2.09.24 – APFA DFW Base Brief- March 2024 Staffing and Allocations

March 2024 Staffing and Allocations

Friday, February 9, 2024

Join us on Tuesday, February 13, at more than 30 airports for a worldwide day of action and picketing event. Stand in solidarity to demand that airline management stop the stall tactics and negotiate the contract that we are due.

RSVP Here!

DFW Worldwide Solidarity Picket
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
11:00 AM
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
Terminal C, Upper Level, C39

Manning Information:

• Total Headcount: 7,128
• Available Headcount: 6,670
• Lineholders: 5,206
• Reserves: 1,464 (21.9%)
• System Reserve: 19.5%
• Initial Reserve Seniority: 16836 (19JAN15)
• Vacancy Transfers effective 01APR: 66 (8 new hires)
• Expected Open Line Average: 81.0 hours
• Expected System Line Average: 80.8 hours

Important Timelines:

Schedule Highlights:

Key Dates

• Schedule Change: Tuesday, March 05
• Daylight Saving Time Begins: Sunday, March 10
• IATA 2024 Season Change Date: Sunday, March 31
• Contractual Month: Saturday, March 02 through Sunday, March 31.
• March is a 30-day contractual month encompassing five weekends.

.Holidays/Special Events

• St. Patrick’s Day: Sunday, March 17
• Late Night Flex Bank (PHX): Sunday, March 17 & Sunday, March 24
• Easter: Sunday, March 31

Bank Structure

• DFW will operate nine (9) banks in March with flight trimming on Tuesday and Wednesday.
• Easter Bank Cancellation: Bank 1 on Sunday, March 31.
• PHX will operate 11 banks in March for additional Spring Break Capacity.

Allocations Information: March is a complex month, with many scheduling highlights, holidays and special events. The month kicks off the start of the spring break schedule. At the same time, navigating a five-weekend contractual month incorporating Daylight Savings Time, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter and the IATA 2024 schedule change. With so many events occurring, trip construction is inconsistent, with each weekend having different operational demands.

Optimizer programming remained unchanged, with an emphasis placed on building one-day and two-day pairings. The base would like 70% of all domestic and NIPD flying built as turns and two-day trips. We stressed to the allocations department that spring is approaching, and line averages remain high. Flight Attendants need productive and flexible pairings to create a healthy and desirable work-life balance.

We voiced our disappointment in the lack of domestic widebody flying for March. The base was only allocated 1,328 domestic WBD block hours compared to MIA (9,214 hrs) and LAX (5,581 hrs). We have asked to share the flying with all bases as some trips fly through DFW. No base can demand or claim flying for their base. However, it is only fair that desirable domestic WBD flying is evenly distributed when scheduling permits.

Last week, the company announced that DFW would add Brisbane, Rio de Janeiro and other routes to our winter and summer schedule. Starting in June, DFW will operate two flights a day on Saturday to GCM, PLS, and STT. We are hopeful that Network Planning will route the aircraft to fly at least one trip as a turn. Much of our high-time Caribbean flying is currently cross-routed through Miami and other hubs. The loss of productive high-time turns has been an ongoing pain point for our base, requiring most to work more days each month to achieve their targeted hours.

Ongoing trip construction concerns have been consistent over the past months. The base prefers two-day trips with a 1-3 or 3-1 cadence with a maximum TAFB range of 26 to 30 hours. Efficient and productive pairings incorporating reasonable report and release times aid in double-up opportunities. Excessive legs per day on multiple trip days and trips with excessive sit/connect time are tiresome. Improvements in commutable trips are needed as well. Base leadership will continue to address these issues in our monthly feedback to the allocations department.

DFW received 387,129 block hours for March, a decrease of 9,547 hours from February. STL satellite has 4,398 hours, whereas AUS will have 1,589 hours for March.

3FA and 4FA Sequence Durations:

1-Day: 32.1%
2-Day: 29.7%
3-Day: 34.0%
4-Day: 4.2%

3FA and 4FA Overnight Rest Distribution:

Overnight Rest 11-12 hrs: 4.4%
Overnight Rest 12-14 hrs: 25.9%
Overnight Rest 14-16 hrs: 25.5%
Overnight Rest 16-24 hrs: 33.5%
Overnight Rest 24-34 hrs: 10.4%
Overnight Rest Greater than 34 hrs: 0.2%

3FA & 4FA Productivity:

Credit Hours per Calendar Day: 4:59 hrs.
Schedule Block Hours per Calendar Day: 4:27 hrs.
Credit Hours per Duty Period: 5.35 hrs.

3FA & 4FA Sit Times:

2 Hours: 17.6%
2.5 Hours: 9.1%
3 Hours: 2.2%

3FA & 4FA Leg Distribution:

1-Leg: 32.8%
2-Leg: 48.1%
3-Leg: 18.5%
4-Legs: 0.6%

3FA & 4FA Duty Distribution:

Duty length is calculated including sign-in and release time. 
3 hours or less of duty: 1.3%
3 to 4 hours of duty: 9.1%
4 to 5 hours of duty: 16.3%
5 to 6 hours of duty: 6.6%
6 to 7 hours of duty: 3.8%
7 to 8 hours of duty: 9.2%
8 to 9 hours of duty: 15.9%
9 to 10 hours of duty: 12.5%
10 to 11 hours of duty: 10.8%
11 to 12 hours of duty: 12.7%
Greater than 12 hours: 1.9%

3FA & 4FA Block Distribution:

3 hours or less: 18.8%
3 to 4 hours: 16.7%
4 to 5 hours: 11.2%
5 to 6 hours: 18.8%
6 to 7 hours: 18.3%
7 to 8 hours: 12.0%
8 to 9 hours: 4.1%
9 hours or greater: 0.4%

DFW Combined Operation Percentage of Sequences:

All equipment all positions.
1-Day: 27.5%
2-Day: 24.5%
3-Day: 41.4%
4-Day: 6.5%

Designated email for Allocations and Manning questions and concerns:

[email protected] 

As always fly safely, take care of yourself and one another, and FOLLOW YOUR CONTRACT. 

Amber De Roxtra
DFW Base President 
[email protected]
(682) 422-7179

Amy Green
DFW Base Vice President 
[email protected] 
(972) 696-9766