Combined Duty Programming “Piggybacking”
Section 7.I.16. provides Flight Attendants with the ability to combine two duty periods from two separate pairings, sometimes referred to as “piggy-backing.” In April of this year, our Union won the arbitration of MEC 4-21, which, among other issues, required the company to implement “piggy-backing” by the end of 2024. We are pleased to announce that, with the involvement of the Joint Implementation Committee, the company has finalized programming to allow combined duty for Flight Attendants.
Effective November 14th, a Flight Attendant can piggyback their trips on CCS within contractual requirements.
As stated in JCBA section 7.I.16, “Open time trades may involve multiple trip pairings. There must be a minimum of one hour and thirty minutes (1:30) block-in to block-out between trip pairings scheduled for the same duty period. If a combined duty period contains an International segment, the International rest and duty limitations shall apply.”
Important Reminders
- The company will never force combined duty on a Flight Attendant; it is strictly voluntary and requires Flight Attendant action to complete this request.
- A Flight Attendant cannot mix international and domestic pairings to create a combined duty.
- Continuing Qualification (CQ) and training pairings cannot be used with combined duty, because such a combination is prohibited by the FAA.
Flying Together has a complete OneUnited guide and a Q&A section on combined duty for your review on this process.
