3.09.26 – APFA DCA Base Brief – April 2026 Staffing and Allocations

April 2026 DCA Staffing and Allocations

Monday, March 9, 2026

When PBS processing begins, if additional Lineholders are needed, those with Reserve status will be changed to Lineholder status in the following order:

1. Tentative Flight Attendants whose preference was Lineholder in the LRD process.
2. Reserve Flight Attendants who toggled to Pref LH in the LRD who were unable to hold Lineholder status in LRD.
3. Most junior Reserve Flight Attendants involuntarily moved to Lineholder status after all the above have been utilized.

Important: If you are in one of these 3 categories above, you will want to bid 7 layers of Reserve and 7 layers of Lineholder in PBS.

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54,230 total flying hours (DCA, IAD, BWI) (+1805 Hrs month -over-month) (+4558 hrs Year-over-year)

Year-over-year block hours has increased by 10.3 percent and head count has increased by 63 Flight Attendants.

• April is not a flex month
• Contractual targeted range 70-90 hours
• Opening line average 77 hours
• DCA’s most senior reserve for April has a system seniority number of 26847 (12 Feb 2025)
• 12 VLOA’s
• 35 New Hires (5 new hire classes)

Important Dates

• April Bid Month: Apr 1 – May 1
• Schedule Change – Apr 7
• Good Friday: April 3
• Easter Sunday – April 5
• NFL Draft: April 23-25
• Last weekend of April – Kentucky Derby weekend (May 2 Derby Day)

Allocations Notes for April

• Total sequences 830 (DCA, IAD, BWI):
  • 4 FA sequences: 476 total
  • 3 FA sequences: 354 total
• DCA Sequences: 773
• ODANS:
  • BOS operates 23 days
  • JAX operates 27 days
  • BUF operates 3 days
  • BTV operates 20 days
  • RDU operates 4 days
  • SYR operates 3 days
• DCA
  • Charter/honor flights- 13170,13181,13205,13212,13238,13274,13280,13309,13315,13335
  • LAX high time turns operates 30 days
  • PHX high time one days operates 31 days
  • PHX ‘pink eye’ 31 days
  • NAS turn operates 31 days
  •  Canada layovers: YYZ
  •  NIPD Layovers: STX, STT, CUR, BGI, BZE, PUJ, KIN, SJD, AUA, CUN, SDQ, BDA
  • Four Spanish Speaker positions
• BWI
  • 43 sequences
  • 3037 flying hours
  • DFW one day (5 AM/6AM) operates 30 days
  • 16 two-day trips
  • 19 three-day trips
  • No NIPD
• IAD
  • 14 sequences
  • 1870 flying hours
  • NEW IAD-LAX ‘pink eye’ (10:35 credit) operates 24 days
  • 6 – two-day trips
  • 8 -three-day trips
  • 2-three days NIPD (1 CUN layover)

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Sequences with Sit Times of 2.31 Hours or More

• DCA: 252
• BWI: 19
• IAD: 3

Scheduled Duty Days:

• <8 hours: 46.8%
• 8-10 hours: 26.1%
• 10-12 hours: 23.0%
• >12 hours: 4.1%

Scheduled Legs in Duty Day:

• 1-leg: 34.2%
• 2-legs: 51.0%
• 3-legs: 13.7%
• 4-legs: 1.1%

Scheduled Layover Rest:

• < 11 hours: 0.2%
• 11-12 hours: 4.2%
• 12-14 hours: 28.6%
• 14-16 hours: 20.2%
• 16-18 hours: 16.9%
• 18-20 hours: 10%
• 20-24 hours: 8%
• >24 hours: 11.9%

Scheduled Sit Times:

• 2-2.5 hours: 12.4%
• 2.5-3 hours: 9.0%
• >3 hours: 2.7%

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April 2026 Bidding Timelines

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April 2026 System Reserve Seniority

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New Hires Are Coming!
We will be receiving 35 new hires during the month of April. (2 classes will bid in PBS and 3 classes will be assigned a schedule)

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EFB

Please ensure that your EFB is up to date and FAA current this includes:

• iOS 26.0 (greater than 26.0 is legal)
• Comply365 13.3.1
• IFM revision 19.3

Your EFB must be current when reporting for duty and all device batteries must be charged to 90% or greater prior to the first flight of the day. Please remain compliant!

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Congratulations New Hires!

Class 26-01

Class 26-02

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2026 APFA Convention

This past week, APFA representatives from across the system gathered in Dallas for the Annual Union Convention. The convention provides an opportunity for union leaders and representatives to come together to review current issues, discuss policy, and collaborate on the direction and priorities of our union. Members who would like to review the convention’s final agenda may do so by clicking here.

Throughout the week, representatives participated in a series of meetings, discussions, and working sessions focused on the future of our union and the continued progress of our profession. Many of the conversations centered around the evolving challenges within our industry, as well as the opportunities ahead for our workgroup. The convention also provided valuable time for representatives to exchange ideas, share experiences from their respective bases, and work collectively toward solutions that strengthen our membership and organization.

As our profession continues to navigate changes across the industry, these gatherings remain an important forum for ensuring that the voices of our members are represented and that our union remains proactive in addressing the issues that matter most to flight attendants.

Additional information and updates from the convention will be shared in a future brief. In the meantime, members are always encouraged to reach out to us as your local union leadership with any questions or if you would like further information about the discussions that took place during the convention.

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Thank you for your continued engagement and for everything you do!

In Solidarity,

John Pennel
APFA DCA Base President
[email protected]

Dianne Britton
APFA DCA Base Vice President
[email protected]

Lisa Barnes
APFA DCA Base Council Representative – Allocations
[email protected]