11.03.22 – APFA MIA Base Brief – December 2022 Staffing and Allocations

Thursday, November 3, 2022

December 2022 Staffing and Allocations

All,

The total headcount in Miami for December will be 3,333. Last December the headcount was 2,904. We are just about 500 heads shy of where we were prior to COVID. Miami will continue to grow as we are adding 167 new hires who will report prior to the start of the month. We expect to get large numbers of new hires reporting to Miami each week through the remainder of the year. I have been advised that the Company plans to continue hiring Flight Attendants through 2023.

Reserve numbers are projected to increase 6% from November and decrease 3% from last December. Total required Reserve heads will be 737 representing 23.5%. Coverage will be bottom heavy with Christmas Eve falling on a Saturday. Reserve coverage will increase over over the holiday period as well as the last three days of the contractual month. Aside from the holiday and block hours driving up the reserve numbers, key drivers also include weather/IROPS/ATC, emergency leaves after bids, sick calls, legalities, open time building, and unscheduled aircraft out of service. Additionally last December the Holiday Incentive reduced the sick volume significantly, and there is no metric to determine if the new Holiday pay this year will mitigate the absentee rate. So last December was not used when determining the Reserve percentages.

There will be a schedule change on the 15th with flying ramping up through the 23rd. The schedule will see a significant pull down of flying the 24th, 25th, and 31st representing up to 20% less flying originating on those days. This will reduce the number of layovers on those days specifically the additional 24 hour layovers we have seen in past years. Flying will ramp up in between those days and continue though January 9th. The winter season will then begin on January 10th.

GRU will operate two daily departures on the 777-300 and 777-200. The earlier departure will have a 16 hour layover, and the later departure will have a 35 hour layover. Beginning on the 15th GRU will add and additional daily departure on the 787 with a 25 hour layover. LHR will have two daily departures on the 777-200 each with a 24 hour layover. EZE will operate daily on the 777-200 with a 37 hour layover and add an additional departure mid-month on the 777-200 with a 24 hour layover. MVD will operate three times weekly and beginning on the 15th will operate daily on the 787 with a 37 hour layover. GIG, TLV, CDG, MAD, BCN will all operate daily on the 787-8 with layovers in excess of 24 hours.

Daily wide-body turns turns include PHX, CLT, DFW, and LAX.

JFK will operate half the month on a 777-200 with HAV on the front end. LAX will operate a 777-200 beginning on the 15th which goes through CLT.

Narrow-body turns:

DCA, LGA, BNA, SJU, MEX, STT, UVF, SDQ, MEX, STT, PAP, SKB, SVD, GND, BON, SXM, CUR,AUA, ANU, CTG, LIR, XPL, SAL, MDE, BON, PEI, CMW, RTB, BZE, SCU, BAQ, BOG, PHX, DEN

ODANS:

ATL, RDU, MCO, BNA, TPA

Total block hours for December 2022: 189,146

• MIA: 175,779
• ATL: 1,992
• FLL: 5,964
• MCO: 2,468
• PBI: 2,943

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PBS Bidding Tips in a Holiday Month

With the holidays upon us, bidding for the holiday season may require a different bidding strategy than what is necessary during other times of the year. Below are some tips when bidding during this time of year. As with any bidding strategy, it is important to keep in mind your relative seniority at your base.

Bidding Days Off as Lineholder

If having certain days off is important to you, the fewer properties you bid are often better. The more properties you add to your bid, the more it could decrease the number of trips in your pairing pools. You may want to bid all the days off you prefer in layer 1, remember all pairings that touch those days off will not be included in your pairing pools. Then bid fewer days off in each layer after that. If you were to bid the same days off in every layer, you are still keeping the pairings that touch those days off out of your pairing pools. By bidding fewer days off in later layers, you increase the pairings that PBS can award you.

If you do not bid enough pairings, you will be awarded pairings from outside of your pairing pools (PN). This may include any pairing on your requested days off. As a reminder, any bid for a specific pairing will override a request for an off day.

It’s important to realize there is a chance your seniority will have required coverage dates (CN) over the holidays. Relaxing your day off bids will help you by allowing PBS to award a trip from your pairing pool versus a trip you did not bid for.

Bidding Trips Over the Holiday

The age-old question is, “should I bid trips over the holiday just in case?” In a holiday month, it is crucial to understand your seniority and bid accordingly. If you are relatively junior in your base, you are very likely to work the holiday. If you have not had to work over the past holidays, this year may be a very different year. Do not try to avoid it. It is best practice to bid for something in your final layers that you would like to fly close to the holiday or touch the actual holiday.

Distribution of Open Time

The open time distribution logic (Half Month Max), when PBS is processing bids, can be triggered when there is an uneven distribution of flying in the month combined with Flight Attendant bidding behavior. It is usually only applied in holiday months, because most flying is in the last half of the month, and most Flight Attendants bid to work the first half of the month. The logic spreads out the open time throughout the month, rather than all of the open time being concentrated around the holiday.
If the Half Month Max logic is applied, the number of hours awarded for a specified number of days will be capped by the logic at a specific seniority. Depending on the open time for December, there may be a cap of 35 hours in the first 15 days in some bases for example.

When bidding in holiday months, you may want to consider how this cap could affect you if you are bidding high time and bid to allow waivers, the majority of hours could be awarded in the second half of the month. If you choose waivers, please be aware you may be awarded the majority of your hours in the second half of the month.

Holiday Bidding for Reserves

During a holiday bid month, to ensure you have the best chance of receiving the desired holiday off, it is important to remember that all day off bids in a layer are considered equal. This is why it is important only to bid the most desired day off in your first layer. If PBS can award you the day off, it will. Keep in mind, if you request two days off in a layer and the system can only award one or the other, you may not be awarded the holiday off in order to be awarded the other requested day off. PBS does not prioritize days off within a layer. PBS logic will attempt to protect the 25th, and this logic ensures the most junior Flight Attendants will be required to cover that day.

Multiple Reserve Coverage Dates

Often, holiday months have multiple coverage dates imposed due to required staffing and bidding behavior. PBS will attempt to award a line working all of the applicable coverage dates. If a legal reserve line cannot be built that covers all coverage dates, designated holidays are the highest priority. A junior reserve will only be awarded a day off on a designated holiday if their planned absences create an illegal reserve line (e.g. SA days and/or training the six days before the designated holiday).

In Solidarity,

Randy Trautman
APFA MIA Base President
[email protected]

Heidi Morgan
APFA MIA Base Vice President
[email protected]