1.10.26 – APFA CLT Base Brief – February 2026 Staffing and Allocations

February 2026 Staffing and Allocations

Saturday, January 10, 2026

We had our monthly call to discuss the trips for February. We are in the first full month of the winter schedule without a holiday in it. February is usually a calm month barring weather events and this year looks like a usual February with the anticipated bank cuts and pulldowns on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the first half of the month. There is a schedule change on the 12th and then we begin the slow climb into summer. The only dates to be aware of are the Super Bowl (First weekend), Valentines Day (Second weekend), and Presidents Day on the 16th. The company becomes very protective of the Super Bowl weekend; keep that in mind when bidding. The schedule change is right before Valentine’s Day. The system has 181,443 hours for CLT, which is slightly higher than in January, but 9% more flying than we had in February of last year. We are seeing the same strategy that started last year- a slow increase every month as we ease into the summer. This shows how much Charlotte is a vital key in the revenue stream for AA. The system has a 2.7% increase in block time, year over year, but Charlotte has an increase of 9%.

There is more time in the schedule after the Feb 12th schedule change, and flights will be added to the existing banks. There will be less trips in the first 11 days of the month, and then the system will slowly increase for the rest of the month. We should see slow increases like this continuing in March, April and May until we hit a peak summer schedule. It will not make huge leaps like we used to have. Keep this in mind when bidding- there will be more variety of trips as the month progresses past the 12th.

Part of the pulldown at the beginning of the month is IPD. This is due to seasonal demand, and the company feels they can use the aircraft in another market to get maximum yield. Here are the changes:

LHR
Early- AA730- Does not operate on Feb 09,11,13,14 and 15.
Late- AA732- Does not operate on Jan31st and Feb 1st.
Late/Late – 734- Does not operate on Feb 3rd, 6, 7 and 8th.

Madrid (MAD)
AA748 – Does not operate on Feb 3,10,17 and 24th.

Munich (MUC)
AA784 – Does not operate Feb 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ,7, 8, 9, 10, and 16th (11 days total)

FRA- 704 – operates every single day of the bid month.

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Our Numbers are allowing us to keep our line average down and offer some VLOAs. While the usage from last February does not warrant 21% reserves, they continue to keep this number high just to cover the beginning and end of every month. Their justification for the number of reserves is not based on year over year or historical usage, but rather month over month usage. Every time they run short, they panic and grab at the first solution, which is more reserves. The reserve cut off is April 21st, 2022.

The banks will be cut from 9 banks to 8 banks, with additional cuts on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the first part of the month. The second part of the month will have 9 banks, with a reduction to 8 banks on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. This is the largest cut of the winter schedule and as we move into summer, banks and the number of trips will slowly increase.

One of the larger impacts to restructuring the banks of flying is the amount of sit time. The sit time is caused by the aircraft swaps or connections made when coming through a base. For instance, you fly to DFW and are scheduled to change planes in DFW. If you come in on bank 3, your next flight will most likely be out in bank 4. This causes most of the long sits, waiting on the next bank. If the banks are cut out or reduced, the company will cut the number of connections or try and create a connection within the same bank. (Come in to DFW on bank 3 and have shorter sit, then depart on a later flight in bank 3.) With the adjustment to the banks in CLT, we see less 2:30 + sits, but more 1:30 to 2:00 hours. DFW is slated for a restructuring of its operation, this should theoretically cut the amount of sit time in DFW in the future.

Our trips break down as;

• 1 days will make up 21% of our trips (Up)
• 2 days will make up 17% of our trips (Up)
• 2/3 days will make up 13% of our trips (Up)
• 3 days will make up 36% of our trips (Down)
• 3/4 days will make up 2% of our trips (Up)
• 4 days will make up 3% of our trips. (Down)
• ODANs will make up 7% of our trips (Same))
• Red Eyes take another hit and come in at less than 1% of our trips.
• Bullets and pink eyes have some reductions due to the schedule changes- less than 1% of the trips.

For the first time in months, the 3 days are actually down. This happened last year, so we don’t expect this to continue. For February, there are more 1 days, but the additional 1 days are 4 leggers.

The 2 days are also up. We did see a good mix of departure times on these that make it easier to fly back-to-back 2 days. This has been an issue since the new rest regulations have come in. We are starting to more of a balance month to month. Not a lot of sit times built into the 2 days.

3 days are down. First time since last winter. The 3 days are the work horse for the base. This is where we see the most sit time- multiple legs and shorter overnights.

The 4 days are some of the most attractive trips if you don’t mind being away for that period. Not a lot of sit time, fewer legs and decent overnights. Commutability remains the concern for these trips with about the same amount of non-commutable trips month to month.

The 2/3 and 3/4 days are slightly up from previous months. The banks and schedule change play a huge factor in how many we have. One of the things that is different year over year is the amount of airplanes that actually overnight in Charlotte. Fewer aircraft are spending the night in the base.

This naturally creates more overnights for the crews. It also means very early departures out of those cities where the aircraft spent the night. This brings more people connecting on the first bank of flights so we can get them into the system. Charlotte is a connecting hub, not known for originating traffic. The more people they can get into the system in the morning, the more people we can service to their destinations. It seems like a long due move, but factor in maintenance rotations, service rotations, and it becomes a complicated program to keep more aircraft out of a hub.

ODANs are strong as a result of our schedule, location and frequency of service. Many cities have disappeared from the ODAN schedule. A lot of this is due to the fact that the express carriers are picking up the late flights. We will continue to see this as many of the smaller cities we have been servicing with mainline go back to express. Our hub is also slowly moving to more 737 flying and away from the airbus dominance. This will add more 4 flight attendant solutions to the trips and create more flying with the same amount of trips. Keep an eye on this as we move into summer.

The red eyes, pink eyes and bullets are all affected by the schedule change. Fewer banks and flight cuts contribute to most of this. The usual cities, both transcon and midcon, are still there. Day of the week cuts also limit how many can be built.

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February 2026 Bidding Timelines

February looks like a quiet month on paper; winter storms have a tendency to disrupt this. The trips are more balanced, but it is a historical month for low block awards. Mind your TCR and take a look at the trips. Low blocks are the norm for this time of year. With the loss of IPD, the trickle-down effect tends to happen. Those that fly IPD will now grab the 1 days, the 1-day people will now grab the 2 days or ODANs, etc. There is an abundance of vacation in February. This should help even out the trickle-down effect. A bid that was great in July may not be as effective in February. Winter months require a different bidding strategy.

We have some contractual changes coming in March, and historically, this is the month the company announces new policies or changes they plan to implement for the upcoming year. February looks quiet on paper, but ends up leaving a ringing in our ears.

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Take care of yourselves and each other.

The Charlotte APFA Team

In Solidarity,

Scott Hazlewood
APFA CLT Base President
[email protected]

Frank Cagle
APFA CLT Base Vice President
[email protected]