3.06.22 – APFA CLT Base Brief – April 2022 Allocations

Sunday, March 6, 2022

APFA CLT Base Brief – April 2022 Allocations

Good Day CLT Flight Attendants,

We had our monthly call with the company last week to discuss the trips for April. Most of the basic trip construction issues remained flat, with no real improvements. The overall system did have some good news as April will begin the uptick to summer flying.

International Premium Destination (IPD) flying will include 2 daily flights to LHR, continued daily service to MUC and FRA and the upstart of daily service to FCO and MAD. This will be 6 IPD trips back on our schedule. The introduction of the European flying leads to about a 5% increase in manhours to 143,622 as opposed to the 134,266 we have in March. The Company will continue to add scheduled IPD flying but is still limited by the number of wide body aircraft they have. We were supposed to take delivery of eleven 787s that have not been delivered so they are starting with the markets they feel will have the best yield. This has hampered our plans for long haul flying this summer, and they will add as many flights as they can, given the limitations to the number of aircraft we have.

Our trips break down as:

• 17% of our trips will be 1-days – This is an increase from previous months.
• 26% of our trips will be 2-days – This is a slight decrease from previous months.
• 34% of our trips will be 3-days – This is an increase from previous months.
• 5% of our trips will be 4-days – This is a decrease from previous months.
• 8.8% of our trips will be 2/3 days – This is a big increase. 30-hour layovers include ORF, BDL, RDU, MDT, ROC, DTW, PWM, ATL, ALB, SYR, PVD, OKC, BWI, MSP, MYR, BNA.
• 3% of our trips will be 3/4 days.
• 1.8% of our trips will be classic red eyes. This is down.
• There are a few pink eyes and a few more bullets (all night turns) than we have had in the last few months.
• ODANs were down in the actual number of them, but there were more of them because there were more positions on larger aircraft staffed with 4 FAs instead of 3.

 

Look at the ups and downs of the trips month-over-month and you can see the patterns. Think of it as a bubble. If you push on one side of the bubble, it just bulges out at another point. You can see the reduction in 4-days and 2-days pushes the number to the 1-days and 3-days. Pushing on the red eyes leads to more pink eyes and bullets. Many types of trips are directly affected by seasonal changes to the schedule such as the introduction of IPD adds a few 3-days to the numbers. You can also see where a summer schedule or a holiday schedule will have more flying to the islands and leisure destinations. This creates more 1-days in the summer with a decrease in the fall and winter.

ODANs usually make up 7 to 14% of our flying. They are being pushed down to 4% or less. The 2/3 days and the 3/4 days typically make up 2% of the flying. Observe the bubble here, pushing down on the bubble for ODANs has increased the 30-hour layovers to almost 11% of the flying. Look at the destinations for the 30-hour layovers, look familiar? These low frequency cities with only a few flights a day used to be ODANs. While we do not get many complaints about the 30-hour layovers, these trips pay less than a typical 3- or 4-days. This would mean you would have to fly more days to meet the line average. If people fail to pick up these trips, they will be assigned, and this can create more days at work with lower pay. Pushing on the bubble.

The popularity (or lack thereof) of ODANs is directly related to the seniority of Reserve. Typically, more senior people bid and fly the ODANs. When those people are on Reserve, the ODANs are assigned in PBS to people who don’t want them, hence the complaints. Those that get assigned the ODANs drop them into open time and the ODANs end up going to Reserves. Reserves don’t complain about the ODANs because they work with a Reserve schedule when you need to get released early. Typically, ODANs are eaten up in ROTA bids and ROTAD aggressive bids. We have not seen this number of 30-hour layovers, so we have very few complaints on those. Much like red eyes that only pay 10 hours for 3 calendar days, there is still an appetite for these types of trips.

The Company has stated several reasons for the reduction in ODANs, mirrored days with the pilots, the anticipated FAR 10 hour rest change (TO BE VERY CLEAR – THE 10 HOUR REST HAS NOT STARTED YET) and the amount of complaints they receive about the ODANs. Scheduling would also like to eliminate the ODANs for Reserves as this can be an advantage to FAs when they choose to be released after flying an ODAN.

The key to the bubble is balance and this is something we have always advocated. Having a good mix of all trip types gives our FAs more flexibility in making a schedule and holding trips that work for them. IPD is not for everyone, but if they were reducing those trips based on FA or crew schedule complaints, you can see where this would become an issue. A few years ago, they were pushing 4-days out of existence.  While you may not be one to fly 4-days, you can see where commuters were harmed by the decision. We will continue to advocate for red eyes, standalone pink eyes, bullets and ODANs. We do not favor the elimination of any type of trip.

April 2022 Bidding Timelines

Overall, the following basic problems with the trip construction remain:

• Half of the 4-days are not commutable.
• The long sit times are still there.
• There are still 4-leg days (although most of these are 1 days).
• There are a lot of early departure.
• We still see long duty days.

 

The Company has said they have no plans to change soon. The positive trends are the increase in IPD and using historical Reserve percentages and including the new hires in the Reserve counts. This has stabilized the seniority on rotation for the near future.

We will continue to welcome more new hires to our ranks. If you run into any of our newest members, make sure you say hello and give them the warm welcome we always have in Charlotte.

Take care of yourselves and each other.

The Charlotte APFA Team

In Solidarity,

Scott Hazlewood
APFA CLT Base President
[email protected]