7.05.22 – APFA CLT Base Brief – August 2022 Staffing and Allocations

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

APFA CLT Base Brief – August 2022 Staffing and Allocations

Good Day CLT Flight Attendants,

We had our monthly call with the Company this week. Here is what you can expect for August 2022:

• Total Headcount: 2,839
• Inactive: 163
• Active headcount: 2,676
• Lineholders: 2,056
• Reserves: 620 (23.2%)
• Expected Line Average: 81.4 hours
• New Hires Flying in August: 40

As expected, there were very little changes planned for the last month of summer. We did see an increase in trips and block hours. We had about a 3% increase in the number of trips and our block hours went from 161,182 in July to 164,111 in August. The Reserve count will include 23 new hire Flight Attendants that will be flying before the end of the month, but will not be included in the PBS run.

Compared to July, the Reserve percentage and the line average are down. When you do a year-over-year comparison, the Reserve percentage is lower, but the line average is higher this year due to the increased flying this summer. 23% of the base being on Reserve is still too high. We don’t believe the systems were ever designed to operate and need this many Flight Attendants on Reserve to cover the system. Something is wrong with the system. Our sick rate has dropped since last winter, so the sick rate excuse they have been using in other bases does not apply to us. When we do our monthly usage chart for Reserve usage, one thing stands out, the number of systems trips that are assigned to our Reserves on a daily basis. The average is 34% of the trips that go to our Reserves on a daily basis are systems trips. This shows that our Reserves are having to pick up the pieces of broken trips that are built into new sequences. Since 60% of all trips touch either Charlotte or DFW, many of these broken trips are out of base trips. This would suggest that more people are placed on Reserve in Charlotte and DFW just to cover broken trips from other bases. This is the overflow factor that we have had concerns with for years. We believe the problem is compounded now that the system is so interlinked and the trips themselves appear to be too fragile. At a time when we would like the reserve numbers to be dropping, they continue to stay at high levels due to a flawed system. It wasn’t long ago that we were told 20% is the new reality, it appears that 23-24% is the current reality. The question is, where will this stop? The Reserve cut off date will be October 2015.

Our trips break down as:

• 1-days will make up 21% of our trips. (Slight increase)
• 2-days will make up 27% of our trips (Slightly down)
• 3-days will make up 22% of our trips (Down)
• 4-days will make up 5% of our trips (Slightly up)
• 2/3-days will make up 13% of our trips (Up))
• 3/4-days will make up 3% of our trips (Slightly down)

The number of ODANs was slightly up, but there were more on the 3 solution/position aircraft, so the actual number was down. There is a schedule change on the back side of August that made it difficult to make ODANs, so there are more of them at the front of the month than the back of the month.

Red Eyes, pink eyes and bullets (all night turns) were all down for August. Much like the ODANs, the schedule changes and aircraft changes have limited how many of these types of trips the computer will create.

Manpower did try and push down on the 3-days, and this led to slightly more 1-days. Remember, it is like a bubble, if you push on one point, it bulges out somewhere else. Most of the trips looked just like June and July, they have not made any significant changes to the trips this summer. The only changes are slight improvements to one or two of the metrics such as sit/connection times or rest breaks. They have been tasked with creating trips that cover the scheduled flying and are using the same model that has been in place since last year. Many of the changes are driven by the computer and outside factors. The anticipated FAR Rest change has been a driving force in creating more overnights in the 12-to-18-hour range, but for August the 18-to-20-hour range was down as the 12-to-16-hour range increased. These types of changes result from the computer taking the flying and creating trips to cover it. These are the month-to-month fluctuations we see within the same season; the large changes are more evident as we move from season to season. September will see a pull down in flying and this is when we will see major changes to how the trips are constructed and distributed.

We are still watching the trend in 30-hour overnights. These types of trips are making up more and more of our trips and pay significantly less. While these are desirable to many Flight Attendants, if they get to be the majority of our trips, it could become problematic as we move into another season. Currently, these make up 16% of our trips.

Here is the August 2022 Bidding Timelines:
August 2022 Bidding Timelines

This has been a rocky summer. Broken airplanes, heavy passenger loads, no supplies, reschedules, delays, cancelations, crowded airports, hotel challenges, COVID outbreaks and irate passengers. Through this, you have remained dedicated and professional. It would be nice if Management acknowledged the struggles we have been feeling rather than insisting we have an image and standards to maintain. Management has done more to harm any standards we had with our passengers this summer than any actions by the employees. It’s time they take a step back and face the reality that they are creating. We need real changes to our business model if we are ever going to rebuild this airline into the powerhouse it once was.

APFA Charlotte is proud of each and every one of you for the job you do every day. It is our pleasure to represent you. Hang in there, and take care of yourselves and each other.

The Charlotte APFA Team

In Solidarity,

Scott Hazlewood
APFA CLT Base President
[email protected]