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Vacation Bidding 2023

Vacation Bidding

Updated: September 22, 2022

See also: Vacation Bidding Guide (.pdf)

2023 Flight Attendant Vacation Timeline

Vacation Timeline

Date

Time

Open Vacation Election Period

By September 25

 

Close Election Period

On October 15

By 0800 HDT

Begin First Vacation Bid Period

By October 23

 

Close First Vacation Bid Period

On October 31

By 0800 HDT

Post First Vacation Awards

By November 4

 

Begin Second Vacation Bid Period

By November 8

 

Close Second Vacation Bid Period

On November 16

By 0800 HDT

Post Second Vacation Awards

By November 20

 

Vacation Allocations Published

By November 24

 

Trades Awarded by Seniority

On November 30

 

Final Vacation Allocations Published

By December 4

 

Instant Trading Open

On December 5

 

Vacation Accrual Letters

In CCS go to -> Vacation-> My Vacation, from here select “To view optional election, click here”.

The following information will be displayed: 

  • Your vacation accrual seniority date as of August 29, 2022
  • Your 2023 base vacation accrual determined by your vacation accrual seniority date 
  • Your paid activity, by each quarter in the 2021 - 2022 Vacation Accrual Year to be used in determining your vacation accrual for the 2023 Vacation year 
  • Your 2023 vacation accrual days and hours 
  • For newly hired Flight Attendants, quarterly paid activity will not be shown 


Vacation Accrual & Reduction

With the exception of new hires, a Flight Attendant’s vacation accrual is based on completed years of service with the Company. 

Vacation accrual may be reduced based on: 

  • Paid activity within the vacation accrual year, and 
  • Leaves of absences taken during the accrual year. 


Base Vacation Accrual



A Flight Attendant will receive full vacation accrual (100%) if she/he has one hundred-twenty (120) hours or more of paid activity for the designated quarter during the 2021 - 2022 Vacation Accrual year as listed below. 

A Flight Attendant will receive fifty percent (50%) of vacation accrual if she/he has fewer than one hundred twenty (120) hours but at least sixty (60) hours of paid activity for the designated quarter during the 2021 - 2022 Vacation Accrual year as listed below. 

A Flight Attendant will accrue no vacation if she/he has fewer than sixty (60) hours of paid activity for the designated quarter during the 2021 - 2022 Vacation Accrual year as listed below. 

Newly employed Flight Attendants shall accrue one day of vacation for each full month of continuous employment during the remainder of the Vacation Accrual year after the date of their initial employment. If employed prior to the 15th of the calendar month, vacation credit shall be given for the full month.


VACATION ACCRUAL QUARTERS FOR THE 2020 - 2021 VACATION ACCRUAL YEAR

First

Second

Third

Fourth

08/30/21 - 11/29/21

11/30/21 – 03/01/22

03/02/22 - 05/31/22

06/01/22 – 08/29/22

 

Vacation Reduction

A Flight Attendant on a leave of absence (except occupational), furlough or disciplinary suspension, will have her/his vacation accrual reduced by (1/12th) for each 30 days or major portion on a prorated basis. 

Flight Attendants may take (borrow) up to ten (10) vacation days from next year’s allotment. DAT taken during the accrual period of August 29, 2022 - August 29, 2023 will reduce the 2023 Vacation accrual on a day-for-day basis. Instructions on how to request DAT can be found in Chapter 15 of the Trip Trades & Adjustments Guide.

How does paid activity affect vacation accrual?

Your annual (base) vacation accrual will be reduced when the paid activity in each quarter of the Vacation Accrual year does not meet either the 60-hour – 119:59 hour or the 120 hour or greater metric for accrual as follows:

  • A Flight Attendant who completes one hundred twenty (120) hours or more of paid activity in each quarter of the Vacation Accrual Year, will receive full vacation accrual (100% of base vacation accrual).
  • A Flight Attendant who completes fewer than one hundred twenty (120) hours but at least sixty (60) hours of paid activity in each quarter of the Vacation Accrual Year, will receive fifty percent of vacation accrual (50% of the Base Vacation Accrual.)
  • A Flight Attendant who completes fewer than sixty (60) Hours of paid activity for each quarter of the Vacation Accrual Year will accrue no vacation.

The following chart illustrates accrual based on Paid Activity:

Example #1 - Flight Attendant who did not receive full accrual based on paid activity and additionally was on a leave of absence 

The full accrual for a Flight Attendant with 30 completed years of service is 40 days. If the Flight Attendant has 120 hours or more of paid activity in each quarter, the accrual per quarter is: 10 days. 

  • Quarter 1 paid activity: 240 hours 100% quarterly accrual: (10 days) 
  • Quarter 2 paid activity: 270 hours 100% quarterly accrual: (10 days)
  • Quarter 3 paid activity: 160 hours 100% quarterly accrual: (10 days)
  • Quarter 4 paid activity: 115 hours 50% quarterly accrual: (5 days) 

The vacation accrual based on paid activity for the year is 35. 

The same Flight Attendant was also on a non-occupational leave of absence for 90 days during the third and fourth quarters of the vacation accrual year. The vacation accrual is reduced by 1/12 for each 30 days or major portion thereof – a total of 3/12 or 1/4 of the full 40 day accrual = 10 days. 

The vacation accrual based on reduction for leave(s) of absence is 30 days = 40 – 10 days. 

NOTEWhen the base vacation for a Flight Attendant is reduced for both paid activity and leaves of absence, the greatest reduction is applied. In the above example, the 40-day vacation for the Flight Attendant is reduced to 30 days.


Vacation Elections

The Vacation Election period opens by 0800 Home Domicile Time (HDT) by September 25, 2021 and closes at 0800 HDT on October 15, 2021 in order to provide the full twenty (20) day period to make elections required under the Contract. 

Once you know the number of days that you have accrued, if you choose to participate in the optional Vacation Election process, select the “Proceed to Vacation Election” button located in the bottom right corner of the accrual letter page. You may also choose not to make any selections in the Vacation Election process and skip this step. 

The vacation election screen will appear and you will be able to make the following selections: 

1. Buy Back Vacation Days. Partially accrued vacation days are not eligible for buyback.. 

2. Defer vacation days to your 401(k) or UK Stakeholder Plan - 7 to 14 Days

3. Elect Flex Vacation Days (paid or unpaid) 

Vacation Buy Back – Two Possible Programs 

Vacation days are “sold” back at a rate of three hours and fifteen minutes (3:15) of pay per day plus an incentive payment, which shall be determined and announced prior to the annual vacation bid. 

