5.06.25 – APFA CLT Base Brief – June 2025 Staffing and Allocations

June 2025 CLT Staffing and Allocations

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

We had our monthly call with the company to discuss the trips for June. The summer schedule is in full swing in June with our flight hours coming in at 191,196. Most of the additional time is the addition of Athens on June 5th. Our daily schedule is much like May with full banks and only reductions in flying in some of the key banks. The key to June is the Reserve numbers. Keep in mind, the reserve numbers are the first thing they set, then they build the rest of the scheduled flying around those numbers. Our number is 1,009 reserves or 30% of the base. The cut off seniority for Reserve will be February 26, 2018.

So, why are our Reserve numbers so high? Last year we ran a dismal/unrealistic operation in June and burned through the reserves during the summer months. This year, they are putting on even more reserves in anticipation of the same operational need. There is only one problem, we are not running the same operation we did last year, and they have improved the scheduled flying flaws. Flight Attendants this year will pay for the company mistakes made last year. With an extra few hundred people on reserve, it will mean higher line constraints, more coverage needed assignments, less flexibility, and trips with longer duty days and shorter rest. The high reserve numbers will affect more people than just those on reserve. Our month has the usual spike in flying on the first day of the month (June 2nd) and is pretty even except for bank pull downs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The first week and the last week are even flying for the entire week. The company said they did not want to lose any ground and keep the “productivity” level up. This means an increase in 12-hour duty days and more sit time to build in more connections. They cut the synthetic or rig time and have more block time in the trips.

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

June has very little vacation, we do not see a huge spike in hours, and our schedule is more realistic to operate this year. We will continue to get New Hires, and while they will be available to fly, the company continues to use them as cannon fodder and does not include them when it comes to coverage needed days. There is no reason our Reserve numbers need to be this high other than the fragile nature of our trip construction model just got worse. You should plan for more trips being placed in your lines and bid accordingly, holding a low block will be more difficult than it has been for the last few months.

Here’s the breakdown of our trips:

• 1-days will make up 21% of our trips (Slightly up)
• 2-days will make up 15% of our trips (Way Down)
• 2/3-days will make up 13% of our trips (Down)
• 3-days will make up 37% of our trips (Up)
• 3/4-days will make up 2% of our trips (Down)
• 4-days will make up 4% of our trips (Up)
• ODANs will make up 6% of our trips (Slightly up)
• Red Eyes will make up 1% of our trips (Down)
• Pink Eyes and All-Night Turns are about the same at less than 1% of our trips.

The 1-days came in slightly up, 33% of these are the 4 leggers (Boarding Pay). Many are higher time turns. We are in the full summer schedule, without synthetic time trips, this is about the peak of the 1-day season.

The 2-days were way down. The push to create more productive trips cuts the 2 days as the optimizer wants to build more 3- and 4-day trips. We have 3% less trips as total, most of this is due to creating more 3 days and putting more time in them.

2/3- and 3/4-days have a drop for the first time in several months. With full banks of flights in every base, the need for extra long layovers has decreased. More flights mean more opportunity to have a short layover and keep the crews moving.

3-day trip are up. This is where we see the most legs and sit times. The number of 4 leg days built into the 3 days is down, not sure if this is related to the schedule or a small reflection of boarding pay costs. 24% of our trips have sit time over 2+30 scheduled into them, this is an increase and related to the higher number of 3 days. No plans to curb sit times yet.

The 4-days have increased but are more commutable. We are hoping this is just not a seasonal change, but a shift to more commutability built into the 4 days.

Our IPD is in full swing with CDG starting on the 5^th, with a deadhead on the 4^th. Athens also debuts on the 5^th with a DH on the 3^rd, bringing our total IPD to 10 flights.

ODANs are slightly up, this is a reflection of the full banks and summer flying. We also have 2 full weeks with no real pull downs in the first and last weeks of the month.

The Red Eyes are down. They are not the desirable trips they once were, as the multiple legs built in do not offset the longer break. The pink eyes and all-night turns come in with the usual cities.

June 2025 Bidding Timelines