4.03.23 – APFA MIA Base Brief – May 2023 Staffing and Allocations

Monday, April 3, 2023

May 2023 Staffing and Allocations

The May block hours went down 2% from April and are up 17% from May 2022. A schedule change will occur on May 5. Some key dates for May where we can expect coverage needed days include the Kentucky Derby from May 3-7, Mother’s Day on May 14, and Memorial Day weekend from May 27-29.

The projected Reserve percentage for May is 19.2%, with 619 required heads. This is up 1.4% from April. We will again challenge these numbers as our sick volume decreases each month.

IPD Flying

GRU will operate two daily departures. One on the 777-300 with a 38.25 hour layover, with the other operating as a Rocket on the 787-8 series with a 13.10 hour layover. LHR will operate two daily departures on 777-200, and the 777-300. MAD, BCN, and GIG will operate daily on the 787-8 series. EZE will pause after May 3rd, and will return June 1st.

Domestic Wide-Body Flying

The JFK 1/1 wide-body will not operate in May. Instead, we will have a DFW 1/1 with the originating leg operating on a 777-200, and the return leg on the 787-8. LAX will operate a daily 787-8 day turn, and DFW will operate a daily wide-body turn with the originating leg on the 787-8, and the return leg on the 777-200.

SEA-LHR

We have made continuous attempts to push the SEA-LHR trip to Miami to mitigate the loss of our IPD flying. Despite our efforts, the Company is unwilling to move the trip to Miami. For May, it will operate out of DFW as a 5-day trip.

The Company contends that it cannot build it as a 5-day trip out of Miami due to the SEA-MIA flight’s late arrival time, which would create a 6-day trip and add an additional three hours of RIG time. We then suggested building it as a 6-day trip with the second daily MIA-LHR scheduled to begin service on May 5. MIA-LHR-SEA-LHR-MIA. This would eliminate any pay and credit associated with deadheading or RIG time. They again would not agree, citing the difficulty in covering six days of flying with Reserves.

We will continue to push for additional IPD flying to fill the void.

Narrow-Body Turns

• SJU, PUJ, POS, GND, SKB, LIR, SXM, AUA, UVF, STT, BAQ, SAL, CMW, SCU, PEI, PAP, SVD, BON, PTY, DCA, PHL, DEN, JFK, PHX, MSY, YYZ, JAX

ODANS

• ORF, ATL, RDU, MCO, BNA, JAX, TPA, MSY

Total Block Hours for May: 199,613

• MIA: 185,973
• ATL 1,984
• FLL 6,116
• MCO 2,474
• PBI 3,066

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Reserve Rotations

Since March, we have received 268 new hires in Miami. This has dramatically changed the seniority of our Reserve list. If your seniority does not warrant being on Reserve and you want to keep your rotation, you must toggle onto Reserve in the LRD tool. If you have more than three (3) days of vacation and toggle onto Reserve, this will NOT count as satisfying your Reserve obligation/rotation.

Reserve PBS Bidding for Days Off

If you are scheduled for Reserve or have bid onto Reserve, you must use the Reserve tab for bidding days off. If you bid for days off in the Lineholder tab, PBS will not recognize your bid, and will assign you as having no bid.

Speaker Notice of Dispute

A Group Notice of Dispute was filed regarding training instructors encouraging New Hire Flight Attendants not to qualify in Spanish. I am happy to report the dispute was settled and the Company will instruct all members of the training department to refrain from discouraging New Hire Flight Attendants from becoming qualified Speakers. At present, Miami has 540 Spanish qualified Flight Attendants. In the March bid run, 346 Flight Attendants were awarded at least one Spanish Speaker trip, for an average of 36:17 per speaker line. 114 were not awarded any Speaker trips.

Lost EFB

We have seen a significant increase in the number of lost tablets. With the long duty days and all the added requirements, fatigue sets in, and tablets are being left behind in the jumpseat or in a cart. We have explained to Flight Service that no Flight Attendant leaves a tablet behind on purpose, and no one should be disciplined or given an event point for misplacing their tablet. Distractions happen, especially when working a new position or needing more rest.

Amazon sells tile trackers that can easily be stored in the EFB pouch or adhesively attached to the EFB that can be tracked on your phone or IPAD. Apple offers the AirTag for iPhone users. Tile Pro, Tile mate, and Tile slim work with Android phones. They are relatively inexpensive and could assist you in locating a lost tablet.

Late Reports

We continue to receive daily calls regarding issues with the EFB failing to record the sign-in. Please double-check the NS for the asterisk next to your name to verify that you are signed in. Also, if you become distracted and fail to sign in, pull up a copy of your KCM scans and present that to your Attendance Manager if you reported to the airport on time.

You can create a KCM account by logging on to:
https://mykcmsupport.com/accounts/register/

The address is also on the back of your KCM card. You will need to change your password every 60 days. All recorded scans are in ZULU time which is four hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

In Solidarity,

Randy Trautman
APFA MIA Base President
[email protected]

Heidi Morgan
APFA MIA Base Vice President
[email protected]