1. Annual Vacation Buy Back: The Company offers a vacation buy back option, which allows a Flight Attendant to take pay in lieu of accrued vacation. Flight Attendants must opt to “sell” at least six (6) full days of accrued vacation and partial days are not eligible. Those participating in the Buy Back program may not participate in the Flex program. 

Vacation days are “sold” back at a rate of three hours and fifteen minutes (3:15) of pay per day plus an incentive payment, which shall be determined and announced prior to the annual vacation bid. For 2023, the incentive rate is 0.1%.

 

NOTE:  The rate of pay for Vacation buy back is based on your individual rate of pay as of 12/31/21. International Purser and Purser pay overrides are not included in your hourly rate of pay and are not applicable to Vacation Buy Back payments.

 

In addition, our Contract (Section 12.D.7.) provides that vacation buy back will not be implemented during a period of Flight Attendant furlough.

2. Monthly Vacation Buy Back: In addition, the Company may offer vacation buy back on a month-to-month or base-by-base basis. The Company will determine whether to offer an incentive payment for month-to-month or base-by-base vacation buy back. Vacation buy back will be awarded in base seniority order. 

Deferred 401(k) Contribution: 

Flight Attendants may elect to contribute a minimum of seven (7) days and a maximum of fourteen (14) days of paid vacation accrued for use in 2023 into their 401(k) savings plan account or UK Stakeholder Group Plan. 

Flex Vacation Program 

Flight Attendants may elect to take an additional seven days of FLEX vacation. Flight Attendants taking FLEX vacation will either take the additional seven days as unpaid vacation or elect to have one hour and fifty-four minutes (1:54) pay deducted from their earnings each month to pay for the FLEX vacation week. 

FLEX Period Assignments:

 Flight Attendants who opt for paid Flex vacation will have their last seven days of their last awarded vacation period designated as Flex.

Flight Attendants who opt for unpaid Flex vacation will have their first seven days of the first awarded vacation period designated as Flex.

FLEX vacation will be labeled for Flight Attendants in various vacation information screens in CCS as follows:

Flight Attendants will see the following labels on vacation periods:

VC

Regular vacation which will now include paid FLEX vacation days.

VB

Unpaid FLEX vacation days which will continue to be assigned as the first seven (7) vacation days of the 1stvacation period of the vacation year.

VT

Paid out vacation days

VU

Unpaid FLEX vacation days resulting from a trade.

 

Flight Attendants having paid FLEX vacation, which will be designated as the last vacation period of the year, are not eligible to defer that FLEX vacation period into the subsequent year as set forth in IRS guidelines.

Once you have finished making your choices, select “Submit”. A confirmation page will display showing your 2023 elections. It is recommended that you keep a copy for your records. 

At any time while the vacation election period is open you can return to the vacation election page and change/update your selections. Once the election period is closed, changes can no longer be submitted.

Day-at-a Time Vacation Review

Section 12.J.

 

Under the provisions of Section 12.J. of our Collective Bargaining Agreement, Flight Attendants have the ability to use Day at a Time Vacation as one of a number of scheduling flexibility options..

 

1.     Each Flight Attendant may take up to ten vacation days in each Scheduled Vacations Year separate from her/his awarded vacation period(s).

2.     Day at a time vacation, when used, shall be deducted from the Flight Attendant’s allotment for vacation in the following Scheduled Vacation Year.

3.     After the award of relief lines and before the beginning of the month, day at a time vacation, when available, shall be awarded in seniority order. Throughout the month, day at a time vacation shall be available only to the extent that regular personal drops are available and day at a time vacation will have equal priority.

4.     Day at a time vacation shall be paid at the applicable rate pursuant to paragraph 12.B.1, or 3:15 (3.25 hours) per vacation day.

5.     If a Flight Attendant terminates employment after using day at a time days, but before the days were earned, any days owed will be deducted from the Flight Attendants final paycheck.

6.     Day at a time vacation may not be made-up. Further, a Flight Attendant awarded day at a time vacation shall have her/his minimum monthly guarantee and or line guarantee reduced accordingly.

 

The award process for DATV pre-month and those in the operation on handled differently.

 

 

Pre-Month DATV

(Section 12.J.3.)

 

When available, granted after the award of Vacation Relief Lines (VRL) and before the beginning of the month, in seniority order.

 

Any new DATV requests submitted after pre-month DATV has been awarded will be removed from CCS once the new month begins. These are not considered as an operational DATV award.

 

 

Operational DATV

(Submitted starting at 0001 of the calendar day prior to the date requested)

Considered on a daily basis by Crew Scheduling once the new month begins.

 

Awarded on a first-come, first serve basis

 

Awarded the day before the requested date (to the same extent that Personal Drops (PDs) are available.

 

 

                                                                                                     Vacation Team

Available:  September 21, 2022 - December 16, 2022

Monday – Friday 0800 -1600 CT

 

*Vacation Team not available on November 24 & 25, 2022 in observance of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

Vacation Team Contact Information - FAVacationTeam@united.com

 

Contact Information

Phone Number

United States

1-800-FLT-LINE (Option 1, 9, 1)

London

0800-89-6516

 

   

Flight Attendant Schedule Months for 2022

Listed below, by month, are the number of days in each month, and the new start and end dates for each Flight Attendant Schedule month for 2022: 

Month

Days

Operating Dates

Month

Days

Operating Dates

January

31

12/30/22 – 01/29/23

July*

30

06/30/23 – 07/29/23

February

31

01/30/23 – 03/01/23

August*

30

07/30/23 – 08/28/23

March

30

03/02/23 – 03/31/23

September*

31

08/29/23 – 09/28/23

April

30

04/01/23 – 04/30/23

October*

31

09/29/23 – 10/29/23

May

30

05/01/23 – 05/30/23

November

31

10/30/23 – 11/29/23

June*

30

05/31/23 – 06/29/23

December

30

11/30/23 – 12/29/23

  * Indicates change in Flight Attendant schedule month dates from prior year

 

Reserve Letter Designations

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

A

B

A

B

A

B

A

B

A

B

A

B

 

Reserve (A/B) Rotation 

Reserve (A/B) Rotation is only applicable for Flight Attendants based at the following International locations: HNL & LHR. The 2023 Reserve Letter Lists will be made available in your Base and on Flying Together. These lists are effective February 2023 through January 2024. 

Note:  There are separate Reserve Letters lists for the International Purser bases.

Those Flight Attendants having their 5th anniversary as a Flight Attendant in 2023 will not have their ‘R’ status changed to an ‘A’ or ‘B’ until the month of their anniversary to become effective for bidding the following month. ‘A’ letter Reserve are the odd numbered months and ‘B’ letter Reserve months are the even numbered months.  Flight Attendants with these designations potentially have a Reserve obligation in these months.

