10.06.25 – APFA LAX Base Brief – November 2025 Staffing and Allocations

November 2025 LAX Staffing and Allocations

Monday, October 6, 2025

No Voluntary Leaves of Absence (VLOAs) are being offered at any base for November 2025.

Reserve percentages range from a high of 22.8% at PHX to a low of 10.8% at LGA. System average is 15.0%

LAX reserve percentage increased year over year from 13% to 15.6%. I questioned their reasoning. The company claims that it is due to historical data from the same period last year relative to reserve availability, i.e. whether we run out of reserves during the month.

I countered with the argument that LAX is unique in that the company needs to recognize that our higher proportion of IPD to narrowbody trips combined with the  lack of reliability of the widebody fleet skews our reserve utilization number as each recrew following a delay or cancellation takes 8-11 flight attendants out of our reserve pool for 3-4 days.

The company also cited a high amount of Red Flag flying. The company could easily resolve the majority of their staffing and reserve issues at LAX by recalling our displaced Flight Attendants.

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November 2025 Allocations

LAX Total Block Hours: 79,354
Satellite and Co-Terminal Block Hours

• ONT: 2,510
• SNA: 4,614
• LAS: 1,507
• SAN: 1,011

LAX  has ODAN flying for November. I questioned AA’s Senior Manager of Crew Schedule Optimization, Doug Price as to the reduction of block hours being disproportionate to the reduction in headcount year-over-year and month-over-month. I promised to follow up with Doug on this and other issues.

November Flying Highlights

777

• Charter to JAX – 11/14
• JFK-MIA 3day – Mixed 777/787  – 11/5
• JFK-CLT 3day – Mixed 777/787 – 11/2
• JFK – Mix of JFK pairings throughout month
• MIA – Intermittent
• DFW TA – 11/21

787

• MIA – 11/20, 11/21’, 11/22, 11/23, 11/24, 11/25, 11/27, 11/30, 12/1 (varied pairings)
• PHL-MIA – 11/3-17
• PHL – 11/2, 11/18, 11/19
• DFW TA – 11/1

NBD

• JFK at 0810 – Daily
• JFK at 1135 – Daily
• BOS at 1255 -Daily
• JFK at 2215 – Daily
• JFK at 2310 – Daily
• JFK at 2359 – 11/26
• JFK at 1530 – 12/1
• BOS at 1400 – 11/1
• BOS at 2155 – 11/28

Turns

• DFW – intermittent
• PIT – intermittent
• CMH – intermittent
• ATL – intermittent
• AUS  – intermittent

ODANs

• Near daily PHX ODAN

International

LAX-AKL – First flight 12/3
(Requesting Doug Price to build an LAX sequence which will operate the first AKL-LAX on 12/5)

LAX-BNE – Company has not responded with any information yet on this previously announced route

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LAX Construction Update

**Key Details Announced:**

– Terminal 5 (T5) is set to close on October 28th.
– T5 will be demolished to facilitate a complete rebuild of the terminal, which is expected to take 2-3 years.
– American Airlines (AA) will be the sole occupant of T5 once the reconstruction is completed.
– The previous plan to vacate The Eagle’s Nest and relocate Eagle operations to T5 has been abandoned.
– The suspension of the plans to build Terminal 9 (T9) on The Eagle’s Nest site has led LAWA to reconsider the relocation of Eagle operations to the mainline gates.

**Gate Availability:**

– There will be no reduction in the overall gate count for AA. The number of gates AA currently has will remain unchanged after the demolition of T5.
– AA currently has 5 preferential use gates that are shared with other carriers in the 150s range at TBIT South. These gates are extensively used by AA throughout the day and night.

**New Gate Allocations:**

– In exchange for the loss of the T5 gates, AA will gain an additional 5 exclusive use gates in TBIT South, which will not be shared with other carriers. One of these gates is specifically designed to accommodate either one widebody or two narrowbody aircraft. When narrowbodies are parked at this gate, AA will effectively have a total of 6 exclusive use gates, in addition to the existing 5 preferential use gates.
– AA will have either exclusive or preferential use of gates 148-159 in TBIT.
– All TBIT gates are Customs-capable, which enhances AA’s ability to schedule widebody international departures.

