9.29.25 – Contract Implementation Update #43: UBL Trip Improvement Returns! (10.F.1.f)

Monday, September 29, 2025

Contract Implementation Update #43
UBL Trip Improvement Returns!

UBL Trip Improvement (10.F.1.f)

Beginning tomorrow, UBL will begin processing same-day origination trades for the next day up until 1500 HBT. You will be able to trade your sequence for the next day for any other sequence originating on the same day as long as it is the same number of days or greater.

UBL Trip Improvement was a provision contained in the contract that Legacy US Airways brought to the merger. Because of software limitations and the compressed timeline with which to negotiate a Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA) during the merger, this provision was not carried forward in the 2014 JCBA. Last year, during the final hours of federally mediated  CBA negotiations in Washington, D.C., we secured a return to UBL trip improving, one of the final disputes in front of our federal mediator.

Make no mistake: company negotiators had no interest in restoring this provision. We secured it only through the collective power and support of 28,000 Flight Attendants standing in solidarity. This victory delivers more flexibility for Flight Attendants and proves, once again, that when we stand together, we win.

How does UBL Trip Improving Work?

Beginning on September 30th,  you may enter a trade request on UBL for your October 1st one-day trip for any other one-day or greater trip on October 1st. UBL will consider this trade request in any UBL run up until 1500 HBT on September 30th. There are no restrictions of daily or monthly open time limits for these trades since you are trading for same or greater days.

Example 1: I have a 1-day tomorrow (0600 report) and I see an ODAN (2100 report) for tomorrow in open time. Is this trade eligible for trip improvement?

Yes, as long as the trade request was processed before 1500 HBT the day prior. Per the contract, “The trip picked up must be equal to or greater than the calendar days of the trip being dropped.” TTS recognizes a trip that releases on or after 0000 as operating on that calendar day, so in this example, you would be trading into a 2-day trip (10.E.3.h.ii.b). Because you are trading into a greater number of days, the trade would be eligible to process.

Example 2: There is a 3-day IPD trip that just came into open time at 0900 HBT for tomorrow. I currently have a 3-2-3 trip (0400 report) that starts tomorrow. Is this trade eligible for trip improvement?

Yes, the trade would be eligible for approval if it is before 1500 HBT the day prior to the sequence.

Example 3: A Speaker has a 3-day Speaker trip tomorrow and would like to trade for a different 3-day tomorrow that does not require a speaker. Is this trade eligible for trip improvement?

Yes, the trade would be eligible for approval if the Daily and Monthly Open Time Speaker Limits allow the Speaker sequence to be dropped. If the Speaker was trading for another Speaker required position/sequence operating on an equal or greater number of days, the Daily and Monthly Speaker limits would not apply.Example 4: I have a 2-day trip with a 1400 sign in and layover in RNO. At 0600 the day of my trip I see a 3-day LHR with a 2145 sign-in come into open time. Is this trade eligible for trip improvement?

No. You are only able to trade for another sequence the day prior until 1500 HBT.

How does red flag work with UBL Trip Improvement?

UBL Trip Improvement will be subject to the TTS Red Flag trading rules, outlined in CBA 10.H.7, as follows:

In Unity,

Kelly J. Hagan
LGA

Hunter Meredith
PHL

Wendy Oswald
LAX

Mike Sosa
DFW

Contact the CIC