Reserve (A/B) Rotation letter designation trades are requested in CCS 

To submit a trade, log into CCS then select Scheduling A/B Rotation Trade Request. Click on the New Request window and fill in the requested information including the desired effective date for the bid month/year and employee ID number of the Flight Attendant with whom you wish to trade. 

Trading A/B Reserve Rotation Letter Designations

Flight Attendants in an International Purser sub-base at these locations may only request an A/B Reserve Rotation letter designation trade with another Flight Attendant in that same International Purser sub-base.

Contractual Holidays 2022

United Kingdom

United States

& Guam

01/01

New Year’s Day

01/01

New Year’s Day

04/10

Easter Monday

07/04 Independence Day

08/28

August Bank Holiday

11/23

Thanksgiving Day

12/25

Christmas

12/25

Christmas

 

Vacation Bidding Rules

Flight Attendants will have an allocation of vacation days published, by base, for viewing in CCS once the first round of bidding opens on October 23. Once the first round opens, Flight Attendants will be allowed to choose preferences regarding: 

  1. The number of days they want in each vacation period.
  2. The option to “date slide” the vacation, up to three days in either direction of the start/end dates to ensure they receive the maximum number of days utilizing their initial bids
  3. Accept fewer days for the vacation period by specifying the number of days by which the vacation is to be reduced.
  4. The start date for each vacation period.

Keep in mind, vacation start dates are not pre-set. The vacation bid process will allow you to bid for any start date for a vacation period, if it fits within the month being bid, or complies with the rules for “crossing months.” It’s important to become familiar with the following vacation rules:

  • Flight Attendants may opt to split their vacation accrual into periods of not less than six days each. A Flight Attendant may have a maximum of five vacation periods. (Section 12.F.4.)
  • A Flight Attendant who has 11 or fewer days of accrued vacation, must bid their entire accrual in a single block. (Section 12.F.4.)
  • A partial day of vacation accrual will be rounded up to a full day for the purpose of vacation bidding, but shall be paid as a partial day. A partial day is always the last of the vacation period in which it is awarded. All hours must be bid in the same round. (Section 12.F.5)
  • When a Flight Attendant has a partial day vacation, she/he will be relieved of all duty for that entire day, including any trip assignment or Reserve duty. However, compensation for a partial vacation day will be paid on a pro-rata basis. For example, a 12 hour partial day will pay 50% of the 3:15 value of the vacation day
  • A Flight Attendant may not bid more than 50% of their accrued vacation days, unless they have 11 or fewer days of accrued vacation. When a Flight Attendant has accrued an odd number of vacation days, the odd day may be added to the 50% maximum for the first round. For example, a Flight Attendant with 19 days of vacation may bid a maximum of 10 days in the first round. (Section 12.F.6.)


What Happens if I Don't Bid for Vacation

If a Flight Attendant does not submit a vacation bid in the first round of bidding, they will be considered a No Bid. No vacation will be assigned during the first round of vacation bidding. You will, however, be required to bid all of your accrued days in the second vacation bid round. If a Flight Attendant does not submit a vacation bid in the second round of bidding, she/he will automatically be assigned a vacation. Keep in mind, the vacation you are assigned will be after the second-round vacation awards have been completed for all Flight Attendants submitting a bid. The assigned vacation will be made in seniority order from December backward through January, with the largest block of days being assigned first.

What if My Bid is considered an Insufficient Bid?

When a Flight Attendant submits a vacation bid and is unable to hold any of her/his selections, she/he is considered an Insufficient Bid. In this instance, vacation is assigned in seniority order from December backward through January after that round of vacation has been awarded to all bidders. The assignment shall be based on the number of days in your bid with the largest block of days assigned first.

Unpaid Flex Vacation While on Reserve Status

Reserve Flight Attendants who opted to elect Unpaid Flex as part of their Vacation should be aware that any Reserve (R) days that fall within the unpaid Flex vacation period will reduce your Reserve line guarantee.

For example:

A Reserve Flight Attendant having opted for a seven (7) day Unpaid Flex Vacation is awarded a Reserve line in a 30-day schedule month having the contractual 12 days off. Three days of availability are included in the awarded vacation period. Each of these Reserve days is valued at 4:20. Once vacation is applied to the Reserve line, the three days of Reserve availability are dropped by vacation. The value of the Reserve line (Reserve minimum) will be reduced by the value of the Reserve days dropped by the vacation. In this case, 3 X 4:20 = 13 hours. The 78-hour Reserve minimum guarantee is reduced by 13 hours and will result in the Reserve’s new minimum being 65 hours (78 - 13 = 65 hours.)

This reduction in guarantee occurs only in those instances where the Reserve opted for the Unpaid Flex option during the Vacation Election.


Partial Vacation Days

A partial day of vacation accrual is rounded up to full day for the purpose of vacation bidding and scheduling but will be paid as a partial day. The partial day is always the last day of the vacation period in which it is awarded.


Crossing Bid Months

A Flight Attendant may bid for a vacation period overlapping two bid months. However, a Flight Attendant may not bid for a vacation period overlapping two scheduled vacation years. Flight Attendants may not bid a vacation that overlaps from December 2022 into January 2023.

The minimum vacation bid to cross from one month to the next is fourteen (14) full days. In order to cross months using 14, 15 or 16 day exception the bid must meet the following rules:

  • There must be a minimum of four (4) full days in both months.
  • Partial Vacation days cannot be counted as a full day.

 

To cross months using seventeen (17) days or more, the following rules must be met:

  • Both months must have a minimum of seven (7) full days in both months.
  • Partial Vacation days cannot be counted as a full day.



Date Slide

Flight Attendants have the option to ‘slide’ the vacation period up to three (3) days in either direction from the start date of the vacation period.

The vacation award will be based on the ability of the vacation award logic to award the vacation by sliding in the following sequence: original bid start date +1, -1, +2, -2, +3, -3.

  • If the bid slides into another month, the system will only process the slide that is valid. It will avoid that day that will leave less than four (4) days in one month on the 14, 15, 16 day vacation bid or less than seven (7) days in the 17 days or more bid. After the slide, the vacation must meet the cross bid month rules.
  • If none of the slide options can be awarded using the first bid choice, the process will be applied to the second bid choice and we be continued through all of the bid choices.



