3.19.25 – APFA LAX Base Brief – Update for Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

• April 2025 PBS Bid Summary
• Contractual PBS Mis-Award Process 
• LAX Jet Bridge Access
• Flight 5342 Lapel Pins
• Diversion vs. Return to Gate 
• LAX Base VP Election

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April 2025 PBS Bid Award Summary

Line Average

• Projected line average – 78:38
• Actual line average – 78:58

Min/Max Constraints

• MIN –  Not applicable
• MAX –  Not applicable

LAX and MIA had neither a minimum nor a maximum for APRIL 2025.  All other bases had a minimum of 70:00 at varying levels of seniority.

High/Low Lines

• High lines ( > 90 hours) – 299
• Low lines ( < 70 hours) – 300

Vacation Low

• Vacation Low (Eligible) – 130
• Vacation Low (Awarded) – 24
• Last awarded Vacation Low – seniority 15413

Days Off

• Average days off – 17.59

Layers 

• Lines awarded from Layer 1 – 19.76%
• Lines awarded from Layer 2 – 13.45%
• Lines awarded from Layer 3 – 10.64%
• Lines awarded from Layer None (LN) – 14,21%

Layer None (LN) awards can result from a number of factors, including, but not limited to:

• Too many restrictions, ie. properties and days off, in layers 1-7;
• Not bidding enough sequences;
• Not bidding all layers; and
• Layers containing zero sequences due to bidding conflicts.

Prior to submitting your final bid, it is a good idea to check the Layer Tab, ensuring that each layer is populated. From the Layer Tab, you can click on each layer to verify your pairing pool.

OPEN TIME

• Open Time Percentage Remaining – .50%

STAFFING NUMBERS

• Lineholders – 1255
• Reserves – Projected – 245, Actual 244

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Contractual PBS Mis-Award Process
The PBS Misaward process is contractual. Any potential misaward claims must be submitted as detailed below.

You must file a report via the Support tab in Crew Portal by the 24th of the month. Their response time is usually between 12-24 hours.

They will research your claim and respond. If there is an adjustment to be made, they will do so.

I also suggest you file a PBS Misaward from via the Forms Menu on the homepage of www.apfa.org. You do not have to login to do so. The PBS Specialists at APFA will also review your claim and research it.

Please remember to file the report via Crew Portal by the 24th as that is a contractual requirement.

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LAX Jetbridge Access
Per Andrew Masiello’s recent LAX-Baseline, we are no longer permitted to access the LAX jetbridges using our LAWA badge.

The new policy requires that we wait for the agent to open the jetbridge door for us.

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Flight 5342 Lapel Pins

Company-issued lapel pins honoring the crewmembers lost on flight 5342 are now available at the LAX MOD office.

This pin not only honors our fallen colleagues, but also serves as a reminder of our shared loss.

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Diversion vs. Return to Gate

A recent incident brought to light an attempt by Crew Tracking to convince flight attendants that they remained legal beyond their on-duty limitations when their flight returned to the gate.

The tracker argued that the flight attendants could not be released, claiming that this was a diversion under Sec. 3.N.

A diversion is an unscheduled landing at an airport that is neither the airport of origination nor the airport of destination.

A return-to-gate at the airport of origination…even if we have taken off and returned to the airport of origination…is not a diversion.

The alert LAX crew contacted me and the situation was resolved. The tracker has been reported to the highest levels of APFA and management.

This egregious attempt was not just a misunderstanding on the part of the tracker. It was an intentional attempt to re-interpret our contractual protections.

Kudos to this LAX crew for knowing their rights.

We must remain vigilant.

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LAX Base VP Election

Cody Steele has been elected to the position of LAX Base Vice-President for the 2025-2026 term.

Cody will be taking office on April 1, 2025, and will be attending New Leadership Training next week in DFW.

I will share Cody’s APFA contact information in an upcoming update.

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That’s it for this update. Have a great week, and fly safe.

In Solidarity,

John Nikides
APFA LAX Base President 
[email protected]