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Welcoming You Back From RAP

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MAR 15 - Great news! We’re thrilled to begin the process of welcoming you back from your temporary leave of absence now that the pandemic appears to be meaningfully receding.

March 14, 2022

Dear Flight Attendants:

Great news! We’re thrilled to begin the process of welcoming you back from your temporary leave of absence now that the pandemic appears to be meaningfully receding.

Here is some important information for your return, which is effective March 28, 2022:

Returning from a Leave of Absence

In order to end your leave of absence and return to active status, you must complete the following steps in the following order:

  • Receive a medical clearance from United Medical (if required).
  • Complete a DOT Staffing Clearance if LOA is over 365 calendar days.
  • Attend any required training.
  • Fly a trip, sit a day of Reserve, or engage in a contractual schedule change (e.g., trip trade, personal drop (PTO), etc.)

Until such time as you have completed these steps, you remain on inactive status. A representative from FAST will contact you via your Company email in the coming weeks if further action is needed from you to complete these steps.

Training Qualifications and TSA Mandated Clearance

If it is determined that you must take additional actions to bring your TSA mandates and training requirements up to date, you will be contacted by FAST via your Company email in the coming weeks. If your qualifications have lapsed during your absence, you will be assigned Requalification RQ19 training; a representative from the FAST team will be contacting you to schedule your training.

Please note that there are required CBT courses that need to be completed prior to attending your RQ Class. A detailed RQ Preparation Guide document is available on Flying Together > My Work > CQ/RQ > RQ Preparation Guide.

To check your qualification status, go to CCS > Training > Training Qualifications/Due month. If you have any questions regarding your qualification status, please email InflightServiceTraining@united.com.

Schedule Bidding

If your CQ qualifications are current, and you meet all other requirements to return to flying as an active employee, you are eligible for a schedule.

March schedule

You are eligible to receive a pro-rated schedule for March 28-31. If you would like to fly in March, you must send an email to NQ-HelpHub@united.com by March 17 @ 0800 Central Time to initiate this process. We will review your seniority date and determine your eligibility for either a line holder schedule or reserve schedule.

If you are a Lineholder, your master schedule will be set up for you to pick up flying on your own through contractual methods (trade, open flying request, etc). There will be no minimum requirement of hours to pick up. 

If you are a reserve, your two reserve days of availability will be March 30 & 31.

NOTE: If you do not request a pro-rated schedule according to the above steps, you are forgoing pay for March.

April schedule

You will be included in the regular April bid award process. Please place a bid on file prior to bids closing on March 17 @ 08:00 HDT; note that restrictions on flying (including vaccination requirements) for the destinations we serve continue to apply.

If your CQ qualifications have lapsed during this leave, you will not be eligible to receive a schedule until meeting all return-to-work requirements. You will not be awarded a schedule until the following are met:

Medical clearance (if required) has been received, approved, and processed by FAST prior to 16:00 CST on the sixteenth(16th) of the month preceding the primary award.

Your clearance to RTW confirms a date prior to the first day of the schedule month.

You are fully qualified to fly or, if training is required, have enrolled in a class and training will be completed by the fifteenth (15th) of the current schedule month

Whether you meet the above requirements or not, we recommend that you submit a bid for the April prior to bids closing on March 17 @ 08:00 HDT. Although you will not be awarded a schedule until completion of return-to-work requirements, your line award number will be recorded and used to determine the type of schedule you will have upon your return (line holder or reserve) should you elect to fly.

For more information on bidding upon completion of the return-to-work process, please refer to the Leave of Absence Packet (Flying Together > My Work > Inflight Administration (FAST) > Sick Leave and Leave of Absence > LOA Packet).

Special COLA

A Special COLA is being offered for April. The number of Special COLAs awarded or base locations have not been determined. All active, currently qualified flight attendants are eligible to participate.

To apply for the Special COLA, go to CCS > Leaves > Special COLA > New Request. Special COLA bids close on Tuesday, March 15th at 08:00 a.m. Central Time, and awards will be posted before April bid month begins.

More information on the April Special COLA program is available on Flying Together > My Work > Crew Scheduling > Partnerships, COLAs, and Jobshares.

Medical Clearance

If you are unable to return on March 28, 2022 due to your own medical condition, you must substantiate your medical condition by either faxing a completed Absence Certificate from your treating physician to United Medical at 847-700-2600, or submitting it through Help Hub, no later than March 28, 2022. Your treating physician must provide United Medical with your medical facts or restrictions to support your inability to return, treatment plan, dates of office visits, prognosis and expected return to work date. Failure to substantiate your medical condition by the above deadline will be considered your failure to return to service and you will be separated from United Airlines at that time.

Company Materials

Parking

To obtain a parking permit, please contact your Base Supervisor via 800-FLT-LINE, option 6.

LINK Devices

Flight attendants returning from RAP leaves of absence should have kept their LINK devices. Prior to your March 28 return, or scheduled training, your LINK device will be activated if needed.

CREW Badging

If your CREW badge has expired during your leave, please contact your Base Supervisor via 800-FLT-LINE, option 6 to determine how to obtain a new badge.

Expectations Moving Forward

All flight attendants who need requalification training must complete all necessary pre-work and attend training as scheduled by the Flight Attendant Support Team (FAST). Please note that failure to comply with these instructions may lead to discipline up to and including discharge from the company.

If you have any questions or have any extenuating circumstances which would preclude you from attending training, you must speak to your base supervisor (voicemail will not suffice) as soon as possible in order to obtain permission to be rescheduled.

If you have additional questions on your return-to-work process, please refer to the Leave of Absence Packet (Flying Together > My Work > Inflight Administration (FAST) > Sick Leave and Leave of Absence > LOA Packet) or reach out to the Inflight Administration Team (FAST) at inflightadminadmin@united.com.

Please note that even as cases decline on a local or national level, other safety accommodations may continue to apply, including wearing masks on board aircraft and in all areas of airports, regular COVID-19 testing and restrictions on flying based on requirements for the destinations we serve. On the ground, the CDC recommends you consider COVID-19 Community Levels when making a personal choice about mask wearing. If another variant emerges or the COVID-19 cases trend upward, we will reevaluate our safety protocols at that time to ensure we’re doing everything we can to keep you and your colleagues safe.

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