Reduce Vacation (Fewer Days Option)

Flight Attendants have the option of accepting ‘fewer days’ than that for which they bid under the following circumstances:

  • Must have accrued twelve (12) or more full vacation days.
  • Vacation will be based on the ability to award the longest stretch of available days within each bid choice according to the bidding rules.
  • The vacation will be reduced one day at a time up to the number of days specified.
  • The bid may be reduced to a minimum of six (6) days anywhere within the original bid.
  • If at least six (6) days of the first choice cannot be awarded, the processes will be applied to the second bid choice and will be continued throughout all of the bid choices.
  • When a Flight Attendant chooses to reduce days in Round #1, any un-awarded (reduced) vacation days are rolled over to Round #2.
  • When a Flight Attendant chooses to reduce days in Round #2, the reduced days are added to the last vacation period.
  • In the second round of bidding, the last vacation period cannot be reduced.

 

Combination (Date Slide and Reduce Days)

The award process will evaluate all options (Date Slide & Reduce Days) for the start dates specified prior to moving into your next vacation bid. (Refer to pages 13 & 14 in the Vacation Bidding Guide for examples.)


Transfers

A Flight Attendant who changes bases shall retain her/his vacation period(s). In the case of a new base opening, a Flight Attendant may be required to re-bid her/his remaining vacation days.


Vacation Bidding When Transferring

The Vacation award system looks to see where you will be based as of January 1st to determine the allotment from which your vacation will be awarded.  For example, a Flight Attendant who is currently based in EWR but is transferring to FLL on November 30, would be bidding her/his Secondary Vacation based on the FLL vacation allotment, because this is where they will be located in January.  

Additionally, any vacation awarded while at the prior base from the First Vacation Award will follow the Flight Attendant to the new base location.

The same process will follow when we get to the Vacation modification process.  Flight Attendants who have transferred to a new base, or will be transferring, will be eligible for seniority vacation trades, trades with other Flight Attendants and trading with vacation open time based on allocations at the new base.


Vacations Encompassed by a Leave of Absence

Vacations Encompassed by a Leave of Absence shall be treated in the following manner:

  • The vacation may be left intact and the Flight Attendant will be paid for the vacation period, or
  • Permit a trade of vacations in accordance with the trading provisions of Section 12.C. The result is the removal of the original vacation period from the period of leave, or
  • A Flight Attendant scheduled for jury duty, or on medical leave or occupational leave or who is hospitalized due to illness or injury may, not later than one calendar day before her/his vacation begins defer the vacation until later in the Scheduled Vacation year.
    • Upon return to work, she/he will choose from available vacation periods.
    • If no vacation period is open and the deferred vacation was a paid vacation, the Flight Attendant will be paid for the deferred vacation at her/his rate of pay in the last month of the Scheduled Vacation year in which the vacation would have been taken.
    • With the exception of paid FLEX days, a Flight Attendant will have the option to either carry unused vacation into the following vacation year under the terms of Section 12.C.8.d. or be paid for the vacation under the terms of Section 12.C.8.c. Paid FLEX vacation days cannot be carried into the next year and will be paid out.
    • A Flight Attendant must advise the Company of their election to carry unused vacation into the following vacation year no later than November 30. If no election is made by November 30, vacation will be paid out under the terms of Section 12.C.8.c.
    • The payment shall be made not later than their February 1 paycheck of the following year.
    • Flex Vacation cannot be carried into the following year.
  • If an election is made to carry over the deferred vacation days to the following Scheduled Vacation year 
    • She/he will choose from available vacation periods after the vacation periods for that year have been awarded.
    • This provision may only be utilized once per Scheduled Vacation year.
    • This provision does not apply to Paid FLEX vacation days.

 

                                                                                     Vacation Team

Available: September 21, 2022 - December 16, 2022

Monday – Friday 0800 – 1600 CT

 

*Vacation Team not available on November 23 - 24, 2022 in observance of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

Vacation Team Contact Information:  FAVacationTeam@united.com 

 

Contact Information

Phone Number

United States

1-800-FLT-LINE (Option 1, 9, 1)

London

0800-89-6516

Vacation Modifications

Flight Attendants can modify awarded vacation periods using the following options:

  • Open Time Trades by Seniority
  • Instant Trades with Open Time
  • Flight Attendant to Flight Attendant Trades
  • Fly Through (Non-Operational & Operational)
  • Vacation Slides (Operational) 

In CCS, select > Vacation > myVacation. Flight Attendants can view awarded vacation periods and Open Time Vacation Allocations. The following four vacation modification options are available on the myVacation page. 

  • Open Time Trades by Seniority 
  • Instant Trades with Open Time
  • Flight Attendant to Flight Attendant Trades
  • Fly Through (Non-Operational)


Open Vacation Time Allocations

From myVacation select “To view Vacation Open Time Click Here”. This will display the Published Vacation Open Time for your Base. To view open time for a particular bid period, select the bid month from the bid period drop down and click filter. 


Creating an Open Time Trade by Seniority Request
  

Open Time Trades by Seniority: After the annual vacation award, all available vacation days remaining will be published and the Open Time Trades by Seniority trade window will open on November 24th at 0800 (HDT) and will close on November 30th at 8:00 (HDT).

To submit a trade request, from the myVacation page in the “Scheduled Vacation” section, select the drop-down arrow to expand the period that you want to trade. Select “OT Trade By Sen” to display the “Open Time Trade by Seniority” page. The “OT Trade by Sen” option is only visible while the trading window for Open Time by Seniority is open.

The “Open Time Trade by Seniority” page will allow you to make your selections. The chart on the following page explains all of the fields in the “To Trade Away” section. After entering your options, select “Save Request” to continue working on the request and submit it at a later time. The message “Request Saved Successfully” will display at the top of the page to confirm that your choices were saved. Once you are ready to submit the request, select “Submit Request”. Remember, just selecting “Save Request” does not submit your trade request. 


Understanding Open Time Trade by Seniority Page

Field Name

Description

Beginning

The start date of the vacation that you want to trade away.

Number of Days to Trade

The number of days to be traded away.

Slide

The option to indicate that requested vacation start date maybe moved up to three(3) days in either direction in the event the requested days are not available in the Open Time Allocation.

Request Priority

The priority order in which trades should be considered by the system when submitting multiple requests.

Note: If more than one trade request is submitted with the same request priority, then the last submitted request will be considered by awarding process as having a higher priority.

For example. FA submits 2 OT trade by Sen requests with the same priority 1. The first request was submitted at 10.00 AM and the second one was submitted at 3.00 PM the same day. Awarding process will consider the second request as priority 1 as it was submitted after the first request.

Preference Order

The order in which choices for requested vacation should be considered.

Requested Start Date

The choices for desired vacation in MMDD format. Once the first 10 choices are entered, press the ‘TAB’ key to enter the next 10 choices and so on until the maximum of 365 choices are entered.

