11.16.25 – APFA DFW Base Brief – Sunday, November 16, 2025

Sunday, November 16, 2025

In Today’s DFW Base Brief:

• Holiday Pay
• Benefits Enrollment
• Bag Sizer Update
• Reserve Reminder
• Duty Day Clarification

Holiday Pay Reminder

Per CBA 3.K, Holiday Pay applies to any flight leg that touches a designated holiday—for both Lineholders and Reserves.

Holiday Pay = +100% of your base hourly rate, paid on the greater of scheduled or actual hours flown.

Designated Holidays:

• Nov 26, 27, 30 • Dec 1
• Dec 24, 25, 26
• Dec 31 • Jan 1

For detailed examples, please review the recent APFA Holiday Pay Hotline.

---

2026 Benefits Enrollment

Open Enrollment closes Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at 11:59 PM CT.

If you do not participate in annual enrollment, most of your coverage from 2025 will carry over to 2026 with the following exceptions:

• If you elect the Core medical option and wish to contribute to an HSA in 2026, you’ll need to set a new HSA goal amount.
• If you want to have a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for health care or dependent care expenses, you must re-enroll and make a new contribution amount for 2026. When carrying over funds from 2025 to 2026 for an FSA, the amount is based on the 2025 limit of $3,300, resulting in a maximum carryover amount of $660 (20% of $3,300).

Please review your options in Jetnet to ensure your selections meet your needs. More information is available in this Health hotline.

---

Bag Sizers Removed From Gate Areas

AA has begun removing bag sizers from gate areas, which may increase oversized bags in the cabin. DFW leadership and APFA Safety have raised concerns with management.

Remember:

• FAs are not required to lift customer bags.
• Leads/Pursers must ensure cabin securement before door closure.
• File a CERS and FA Report for any related delays or safety issues.

Questions? [email protected]

---

Reserve Reminder

Reserves must acknowledge ROTA assignments by 2230 HBT, or within one hour of release when flying during that time.

• Check Crew Portal at the start of RAP.
• RAPs beginning before 0500 do not require acknowledgement at RAP start.
• Scheduling will no longer call if acknowledgement is missed.

If you acknowledged but were flagged incorrectly, contact your Crew Attendance Manager and copy [email protected].

---

Extended Long-Range Flying & Duty Day Clarification

As seasonal extended long-range flying increases with trips such as BNE and AKL, questions have come in regarding duty-day legality. Please use caution with third-party apps or calculators—they do not always match contractual language.

The Contract is not grey on this issue. It is explicit:

Duty Day = On-Duty Time + 3 Hours

On-Duty Time includes:

• Sign-in
• Block time
• Debrief

This total plus 3 hours determines the maximum allowable duty day.

Example:

A trip with 15 hours of block time (e.g., PVG) results in an on-duty period of approximately 16:45.

Add the contractual +3 hours, and the maximum allowable duty day becomes 19:45.

If the duty day reaches 19:46, the Flight Attendants are illegal for duty.

Please continue reporting any discrepancies so we can ensure Flight Attendants are protected and operating within contractual limits.

In Unity,

Robin Reitz
APFA DFW Base President

Luis Vasquez
APFA DFW Base Vice President

Fierce advocates for over 7,300 DFW Flight Attendants