Ladies and Gentlemen of Council 21,

Close of Vacation Bids for All U.S. Domiciles Delayed 24 Hours

At approximately 3:45A Central time the morning of December 7th, a problem affecting Unimatic connectivity via remote access was identified.  As a result of this automation issue, some Flight Attendants based in U.S. domiciles were unable to submit vacation bids in the hours just prior to vacation bid closing.

In consultation with AFA, a decision has been made to delay the closing of Phase III vacation bids for all U.S. domicile locations by 24 hours.  Vacation bidding will now close at 0830 local domicile time on Thursday, December 8, 2016. 

Because this problem presented itself after the close of vacation bids for all International domicile locations, the ability of Flight Attendants to submit bids prior to closing at the international locations was not affected.  The company will proceed with processing the vacation awards for FRA, LHR, NRT and HKG based on the contractual bid closing at 0830 local time on December 7, 2016.

The automation issue – largely affecting connectivity using an Apple™ device – has not yet been fully resolved.  No fix time is currently available.  We will continue to monitor the issue throughout the day and will report additional information once it becomes available.