Number of Days Requested

The number of days requested in each choice.

Sort Preferences

Sorts the vacation trade options in the order indicated in the “preference order” field. If you do not select “Sort Preferences,” the preferences will be automatically sorted when you select the “Save Request” or “Submit Request” button.

Save Request & Submit

Request

The “Save Request” option saves the vacation choices entered and allows you to continue working. You must select “Submit Request” in order for your trade request to be accepted by the system. If you do not select “Submit Request,” your trade choices will be saved but not submitted in the system.

Modifying or Withdrawing an Open Time Trade by Seniority Request: Can only be modified and/or withdrawn while the trade request is in pending status.

Changing/Updating Open Time Trade: Request can be updated while the OT trade by Seniority Trading window is open. 

Accessing a saved Open Time Trade by Seniority Request: From the “myVacation” page, select the OT Trade by Sen option for the vacation trade request you previously saved. The Open Time Trade by Seniority page will display your previously saved request. 

Accessing a submitted Open Time Trade by Seniority Request: All of the requests that have been submitted are displayed with the corresponding “Status”. Status may include: Pending, Denied, Withdrawn or Awarded. Select the drop-down arrow to get an expanded view of the choices you submitted. Your choices will be displayed in the “View OT Trade by Seniority” page on “myVacation” page.

To modify already submitted Open Time Trade by Seniority Request: From the “View OT Trade by Seniority” page select “Modify Request”, you will now be able to update your previously submitted trade request. To complete your request, remember to select “Submit Request”.

To withdraw an Open Time Trade by Seniority Request: From the “View OT Trade by Seniority “page select Withdraw Request. 

Open Time Trade by Seniority confirmation pages are displayed when trades have been submitted, modified or withdrawn. It is recommended that you print a copy for your records. To print, from the “file” menu select the “print” option. You can also print by right-clicking anywhere on the screen and selecting “print” from the menu option. 

Awarding Open Time Trade: The system processes all requests for a Flight Attendant until one is awarded or until their requests are exhausted and no trades can be made. The order in which requests are processed is based on the “Request Priority” specified by the Flight Attendant while submitting each OT Trade by Seniority trade request. 

The system moves through the list of trade requests in seniority order, either awarding a trade or leaving the trade request as unawarded if no trades are possible for the specified dates. When the system has passed through all trade requests, it begins again with the most senior Flight Attendant and passes through any trade requests that remain unawarded in the event that a trade can now be made. 

Once a trade request has been awarded, the system will no longer look back at that particular request to see if a higher preference trade request date has become available. 

The system continues this process until all possible trades have been granted.

 

Instant Trades with Open Time

Instant vacation trades open on December 5th for the 2022 vacation year.

Requests for these vacation trades must be submitted thirty (30) days before the 1 day of the earliest bid month involved in the trade except that January vacation days may be traded as late as December 9th.

The Company shall award these trades in the order in which requests are received.


To submit an “Instant OT Trade”, from the “myVacation” page in the “Scheduled Vacation” section,
select the drop down arrow to expand the vacation period that you want to trade. Select “Instant OT Trade” to begin the trade request and the “Instant Open Time Trade” page will be displayed. The “Instant OT Trade” option is only visible while the trading window is open. (If a Flight Attendant to Flight Attendant trade request is already in progress or the vacation has a fly through the “Instant OT Trade” button will not be visible).

A confirmation page is displayed indicating that the request has been submitted successfully. It is recommended that you print a copy for your records. To print, from the “File” menu select the “Print” option. You can also print by right-clicking anywhere on the screen and selecting “Print” from the menu options

 

The “Instant Open Time Trade” page will allow you to make your selections. The chart below explains all the fields in the “To Trade Away” section”. After entering your options, select “Request Trade”.

Field Name

Description

Beginning

The start date of the vacation that you want to trade away

Number of Days to Trade

The number of days to be traded away

Requested Start Date

The single choice for desired vacation in MM/DD/YYYY format

Number of Days Requested

The number of days requested


Viewing Instant Open Time Trades: 
From the “myVacation” page, Flight Attendants can view all Instant Open Time Trade Requests by selecting “To view Instant Open Time Trade Request”.  The status field under “My Current Instant Open Trade Request” will indicate whether the trade request was “Awarded” or “Denied”.


Flight Attendant to Flight Attendant Trades

Vacation periods may be exchanged by a Flight Attendant with another Flight Attendant within the same Base.

The request must be submitted no later than 2359 HDT on the 15th of the calendar month before the earliest of the bid months involved in the trade. Vacation trade requests must be submitted by both Flight Attendants involved.

An electronic bulletin board is available for Flight Attendants to advertise for vacation trades in CCS. 

These mutual trades may begin as soon as the Open Time Trades by Seniority awards are published. The trade award process is manual and will be completed monthly.


To submit a FA to FA trade from “myVacation” in the “Scheduled Vacation” 
section, select the drop-down arrow to expand the vacation period that you want to trade. Click on “FA Trade” to begin the trade request. The “FA Trade” option is only visible while the trading window for that vacation period is open. 

The “FA to FA Vacation Trade” page allows you to make your selections. The chart below explains all the fields in the “To Trade Away” and “Flight Attendant Trading With” sections. After entering your preferences, select “Request Trade” to submit the trade request.

 

Field Name

Description

To Trade Away

Beginning

The start date of the vacation that you want to trade away

Number of Days to Trade

The number of days to be traded away

Flight Attendant Trading With

Employee ID

The employee ID of the other Flight Attendant participating in the trade

Vacation Period Start date

The single choice for desired vacation in MM/DD/YYYY format

Number of Days Requested

The number of days requested from the other Flight Attendant’s vacation


Vacation Trade Rules

  • Minimum length of vacation period for submitting a partial vacation trade is 12 days.
  • Minimum vacation period for trading is 6 days or the whole vacation if less than 12 days.
  • If a Flight Attendant has 1 to 11 days of vacation, the entire vacation must be traded.


Examples of Vacation Trades with Fewer than 12 days

For vacations with fewer than 12 days, the following types of trades are allowed:

  • Even Trade – Flight Attendant is trading the entire vacation period for the same number of days.
  • Reduction of Days – Flight Attendant is trading the entire vacation period for fewer days. 


