5.08.24 – APFA DCA Base Brief – June 2024 Staffing and Allocations

June 2024 DCA Staffing and Allocations

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Tomorrow, May 9th from 11 am – 1 pm

1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC
(near the Renwick Gallery)
Click here for details…

Call Your U.S. House Representative TODAY!
Urge them to Sign the Letter to the National Mediation Board!
Click here to get started…

The Railway Labor Act ( RLA) was intended to facilitate prompt resolution of Labor disputes however our negotiations have dragged on for far too long, workers under the RLA should be allowed to exercise our rights to strike, this letter is about fixing a fundamental flaw at the National Mediation Board (NMB) in regard to resolving disputes promptly as intended under the Railway Labor Act!

APFA DCA Base Brief – Taking Our Fight to the Top!

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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 whose preference was Lineholder in the LRD process.
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: 44,084  (+2970)
• IAD: 2,271 (+327)
• BWI: 2,849 (-110)

49,204 total flying hours (DCA, IAD, BWI) (+ 3187 hours month -over-month) (+ 2358 year-over -year)

• June will not be a flex month.
• The contractual targeted credit range default is 70 to 90 with an opening line average of 83.9 hours.
• No unpaid VLOA’s for June.
• DCA Reserve seniority for June begins at System Seniority 24,322 with OCC date of February 02, 2023
• 49 total new hires total of which 22 will be in PBS for bidding and 27 will not be bidding but will be assigned a reserve line.
• Reserve percentage is up 2.4% compared to June 2023 with an increase of 17-line holders over June 2023.
• The overall headcount year-over year has increased by 50 Flight Attendants.

June Events and Timelines

June 13: Worldwide Picket Event (more information coming soon)
June 16: Father’s Day
June 19: Juneteenth

Allocations Notes for June:

• + 3187 block hours over May 2024
• 847 sequences
• Increase in ODANs for June by 3 positions per day (BGR, BOS, BTV, LGA, PIT, PWM RDU)
• LAX high time turns operating 29 days.
• LAS high time turns operating 3 days.
• PHX ‘pink eye’ sequences operating 30 days.
• BWI DFW turns operating 4 days.
• BWI-ORD-CLT-BWI one day sequences operating 3 days per week.
• 2 charter/honor flights 13150 and 13169
• 107 sequences with 3+ hour sit time.
• 7 Spanish speaker positions
• 60 NIPD sequences out of DCA with layovers BDA, CUN, KIN, NAS, POS, SLP
• NAS turns operating out of DCA 30 days.
• BDA turns operating out of DCA 27 days.
• Canada turns within sequences 1-YYC and 13-YYZ.
• 124 737 MAX sequences

Last month, we had a PBS constraint of 78 hours starting at base seniority 266 or system seniority 13,750. In June 2023, we had a constraint of 78 hours starting at system seniority 1964.  This June, we are up 2358 block hours from last June with only 17 more Lineholders at the opening of PBS. This leads us to believe that the constraints could be more senior this month over last month’s, keeping in comparison to June 2023.  Keep in mind that constraints and forced time have two direct factors: 1- the amount of Lineholders vs Reserves in PBS.  2- the bidding habits of the Flight Attendant workgroup. PBS must cover the open time by leaving no more than 3 % of the time after processing. The more high-time bidders allow more low-time bidders and keeps others at line average or below. This mixture has not been consistent, causing the PBS constraints.  We have been big advocates of less Reserves and more Lineholders to help with the forced time but each month the company does the opposite siting the need for more reserves to cover the operation. Hopefully, we can eventually find a balance.Taking a Stand on Allocations!

We expressed our shared frustration with the quality of trips in DCA, BWI, and IAD. We urged representatives of American Airlines’ allocation department to visit us in DC for a discussion on improving trip quality, offering a better variety of layovers, more commutable trips, a limited number of legs per day, more consistency with one- and two-day sequences, and exploring possibilities for widebody and international flying. The company agreed, and your local APFA leadership will meet later this month with the company representative.

As you may recall, we surveyed you late last year about your desires, and we will share these numbers with management.

Click Here for the Survey Results

We will create a one-click petition for you all to sign to let management know you have had enough of the trip construction and lack of flexibility in DCA!

If you’d like to share your concerns with us to help us better understand your perspective, please e-mail [email protected]. More to follow!

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Scheduled Duty Days:

• <8 hours: 47.5%
• 8-10 hours: 27.1%
• 10-12 hours: 22.6%
• >12 hours: 2.8%

Scheduled Legs in Duty Day:

• 1-leg: 31.7%
• 2-legs: 50.3%
• 3-legs: 16.5%
• 4-legs: 1.5%

Scheduled Layover Rest:

• < 11 hours: 0.3%
• 11-12 hours: 5.2%
• 12-14 hours: 28.4%
• 16-18 hours: 17.4%
• >24 hours: 10.4%

Scheduled Sit Times:

• 2-2.5 hours: 10.7%
• 2.5-3 hours: 9.0%
• >3 hours: 3.2%

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June 2024 Bidding Timelines

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June 2024 System Reserve Seniority

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A New Document in Comply365 Requires Your Attention

In response to recent incidents and AA’s action plan with the FAA, a required Read and Acknowledge is being issued and is now available in Comply365.

What you need to do: Carefully review the document posted in Comply365 and follow the steps listed below to formally acknowledge your understanding of the procedures.

Comply365 > My Publications > Comply > ACTION REQUIRED: Read and Acknowledge

Your acknowledgement is required by May 18, 2024

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• An Unwavering Commitment to Safety
• Operational Reliability
• Threat and Error Management (TEM) & Crew Resource Management (CRM)
• Preventing Sexual Harassment

WBT Deadline: Monday, June 3 @ 11:59 pm (CT)

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Required Base Equipment and Service Training
Widebody Aircraft Training 777/787/IFS

Please note that mandatory widebody equipment and service training bidding opens the first and closes on the sixth of every month. If you are not qualified and you don’t bid for a date, you may be drafted into a class. Please ensure timely completion and submission to participate in the bid process.

Updated: FA numbers that still need to be trained as of May 1, 2024

• 35 FA: 777
• 118 FA: 787
• 22 FA: IFS

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New Hires 2024

We’re excited to welcome new hires to our base, we are sharing some photos from recent DCA INDOC’s.

We are scheduled to receive 49 additional new hires throughout June, and we’re thrilled to be expanding our ranks let’s all do our part to support our new members as they join the DCA team!

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Labor Notes Conference

APFA representatives recently attended the Labor Notes Conference in Chicago, where unions from across the country and the world united under a common goal—fighting corporate greed. Over three days, there were breakout classes and sessions that strongly aligned with our goals. We also had a picketing event at the Chicago airport. Here are a few photos from the events.

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Final Notes for DCA:

I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to each of you for your unwavering support in our pursuit of a deserving contract. We reached our limit with corporate greed, stall tactics, and the National Mediation Board’s restriction on our rights.

We urge you to join us at the upcoming event in front of the White House! Let’s make a powerful statement and show this company we’re serious. Enough is enough!

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WHAT DO WE WANT? CONTRACT!
WHEN DO WE WANT IT? NOW!

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]