12.03.23 – APFA ORD Base Brief – January 2024 Staffing and Allocations

January 2024 Staffing and Allocations

Sunday, December 3, 2023

2024… Wow, 2023 is ending!  It has been a year of highs and lows.  We were hoping to have a new contract yet here we are still working under a wage structure negotiated in 2014… Send letters to AA management expressing your frustration!  You can send multiple letters and invite your friends and family members to write, also!  CLICK HERE <link to the recent one click>

New hire classes have concluded for the year. We can expect new hires early in 2024.  It can be difficult to start a new job, especially during the holidays.   Please continue to support our probationary flight attendants.

Don’t forget ORD has a new centralized phone number to reach your base reps:

Critical Period – Attendance

The critical period for bidding ends in January. Dates considered “critical” December 22nd – January 3rd. Chargeable absences during this period will have one added attendance point applied.

During this same period, if you work all of your assignments/RAPs and do not have an absence, you will be given an incentive credit applied to future absences. Read about the critical period on page 7 of the Flight Attendant Attendance & Performance Program. You may also email the Crew Attendance Managers at [email protected].Holiday Pay 

January 1st is a holiday incentive pay day. Review the recent APFA Hotline for more information about holiday pay: APFA Holiday Pay.

AllocationsTrip lengths continue to improve to more balanced levels. We would like to see turns and two days continue their upward trend, hopefully we will see improvements in future months.

ODANs have increased to a more desirable level. We will continue to watch this number both in allocations but also with how the trips are being flown.

Staffing Like December, January is considered a Holiday month due to New Years Day.  The first half of January sees higher traffic than the second half.

Like December, the company likes to give themselves LOTS of wiggle room for reserve coverage.

The reserve percentage for Chicago is 21.9% vs system average of 22.7%

The expected line average for Chicago at PBS open is expected to be 78.5 vs the system average of 79.2.

VLOAs are available!

For January there are 30 VLOAs (Voluntary Leave of Absence) available in Chicago. It has been ages since we have seen these offered. They will be awarded in seniority order.

As a reminder, a VLOA is a contractual provision where the Company may offer voluntary leaves of absence without pay for 1 bid period, JCBA 25.B.

The Company has sent out information and instructions on how to bid for a VLOA.

• To submit for VLOA -> Look for the form in Comply
• Opens: December 3rd, 2023, 1200 CT
• Closes: December 7th, 2023, 1200 CT
• Posted: later in the day on the 7th

Sequence Starts Per Day 

Important Dates

• January 1st – New Years Day
• January 15th – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Trip Construction

• 1-day: 25% in January vs 24% in December
• 2-day: 30% in January vs 28% in December
• 3-day: 40% in January vs 43% in December
• 4 plus-day: 5% in January vs. 5% in December
• ODAN Starts per day: 12.5 in January vs 8.8 in December

PBS Preliminary Manning Plan

In Solidarity,

Dray Howard
APFA ORD Base President
(630) 215-8410
[email protected]

Justin Patterson
APFA ORD Base Vice President
(509) 720-0067
[email protected]