1.29.24 – Primary Round of 2024-25 Vacation Bidding Now Open

Q1: My summary page in AVBA shows an accrual of 35 days and 6 max filler days. Does this mean I have a total of 41 vacation days?
A: No, you have a total of 35 days. The number of max filler days displayed on the summary page is based on your total days accrued.

Q2. What are Filler Days?
A: Filler Days are accrued vacation days you may set aside during annual vacation bidding. It is important to note Filler Days are not in addition to but are a part of your yearly accrual. If you set aside Filler Days during the annual vacation bidding period, you may bid for them two months prior to the month you want to use them. The bidding period opens at 1200 CT on the 11th and closes at 1200 CT on the 20th of every month. You may want to utilize Filler Days to bid to have a holiday off that you cannot hold in the annual bid or to add more day(s) to an existing vacation block.

Q3. What are Unscheduled Days?
A: Unscheduled Days are vacation days that are cancelled due to leaves of absence, such as a medical leave.  Unscheduled Days were eligible for rebid in the Monthly Rebid. If you did not rebid them during the current vacation cycle, they were converted to Carry Forward Days.

Q4: What are Carry Forward Days?
A: Carry Forward Days are any unscheduled vacation days from the prior fiscal year’s vacation cycle you did not use. You may bid your Carry Forward Days during the Secondary Round of vacation bidding. Your Carry Forward days will not be displayed in your accrual until the Secondary Round of vacation bidding opens on March 5.

Q5: Can I split my vacation as many times as I would like throughout the fiscal year?
A: The AVBA system allows for a lot of flexibility when bidding for vacation days. Your vacation days may be split into many different combinations. A single vacation block can even encompass two contractual months (e.g., a vacation scheduled from June 27th to July 5th). It is important to remember the limits of splitting your vacation days. You may only be awarded one vacation block of either one (1), two (2) or three (3) consecutive days. All other vacation blocks must be four (4) or more consecutive days (JCBA Section 8.C.1.).

Q6: Why would I use a descending date range?
A: A descending date range allows you to prioritize your bid starting with a later date going in reverse chronological order. For example, if you want to prioritize the end of December over the beginning of December for a seven day block, you would enter 12/31/2024 as your start date and 12/02/2024 as your end date. The system would look at 12/31 going backwards for seven days, then 12/30 for seven days, until it can award you a seven day block.

If you have any questions regarding your accrual or bidding process, you may email [email protected] or open a ticket on the Support Tab on Crew Portal.

In Solidarity,

Jeff Petersen
APFA National Contract Chair
[email protected]

Marti McMillan
APFA National Scheduling Chair
[email protected]