Example: Even Trade

Example

Trading an entire vacation period for the same number of days

 

Scenario

Scheduled Vacation:01/01 to 01/05(5days)

Beginning Date:01/01

Number of Days to Trade: 5

New Beginning Date Requested:12/20

Number of Days Requested:5

Result

Vacation trade awarded –12/20 to12/24(5days)


Example: Reduction of Days

Example

Trading an entire vacation period for fewer days

 

Scenario

Scheduled Vacation:01/01to01/05(5days)

Beginning Date:01/01

Number of Days to Trade: 5

 Result

awarded–12/25(1day)

Vacation days paid out –1/02 to01/05(4days) in January


Examples of Vacation Trades with 12 Days or More

For vacations of 12 days or more, the following types of trades are allowed:

  • Even Trade – Flight Attendant is trading the entire vacation period for the same number of days.
  • Reduction of Days – Flight Attendant is trading the entire vacation period for fewer days.
  • Partial Trade – Flight Attendant is trading a portion of a vacation period, which results in one, or more additional vacation periods.
  • Partial Trade and Reduction – Flight Attendant is trading a portion of a vacation period for fewer days which may result in one or more additional vacation period.


Example: Even Trade

Example

Trading an entire vacation period for the same number of days

 

   Scenario

Scheduled Vacation:01/01to01/14(14 days)

Beginning Date:01/01

Number of Days to Trade:14

New Beginning Date Requested:12/10

Number of Days Requested:14

Result

Vacation trade awarded–12/10 to12/23 (14days)


Example: Reduction of Days

Example

Trading an entire vacation period for fewer days

 

   Scenario

Scheduled Vacation:01/01to 01/14(14days)

Beginning Date:01/01

Number of Days to Trade:14

New Beginning Date Requested:12/25

Number of Days Requested: 1

   Result

Vacation trade awarded –12/25 (1day)

Vacation days paid out –1/02 to01/14 (13days) in January

Partial Trades

Partial Vacation Trade Rules

  • Must trade 6 days or more.
  • Remaining days in a vacation period must be a minimum of 6 consecutive days.
  • Additional vacation periods created by a partial trade may not bring the total number of vacation periods above 5.
  • Must follow crossover month rules, if applicable.
  • If the above rules are not met, the trade will be blocked at the time of submission.

A partial vacation trade will be reviewed using the following criteria:

  • Are the number of days being traded greater than or equal to 6?
  • Are the number of days remaining in the vacation period greater than or equal to 6?
  • Can additional vacation periods be created without exceeding a total of 5 vacation periods?
  • Are cross bid month rules being followed?
  • Does the trade result in a reduction of vacation days?

Example: Partial Trade

Example

Flight Attendant is trading a portion of a vacation period which results in an additional vacation period

Scenario

Total Number of Vacation Periods: 4
Scheduled Vacation:01/01 to01/12(12days)
Beginning Date:01/01
Number of Days to Trade: 6
New Beginning Date Requested:12/20
Number of Days Requested: 6

Result

Vacation trade awarded–12/20 to12/25 (6days)
Vacation Period from remaining days –01/07 to 01/12 (6days)

 


Example: Partial Trade and Reduction #1

Example

Flight Attendant is trading a portion of the vacation period for fewer days

Scenario

Total Number of Vacation Periods :4
Scheduled Vacation:01/01 to 01/13(13 days)
Beginning Date: 01/01
Number of Days to Trade: 6
New Beginning Date Requested:12/25
Number of Days Requested: 1

Result

Vacation trade awarded–12/25 (1day)
New Vacation Period created from remaining days–01/07 to 01/13 (7days)
Vacation days paid out –1/02 to 01/06 (5days ) in January


Example: Partial Trade and Reduction #2

Example

Flight Attendant is trading a portion of the vacation period for fewer days


   S
cenario

Total Number of Vacation Periods: 2
Scheduled Vacation:01/01 to 01/24 (24days)
Beginning Date:01/07
Number of Days to Trade:12
New Beginning Date Requested:12/01
Number of Days Requested: 6


   Result

Vacation trade awarded–12/1 to12/6 (6days)
New Vacation Period created from remaining days–01/01 to 01/06(6days)
New Vacation Period created from remaining days–01/19 to 01/24(6days)
Vacation days paid out –1/13 to01/18 (6days) in January

 


Example: Partial Trade without Reduction

Example

Flight Attendant is trading a portion of the vacation period


   S
cenario

Total Number of Vacation Periods: 3
Scheduled Vacation:01/01to01/20(20days)
Beginning Date: 01/07
Number of Days to Trade:7
New Beginning Date Requested:12/05
Number of Days Requested: 7


   Result

Vacation trade awarded–12/05to12/11(7days)
New Vacation Period created from remaining days–01/01 to 01/06(6days)
New Vacation Period created from remaining days–01/14 to 01/20(7days)

 

Partial Trades which are NOT Allowed

The examples below will illustrate why a vacation trade will not be allowed.

Example: Partial Trade#1

 

Example

Flight Attendant trading a portion of a vacation period which results in an additional vacation period being less than 6 days


   Scenario

 

 

 

Total Number of Vacation Periods: 4
Scheduled Vacation:01/01 to01/15(15days)
Beginning Date:01/01
Number of Days to Trade:11
New Beginning Date Requested:12/10
Number of Days Requested:11


   Result

 

Vacation trade cannot be submitted as the number of days remaining in the vacation period is less than 6


Example: Partial Trade#2

 

Example

Flight Attendant trading a portion of a vacation period which results in an additional vacation period exceeding a total of 5 vacation periods


   Scenario

 

 

 

Total Number of Vacation Periods :4
Scheduled l Vacation:01/01to01/20(20days)
Beginning Date:01/07
Number of Days to Trade: 7
New Beginning Date Requested:12/05
Number of Days Requested: 7


   Result

Vacation trade cannot be submitted as the number of vacation periods will exceed a total of 5 vacation periods


Example: Partial Trade#3

 

Example

Flight Attendant trading a portion of a vacation period which results in the remaining days being less than 6


   S
cenario

Total Number of Vacation Periods: 3
Scheduled Vacation:01/01to01/20(20days)
Beginning Date:01/03
Number of Days to Trade: 7
New Beginning Date Requested:12/05
Number of Days Requested: 7

Result

Vacation trade cannot be submitted as the number of remaining days is less than 6

 

Example: Partial Trade#4


    Example

Flight Attendant trading a portion of a vacation period which results in crossing bid months
January Bid Month:12/30to1/29
February Bid Month:1/30to3/01


    S
cenario

Total Number of Vacation Periods: 3
Scheduled Vacation:01/23to02/11(20days)
Beginning Date: 01/23
Number of Days to Trade: 6
New Beginning Date Requested:12/05
Number of Days Requested: 6

Result

Vacation trade cannot be submitted as it violates the minimum number of days required when a vacation is crossing bid months

 


Fly Through

A Flight Attendant who chooses to fly during her/his scheduled vacation period shall be paid for all trips flown during the vacation period in addition to Vacation Pay. Vacation fly through hours shall be included in line projections.