**Access during T5 Rebuild:**

During the T5 rebuild, AA will have access to:

– The T4 gates (with the new central core T4 gates returning once construction is complete)
– 5 new exclusive use gates in TBIT South, with the potential for a 6th gate when narrowbodies are parked
– The existing 5 common use gates at TBIT
– The Eagle’s Nest

Once construction is completed, AA will have:

– Full access to T4
– Full access to T5
– The right to retain the TBIT gates
– The Eagle’s Nest

The former United Airlines (UA) hangar west of AA’s hangar will be demolished, allowing AA to use that space for overnight aircraft parking and remote operations. When construction is completed, AA will have more gates than any other airline at LAX.

**Additional Details:**

– AA is planning to provide an employee bus from the AA employee lot to the AA gates in TBIT South.
– AA is also considering a bus service from the AA employee lot to the high 40s gates in T4. I have requested this several times since the completion of the high 40s gates and am awaiting approval.
– AA will gain a domestic baggage claim in TBIT, which will eliminate the need for domestic arriving passengers at TBIT to walk to T4 for baggage claim.
– AA is constructing a new mini-operations area for AA crews at TBIT. Further details about the size and layout are not currently available.
– AA will temporarily section off part of a gate area at TBIT to serve as an interim Admiral’s Club.

While construction may limit growth for a few years, AA can still pursue incremental growth in the international market from LAX by utilizing its expanded resources at TBIT during this interim period.

Whether AA will recognize our value as a premium gateway and implement incremental improvements to our international operations at LAX remains to be seen.

I will keep you updated as developments occur.

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AA IOC Notification Issues

When an incident occurs on board an AA flight—whether it is medical, mechanical, or related to passenger misconduct—the Integrated Operational Control (IOC) is notified.

Upon receiving an alert, the IOC center is expected to follow a strict protocol, which includes informing a designated list of individuals, parties, and departments about the incident.

For example, if flight XXXX is operating from LAX to DFW with a crew based in LAX and a passenger experiences a medical emergency inflight, the IOC is alerted. The IOC, in turn, contacts LAX Flight Service, DFW Flight Service, and the APFA Safety and Security Department.

The APFA Safety Department then immediately notifies the base APFA leadership.

Following that, Flight Service will reach out to the APFA base leadership.

However, recent incidents have shown that the AA IOC is not adhering to its own protocols and is failing to notify the APFA in a timely manner, if at all.

Delayed or missed notifications hinder our ability to support you after an incident. For instance, the IOC did not notify the APFA of a major security incident involving an LAX crew on August 29, 2025, for three full days. Similarly, the IOC failed to inform the APFA of a serious medical emergency on September 27, 2025, for 56 hours.

I have reported these issues to the APFA Safety and Security Department and the company, and I am willing to assist in any way possible to ensure this issue is resolved.

This situation cannot continue.

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Accolade

As previously announced, Accolade, the independent health benefits navigator that we partnered with several years ago, will no longer provide ongoing services for employees as of October 1, 2025.

Accolade will still assist with historical information regarding claims through the following number: 1-833-FIND-WAY.

However, we no longer have access to the Accolade app and portal.

Please direct any questions about health benefits to your insurance administrator.

You should have already received your new insurance card. If you have not yet received it, please contact your medical benefit administrator.

For BCBS of TX, the contact number is 1-877-235-9258. You may need the AA group number, which is 324611.

No additional action is required from you during this transition. The plan design, provider network, and any prior authorizations will remain unchanged.

Many of us have relied on Accolade as an intermediary to help us navigate the complexities, requirements, and opportunities presented by our health plans.

Unfortunately, Accolade was not under contract, and the company chose to terminate the relationship for all employees.

While no official reason has been given for the discontinuation of Accolade’s services, we can all speculate on the potential reasons.

Many thanks to APFA’s National Health Chairperson, Hayley Brewer, for advocating on our behalf regarding this issue and for providing the information above.

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Inflight Quarterly Training 3Q2025

• A319S EOW (12/120) Differences
• A321XLR Differences
• Kannad ULTIMA-S Survival ELT
• Operational Reliability
• Inflight Dining Service Standards and Safety

This quarterly training must be completed by Tuesday, October 7 at 23:59 (CT) to avoid a Missed Assignment (MA). Also, the company has notified us that if an active Flight Attendant fails to complete this WBT by the deadline, they will lose their entire Airbus qualification.

If you are on inactive status, you are not required to complete the WBT at this time. You will have 30 days to complete this WBT once you return to work.

That’s it for this update. Safe travels!

In Solidarity,

John Nikides
APFA LAX Base President 
[email protected]