2.08.26 – APFA DFW Base Brief – March 2026 Staffing and Allocations

March 2026 Staffing and Allocations

Sunday, February 8, 2026

With spring break approaching, it signals the kickoff to the beginning of what will be a very VERY busy summer flying schedule in DFW. The March bid sheet sees the restart of some IPD and the return to a more predictable long-haul schedule. FCO and DUB return, and consistency in LHR frequency falls back in line. New routes will be following later in the spring schedules.

On the domestic front, the bid sheet saw improvements in ODANS and slightly shorter sit times on some multi-day pairings. Watch for wide body and narrow body shuffling as aircraft repositioning for the summer season, as well as city pairings tradeoffs in other markets between mainline and regional, causes some irregularities. All this is typical in our March schedules from year over year analysis. Spring break also brings higher load factors in many markets, so please plan accordingly if you are a commuter.

Reserve is down nearly 3 percentage points from MAR 2025 even as block hours have increased over 5 percentage points. This is a good sign for our base; proving our reliability is yielding an overall positive trend. However, we must mention that management has warned us with the continued increase in flying, so the dependency on reserve will be reflected with higher numbers in the summer months. When more block hours are added to the schedule, we also generally see higher line averages for line holders. So far, no new hires will be assigned to DFW in March. Management reported they grew our base too fast in the past couple of years and are now readjusting headcount levels to meet projected growth in MIA, PHL, and ORD. We will closely monitor any changes that adversely affect our base.

This brings us to a previously mentioned topic, the major scheduling change arriving on April 7th for the DFW hub structure. DFW will move from 9 to 13 banks. We previously mentioned your local base reps are communicating with management over the projected changes. We have had preliminary discussions and some of the schedule testing that has taken place is projecting an overall improvement in pairing construction. Highlighted changes include expected reductions in sit times with easier connections for Flight Attendants to continue moving along with their duty days. Shorter sits translate into shorter duty days and longer layovers. The effectiveness of creating a schedule that allows for crews to connect more easily should also bring efficiency that will eventually translate into the need for fewer reserves and a more reliable operation. Additionally, 1-day trips (turns) were mentioned during initial trials to show a fair amount of improvement across the entire system. Multi-day/4- & 3-day pairing percentages should reduce with better utilization of our time. More information will become available as we get closer to the changeover, and management does plan to meet with the union to go over these items in greater detail later in the month.

Important Dates:

Important Dates:

• March Contractual Month runs from March 2nd – March 31st (30 days)
• There is a schedule change on March 8. DFW will continue to run 8 banks through the end of March every day except Wednesdays, which will see cuts.

Special Events in March:

• Daylight Saving Time on Sunday, March 8

Changes to IPD/Seasonal Routes:

PBS Preliminary Manning Plan, DFW – March 2026

Crew Planning

DFW Total Block Hours for March 2026 – 393,292

• Up from the previous month (377,341 in February), and also up from a year ago (387,285 in March 2025).

Wide-body International – 35.1%
Wide-body Domestic – 1.2%
Narrow-body International – 13.3%
Narrow-body Domestic – 50.5%

Satellite Base Hours:

• AUS – 1,740 (1,699 last month)
• STL – 3,230 (3,186 last month)

ODANs account for 7.5% of all NB sequences at approximately 59.4 ODANs originating each day.

Systemwide Sequence Construction

Sched Duty Length

• < 8 Hours    48.0%
• 8-10 Hours    24.7%
• 10-12 Hours    23.9%
• > 12 Hours    3.8%

Sched Block in Duty

• < 5 Hours    41.7%
• 5-7 Hours    38.4%
• 7-9 Hours    18.1%
• > 9 Hours    1.8%

Sched Legs in Duty

• 1    36.7%
• 2    48.9%
• 3    13.6%
• 4    0.8%

Sched Layover Rest

• <= 11 Hours    0.4%
• 11-12 Hours    6.0%
• 12-14 Hours    28.3%
• 14-16 Hours    19.9%
• 16-18 Hours    16.2%
• 18-20 Hours    9.6%
• 20-24 Hours    7.8%
• >= 24 Hours    11.8%

Sched Sits between Flights

• 2-2.5 Hours    11.8%
• 2.5-3 Hours    9.0%
• > 3 Hours    3.1%

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To bid for vacation, go to the Crew Portal. Once logged in, click on:

Monthly Bids > Vacation > Annual > Bidding Ballots

If you have any questions regarding your accrual or bidding process, you may email [email protected] or open a ticket on the Support Tab on Crew Portal.

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As always know your contract and ask questions when you are unsure. Visit APFA.org for the most up-to-date information. Fly safe and stay vigilant out there. Thank you for your dedication and professionalism.

In Unity,

Robin Reitz
APFA DFW Base President

Luis Vasquez
APFA DFW Base Vice President

Fierce advocates for more than 7,300 DFW Flight Attendants