flying Hours (DCA, IAD, BWI) (-1354)

 

February will see new hires from the initial training class 22-01, at this time we do not have those numbers but additional Reserve Flight Attendants should join the base mid-February but will not be able to bid in the LRD and are not reflected in the above numbers.

February will co-pair Flight Attendants and Pilots when flying through hub cities of CLT,DFW,ORD and PHX between the hours of 9am and 8pm, to correct misconnects and delays due to waiting on late arriving crew members

Final Notes for the DCA Base:

• 701 combined sequences (DCA,IAD,BWI)
• 188 MAX Sequences
• No red eyes
• No PHX Pink eyes
• NIPD RON’s : AUA, BDA, BGI,CUN,CUR, GDL, KIN, MEX,PUJ,QRO,SDJ,STT,STX,UVF
• 52% sequence report before 8am
• 43% sequence release after 8pm
• Sit times are STILL a problem, we are not getting any movement to reduce
• 1-BOS ODAN
• 1,2,3,4 day trips maintain same % as last month

 

February 2022 – Reserve System Seniority

We hope to stay Optimistic and positive this new year and have our collective voices make a difference.

Be kind and understanding of each other!

In Solidarity,

John Pennel
APFA DCA Base President
[email protected]

Dianne Britton
APFA DCA Base Vice President
[email protected]

Lisa Barnes
APFA DCA Base Council Representative – Allocations
[email protected]