4.07.26 – APFA BOS Base Brief – May 2026 Staffing and Allocations

May 2026 Staffing and Allocations

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Hello Boston!

The monthly staffing and allocations call for May 2026 took place on the 3rd. Here are the highlights.

Total headcount for the BOS Domicile continues to creep upwards to 851 (including inactive FAs). Total active headcount is up to 832.

Summer flying is approaching! May is our first month of the summer ramp-up, this year more than ever. There are two “schedule changes” across the system to start the summer season. May 7th is a usual schedule adjustment that happens every month across the system, and May 21st is another one. The latter of the two is significant because it marks the large summer ramp-up in flights we usually see in early June. While Boston is not a hub, and as such, we do not see as much of an outsized adjustment as our colleagues in other bases do in the schedule changes, the timing of it is significant. This schedule adjustment, which usually occurs in the first half of June, increases flight frequencies and marks the start of summer flying. The company has indicated to us that they have moved it forward of the Memorial Day holiday to account for customers’ booking behavior. This is consistent with the increase in scheduled flying hours for May assigned across the hubs, and Boston, which will be touched upon later in this brief.

New Hires!

Training continues in full swing down at HQ! Boston is expected to welcome 15 new hires in May. To our current knowledge, this is the last batch to join us before the peak summer months. Please be sure to give them a warm welcome as always! Reserve numbers for the month of April include that headcount.

Our flying hours for May have increased to 54,593, a 4% increase over the April bid month. This number is also a 7% increase from the same month last year. Our reserve percentage climbs to 14.3%, a 1.6% increase from the prior month, and a 0.6% decrease year-over-year. This increase comes a bit earlier than usual, as the summer operation begins, and it is occurring earlier than usual, with the summer schedule ramp-up occurring a few weeks before it historically does. There will be 119 flight attendants serving reserve in Boston for May. This is an increase of 15 from the month prior, but the total number stays level with the year prior, even with the significantly increased hours. This is due to your hard work.

New hires joining the line can cause some confusion with reserve bidding and totals. 104 current active flight attendants in Boston will bid and serve reserve. The remaining 15 joining throughout May will round out the total to 119.

VLOA

There will be no VLOAs offered for May, and we do not expect any leaves to be offered for the remainder of the summer flying season.

The sequence construction breakdown for April is as follows;

LAX- BOS crews will continue staffing 2 LAX sequences daily. Boston will staff a two-day morning sequence and a three-day red-eye return sequence. There are several variations in departure times throughout the month for the morning two-day sequence. If operating, please keep an eye on your report times!

LHR will operate daily throughout the month. In May, we will see our second slot adjustment for the LHR departure. Mid-May, the return flight pulls back to 10:05 local time. This also drops the scheduled RON time to 24.20. Arrival time back to BOS is scheduled for 12:35 local. It is my understanding that Boston will keep this earlier departure slot until at least October 25.

The PHX rocket will operate every day, except Tuesdays, until the 21st. The redeye return leg departs a bit later, and as such, the layover has been extended to just shy of 12 hours, with an arrival into BOS at 0600.

ODANs

Our ODAN has returned! The summer schedule change on the 21st allows for the construction of a DCA ODAN. From the 21st, there will be a single ODAN every day, except Saturdays, for the rest of the month.

There are no domestic wide-body sequences in May.

The sequence construction is as follows;

Of our 3-day sequences, 6.4% are 2-duty-period trips, such as LHR, LAX red-eyes, and sequences that release after midnight.

Inflight Quarterly Training 1Q2026

Inflight quarterly training must be completed by Friday, April 10 at 23:59 (CT) to avoid a Missed Assignment (MA).

As always, fly safe!

In Solidarity,

Luke Williams
APFA BOS Base President
(617) 362-0052
[email protected]

Kea Serikaku
APFA BOS Base Vice President
(617) 362-0052
[email protected]

Ben Samoylich
APFA BOS Staffing & Allocations Representative
[email protected]