The Company may offer an incentive for Flight Attendants to fly through their vacations.


Prior to the Monthly Line Award

A Flight Attendant must provide notice to the Company of her/his intent to fly through a vacation period no later than the 5th day of the calendar month at 1000 local time before the Bid month in which the vacation is scheduled.


Fly Through Entire Vacation Period: 
From the “myVacation” page, in the “Scheduled Vacation” section, select the drop down arrow to expand the vacation period that you want to fly through. Select “Fly Through” to begin the request and the Fly Through Modification page will be displayed. From the Fly Through Modification page select “Fly Through Entire Vacation” and select “Submit”.

The “Fly Through” option is only visible while the Fly Through window is open. (If an Instant Trade or a Flight Attendant to Flight Attendant trade is in progress for the vacation period, the Fly through button will not be visible)

For vacations with 6 days or less, Fly Through requests will be automatically submitted once you select the “Fly Through” option. For vacations longer than 6 days, you will be redirected to the Fly Through Modification request page.

Fly through requests are instantly awarded and the vacation will be marked with the Fly Through indicator on “myVacation” page. 

A confirmation page is displayed indicating that the request has been submitted successfully. It is recommended that you print a copy for your records. To print, from the “File” menu select the “Print” option. You can also print by right-clicking anywhere on the screen and selecting “Print” from the menu options. 


The following is a Fly Through Example:

Example

A request to Fly Through an entire vacation period

 

    Scenario

Total Number of Vacation Periods: 4

Scheduled Vacation:01/01 to 01/10 (10days)

Fly Through Request: 01/01 to 01/10 (10days)

Result

Fly Through request is approved: 01/01 to 01/10 (10days)


Partial Fly Through:

  • Length of vacation must be greater than 6 days.
  • A Flight Attendant will be allowed to Fly Through consecutive vacation days within a block of vacation days, if they leave behind a block of at least 6 consecutive vacation days at the beginning, the end or both.
  • A Flight Attendant will not be allowed to Fly Through multiple sets of non-consecutive days from within a block of vacation days, even if she/he leaves behind a block of at least 6 consecutive vacation days (i.e. Flight Attendant has ten (10) vacation days and wishes to Fly Through the first and last 2).
  • A Flight Attendant cannot submit any Vacation Modification request (Fly Through/ Instant Trade/Flight Attendant to Flight Attendant trade) for remaining days of the Fly Through period unless she/he withdraws the partial Fly Through request.
  • Upon withdrawing the Fly Through, the original vacation period will be restored allowing a Flight Attendant to participate in any type of trade if trading window is open for that vacation period.
  • Fly Through will be considered a separate vacation period for the maximum of 5 periods.


Requesting a Fly Through Partial Vacation Period:

      
       Note:  When requesting to fly through a portion of your vacation and your vacation crosses from one month to the next,

       these requests must be submitted by the deadline which a   pplies for the month in which the vacation starts.

       Example:  Sixteen day vacation 3/24 - 4/8 and Flight Attendant wishes to fly through only the April portion of the vacation.         Because the April vacation days are part of a bid vacation period that starts in March, the fly through request must be              submitted no later than February 5 - the deadline by which March vacation fly through vacation requests must be on file.

  • From the myVacation page, in the Schedule Vacation section, select the drop-down arrow to expand the vacation period that you want to fly through. Select Fly Through to begin the request and the Fly Through Modification page will be displayed. On the Fly Through Modification page, select the Fly Through Begin Date and Length and then select “Submit”.
  • The Fly Through option is only visible while the Fly Through window is open. (If an Instant Trade or a Flight Attendant to Flight Attendant trade is in progress for the vacation period, the Fly through button will not be visible)
  • The Fly through request will be instantly awarded and the vacation will be marked with the Fly Through indicator on the “myVacation” page. The remaining days in the original vacation will appear in a separate vacation period. 

The Following are Partial Fly Through Examples that are Allowed:

Example 1

Example

A Fly Through has 6 consecutive days remaining in the vacation period


   S
cenario

Total Number of Vacation Periods: 4

Scheduled Vacation:01/01 to 01/10 (10days)

Fly Through Request: 01/01to 01/04 (4days)

   Result

Fly Through request is approved :01/01 to 01/04 (4days)

Vacation days remaining: 01/05 to 01/10 (6days)


Example 2

Example

A Fly Through request in the middle of the vacation period

Scenario

Total Number of Vacation Periods: 3

Scheduled Vacation: 01/01to01/20(20days)

Fly Through Request: 01/07to01/12(6days)

Result

Fly Through request is approved: 01/07 to01/12 (6days)

New Vacation Period created from remaining days–01/01 to01/06 (6days)

New Vacation Period created from remaining days–01/13 to01/20 (8days)


Example 3

Example

 A Fly Through request in the middle of the vacation period

Scenario

 Total Number of Vacation Periods: 3

 Scheduled Vacation: 01/01to 01/20 (20days)

 Fly Through Request: 01/09 to 01/10 (2days)

Result

 Fly Through request is approved: 01/09 to01/10 (2days)

 New Vacation Period created from remaining days–01/01 to01/08 (8days)

 New Vacation Period created from remaining days–01/11 to01/20 (10days)

 


The Following are Partial Fly Through Examples that are NOT Allowed:

Example 1

Example

 A Fly Through request results in fewer than 6 remaining days in a vacation period

Scenario

 Total Number of Vacation Periods: 4

 Scheduled Vacation:01/01 to 01/10 (10days)

 Fly Through Request: 01/01to 01/07 (7days)

Result

 Vacation Fly Through cannot be submitted as the number of remaining days is less than 6

Example 2

Example

Fly Through request would result in an additional vacation period exceeding 5 vacation periods

Scenario

Total Number of Vacation Periods: 5

Scheduled Vacation:01/01 to 01/10 (10days)

Fly Through Request: 01/01to 01/04 (4days)

Result

Fly Through request cannot be submitted as the number of vacation periods will exceed 5 vacation periods

Example 3

Example

Fly Through request would result in remaining days that are not in a vacation period of 6 consecutive days

Scenario

Total Number of Vacation Periods: 3

Scheduled Vacation:01/01 to 01/12 (12days)

Fly Through Request: 01/05 to 01/06 (2days)

Result

Vacation Fly Through cannot be submitted as the number of remaining days is less than 6



Flying Through (After Monthly Line – Operational Vacation Fly Through)

A Flight Attendant also may elect vacation fly through after the award of monthly schedules. Both Line holder and Reserves may request to fly through their vacations.

