2.09.25 – APFA CLT Base Brief – March 2025 Staffing and Allocations

March 2025 Staffing and Allocations

Sunday, February 9, 2025

We had our monthly call last week to discuss the trips for the March bid month. March is a month that will begin the slow rise in time as we ease into the summer schedule in May and June. Our banks of flying will come back to 9 full banks, but we still have a major pull down on Tuesdays. March has a spike in flying on the 2nd and then drops until a schedule change on the 6th that will gradually add time to the system for the spring break crowd. Daylight Saving Time begins on March 9 and St. Patrick’s Day is on March 17. Keep in mind, the rest time is compensated for in SABRE during the time change on the 9th. It always looks weird on the trip sheets, so take a second look at the actual overnight time.

We will have 165,814 hours for March. Slightly down from our hours last year because Dublin came back earlier last year. In past years, we saw a dramatic increase in June, but last year they started a slow increase into the summer schedule over 3 months and it worked better. They are planning the same slow climb into summer this year with almost an 8% increase added after the 6th.

With the increase in time, there will be no VLOAs for March and we are expected to get 50 new hires added to the CLT ranks early in the month. The line average is still fairly low, but in the coming months we do anticipate higher line averages and Lineholders being held to higher line values (Higher 78 constraint instead of 70). This should not be as big a problem for March but starting in May, this should be considered when setting your TCR and bidding trips.

The increase in time at the end of the month is the addition of Dublin on the 29th and a positioning trip for Rome on the 28th. Rome is a 4 day that goes through PHL the first day. We will have the usual IPD daily trips with Paris and Athens set to start on June 5th.

Our Ranks continue to grow. Charlotte has over 100 openings. These positions will be filled with transfers and new hire FAs. Our reserve numbers remain high and the company is using the new hires as cannon fodder by not including them in the actual reserve count. This gives them more reserves to help mend a fragile system when it breaks, but it also increases the seniority of those who have to rotate. The current cut off for seniority rotation is Feb 1, 2026. It is crucial to keep the numbers low during months like February, March, April, September and October. With the 3-month rotation cycle, it has a trickle down effect 3 months later during the holiday months and the peak summer months. The contractual changes to reserve rotation will not be felt for some time and we will continue to advocate for reserve numbers to come down. The company has said to anticipate higher line averages and higher reserve numbers as absenteeism is anticipated to rise.

Our trips break down as;

• 1 days will make up 22% of our flights. (↑)
• 2 days will make up 16% of our trips (↓)
• 2/3 days will make up 17% of our trips (↑)
• 3 days will make up 30% of our trips (↑)
• 3/4 days will make up 3% of our trips (=)
• 4 days will make up 3% of our trips (↓)
• ODANS will make up 5% of our trips (↑)
• Red eyes will make up 2% of our trips (=)
• Pink Eyes and Bullets/All night turns have a few more but come in under 1% of our trips.

Our trips have been drifting towards more 3 days and more 2/3 days. The computer wants to spit out multi day trips. It can cram more flying into these trips and cover it with one crew. It’s easier to keep track of the crews, hotels, layovers, etc. Building more 1 and 2 days actually creates a logistical nightmare when things go wrong. With the system being as fragile as it is, it looks as if they are tackling this problem by creating more multiple day trips. I would like to see the sick rate on multiple day trips as opposed to 1 and 2 days. The rise in 3 days may be creating a self-fulfilling prophecy with the company anticipating higher absenteeism. The 30 hour layovers are popular, but they have topped 20%, keep in mind, there is no contractual limit to how many of these they can build. This equates to more days at work for less pay. While it’s fun to have a whole day to run around, most of the cities are low frequency cities or small cities. It also gives the company more opportunity to reschedule those crews to additional flying when the system breaks.

The 1 days are up but 23% of them are 4 leggers. We hope the 1 days continue to increase as more time is added to the system. 1 days are productive if they are worth more than the min day of 5 hours. They are popular and the sick rate is lower. While we prefer turns to 4 legs, the appetite for more 1 days will always be there.

The 2 days took a hit, dropping to 16%. It was only a few years ago when the company made the paradigm shift to more 1 and 2 days. It was a risk that was well received and more productive when taken in all categories. It seems we are shifting back to a new sense of productivity aimed at cramming more time into a trip or having employees work more days a month. The increase in multiple-day trips has been signaling this for months.

The key to creating a good trip packet is balance. Something for every taste. When the system is loaded with too much of one type of trip, it knocks off the balance and the overall productivity numbers suffer. To simply cram more time into the trips and make more 3 days may look good on paper, but the absenteeism rate suffers, and it becomes blurry as to if real productivity is achieved.

The 4 days are, ironically, some of the best trips. Easy days, long rests, but only 27% of them are commutable. 4 days are for the commuters, both drivers and flyers. The percentage of these trips remains low, but even for those who want them, they don’t always work. When trips don’t work for who they are designed, they become undesirable. Undesirable trips equal unproductive trips.

ODANs are tied to the banks of flying. Our ODANs should be taking a hit with several of the recent changes, but with the spring break weekend increase the banks are returning and so are the ODANs. While it is only a small increase on paper (Because more are on the 319/20), the actual number of ODAN trips continues to remain strong.

Red eyes made up most of the open time and the company deemed them a problem. I’m wondering what the sick rate is on red eyes. No one likes the turns on the front of the red eyes, but I guess having productivity is more important than desirability.

There are a few more pink eyes and all-night turns. These types of trips are completely dependent on the schedule and the time of year. As we move into summer, these should gradually increase as we expand our schedule.

March 2025 Bidding Timelines

The implementation of the new contract continues with improvements coming one at a time. April will begin boarding pay and sit time penalty pay. With 21% of our trips having sit times over 2+30 hours, the new pay will be noticeable. Remember, the new sit times are actual, not scheduled. We are only looking at and calculating times over 2+30, we see a lot of scheduled 2+20 to 2+29. If you get in early, you get paid the same as scheduled 2+30, it’s all a 1 for 2 rig at that point.

March is one of those in between months. There is traditionally more vacation and with CLT running a larger schedule than previous years, this has put a strain on staffing. Next year’s vacation matrix is more even in the spring months to help alleviate this strain but again many of the problems the company has with staffing, coverage and productivity are caused by themselves. In many ways, it is a self-fulling prophecy, and they keep trying to tweak themselves out of the problems that they caused.

Take care of yourselves and each other.

The Charlotte APFA Team

In Solidarity,

Scott Hazlewood
APFA CLT Base President
[email protected]