Lineholders >> Go to CCS > Trading > Electronic Bulletin Board > Market to pick up from other Flight Attendants. In this case, the fly through request will be automatically processed at the same time the trade is awarded.

Reserves >> Call FAST at Option 1, 2.

  • Partial operational Vacation Fly Through is not permitted
  • Once the Vacation Fly Through has been processed,vacation hours associated with the vacation period flown through will be automatically be place into Add Pay.
  • Flight Attendants may only pick up trip pairings within the vacation period from another Flight Attendant (unless otherwise permitted by the Company). 
  • No other trading restrictions apply during the month.
  • Reserves will now have OFF days where the vacation once was, which allows Reserves to pick-up trips during this period. 

The Reserve Monthly Guarantee (MIN) and Reserve Override are reduced by the value of the Reserve days awarded during what was initially the vacation period. Operational Vacation Fly Through reduces the Reserve Guarantee (MIN) because the Reserve days shown in the Monthly bid packet within the originally scheduled vacation period are then converted to OFF days. Once the Operational Vacation Fly Through is processed the vacation is no longer protected within the Reserve Guarantee (MIN) of 78:00 hours. It is moved to ADD Pay and is paid over and above the Reserve Guarantee (MIN) at the end of the bid month. The Reserve will need to pick up the flying on those OFF days to increase the total month’s pay hours and the entire value of pairing picked up will be placed into Add Pay, along with the Vacation hours.  


Vacation Slides

From the myVacation page from the drop down menu select Vacation Slide Request, once the vacation slide request is completed that request needs to be emailed to vacslide@united.com. These requests are processed by Crew Scheduling Planning. 

 

Lineholders

When a Flight Attendant’s vacation starts or ends between a scheduled outbound and return flight, the Flight Attendant may, at her/his option, move the vacation period either forward or backward in order to fly the scheduled pairing

If the pairing to be retained starts in the same bid month as the start of the vacation period, the request must be received by 0800 HDT on the 19th calendar day of the month prior to the start of the pairing.

If the pairing being retained starts in the month prior to the start of the vacation period, the request must be received by 1630 HDT on the 16th calendar day of the month in which the pairing starts. 

In addition, a Lineholder will be given the opportunity to move her/his vacation up to two (2) days in either direction, unless extraordinary circumstances exist, except that the movement of the vacation may not cause it to cross over from one bid month to another or from one Scheduled Vacation Year to another. These requests must be received by 0800 HDT on the 19th calendar day of the month prior to the start of the vacation period.

 

Reserves

A Reserve may move her/his vacation up to two (2) days in either direction, provided no new legality conflicts or short blocks are created.

These requests must be received by 0800 HDT on the 19th calendar day of the month prior to the start of the vacation period.

In addition, a Reserve who is awarded a vacation that does not include any days of availability shall be permitted to move her/his vacation a sufficient number of days forward or backward in order to encompass the nearest two (2) available reserve days. If this creates a short block, it must be adjusted in accordance with Section 12.C.3. of the JCBA, which also provides that short blocks abutting the first day of the new bid month do not need to be adjusted.


As provided for in Section 12.G., the list of blocked days for vacation slides in 2021 is as follows:

Blocked Vacation Slide Dates 

12/30/22 – 01/04/23

07/01/23– 07/07/23

11/21/23 – 11/26/23

04/06/23– 04/13/23

09/01/23 – 09/05/23

12/16/23 – 12/27/23

05/26/23 - 06/02/23

10/27/23 – 11/02/23

12/29/23 - 01/04/24

 

Transfers

A Flight Attendant who changes bases shall retain her/his vacation period(s). In the case of a new Base opening, a Flight Attendant may be required to re-bid for her/his remaining vacation days.

Leave of Absence

Vacations encompassed by a leave of absence shall be treated in the following manner:

  • Leave the vacation period intact and pay the Flight Attendant for the vacation; or
  • Permit a trade of vacations in accordance with the trading provisions of Section 12.C., thereby removing the original vacation from period of the leave; or
  • A Flight Attendant who is scheduled for jury duty, or on medical or occupational leave, or hospitalized due to illness or injury may, not later than one calendar day before her/his vacation begins, defer the vacation until later in the Scheduled Vacation Year.
  • Upon return to work, she/he will choose from available vacation periods
  • If no vacation period is open and the deferred vacation was a paid vacation, the Flight Attendant will be paid for the deferred vacation at her/his pay rate in the last month of the Scheduled Vacation Year in which the vacation would have been taken.
  • A Flight Attendant will have the option to either carry one unused vacation into the following vacation year and be paid for all unused vacation under the terms of 12.C.8.d. or be paid for all unused vacation under the terms of 12.C.8.c.
  • A Flight Attendant must advise the Company of their election to carry one unused vacation into the following vacation year no later than November 30. If no election is made by November 30, vacation will be paid out under the terms of 12.C.8.c.
  • The payment shall be made not later than the February 1 paycheck of the following year.
  • Flex Vacation cannot be carried into the following vacation year.
  • If she/he elects to carry over the deferred vacation days to the following Schedule Vacation year, She/he will choose from available vacation periods after vacation periods for that year have been awarded.
  • A Flight Attendant may only utilize this provision once per Scheduled Vacation Year.
  • A Flight Attendant will need to place their vacation on their schedule when they return from the leave of absence.

Trading Pairings that Conflict with Vacation in the Next Bid Month

Pairings at the end of the current month that carry over and overlap with vacation days scheduled in the next bid month are dropped as a result of a manual process which begins after lines are finalized on the 18th of the month.

Only those pairings which are part of the original line award will be dropped. 

  • If Flight Attendants have days off with no vacation conflict in the new month, and later pick up trips which present a conflict with the vacation period, those trips will not be dropped. 
  • If Flight Attendants have trips in their original line and later trade those trips with either Open Time or another Flight Attendant, those new trips will not be dropped.

The process of dropping the trips in the new month is a manual process and it is not unusual for it to take some time for that process to be addressed within the hierarchy of processes that must be completed.

It cannot be stressed highly enough; when a Flight Attendant picks up a pairing in the new month that overlaps their vacation, this will trigger a vacation fly through and any overlapping that should have been dropped will now be retained.   Flight Attendants should wait to process any trip trades in the new month until after the pairing from the old month has been dropped before picking up any trips over their vacation period. 

                                                                       Vacation Team

  Available: September 21, 2022 - December 16, 2022
Monday – Friday 0800 - 1600 CT

 

*Vacation Team not available on November 23 - 24, 2021 in observance of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

Vacation Team Contact Information

 

Contact Information

Phone Number

United States

1-800-FLT-LINE (Option 1, 9, 1)

London

0800-89-6516