5.06.26 – APFA CLT Base Brief – June 2026 Staffing and Allocations

June 2026 Staffing and Allocations

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

We had our monthly call with the company to discuss the June schedule. June is the Summer. This is probably the largest amount of flying we will have for the year. This is a full schedule, and we will be running 9 banks with some pull downs on Tuesdays to allow the system to catch up (maintenance rotations, etc.). We will have 216,287 hours, which is close to the largest Charlotte has ever had. May had 212,813, we are only up 4,000 hours so the change will not seem as much of a shock, but June always has its challenges, and the company has boosted the line average and the reserve numbers as a result.

The numbers for June are to be expected, but don’t really make sense when you look at the metrics. June has very little vacation time, so more people are available to fly. We have hired the largest amount of FAs this spring that will continue to add numbers to our headcount in June. DFW has leveled out its banks and is running a better operation that will directly impact the Charlotte trips. We have an increase of 2% in block time but have a 17% increase in reserve numbers. The simple answer for increasing the line average and putting more people on reserve is just precautionary. This is what they have always done, summer has high demand and they want to have a reliable schedule, so they have massive amounts of reserves to cover for a flawed system. Even if those reserves sit around for most of the month, they have them when weather events happen and the system melts down. The company trip construction model is fragile and is relying on massive amounts of reserves to cover it.

Our trips for June mirror the trips in May with only a few exceptions. IPD is running a full summer schedule (Which accounts for much of the 4,000-hour increase), and the system is set for summer leisure travel with the maximum flights to vacation destinations.

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Trip Distribution Overview

• 1-Day Trips: 19% (About the same)
• 2-Day Trips: 21% (Increase)
• 2/3-Day Trips: 15% (About the same)
• 3-Day Trips: 33% (Slight increase / largely unchanged)
• 3/4-Day Trips: 2% (About the same)
• 4-Day Trips: 3.4% (No change)
• ODANs: 6% (Increase)
• Red Eyes: 3.5% (No change)
• Pink Eyes & Bullets: <1% (No change)

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Key Operational Trends

• Increased Sit Time
  • Sit times continue to trend upward, despite improvements in the DFW operation.
  • Longer sits are intentionally built later in the day to absorb delays (weather/maintenance).
  • Designed as “recovery buffer” to keep sequences intact during disruptions.
• Productivity vs. Quality of Time
  • Increased sit time contributes to longer duty days and more block hours.
  • Trips are being built with more legs, increasing company productivity.
  • From a Flight Attendant perspective, productivity should reflect total pay and efficiency, not extended sits or excessive duty time.
  • Notably, ~19% of trips include 30-hour layovers, raising quality-of-life concerns.

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Trip-Type Breakdown & Trends

1-Day Trips

• Peaked in May; remain steady at 19%.
• Approximately 25% are 4-leg sequences.
• NIPD turns are at their highest levels for the year.

2-Day Trips

• Only category with a noticeable increase (just over 20%).
• Minimal schedule changes → more consistent aircraft routings.
• More trips operating across multiple days instead of one-offs.
• Increase in later departures, allowing more flexibility for back-to-back 2-day flying.

3-Day Trips

• Increased slightly for the second consecutive month (now 33%).
• Remain the “workhorse” of the operation:
  • Highest sit times
  • Most legs per sequence
  • More challenging overnights (rest concerns)
• Increased trend toward multi-leg duty periods across all 3 days.

4-Day Trips

• Essentially unchanged from May.
• Commutability remains stable.

2/3-Day & 3/4-Day Trips

• Combined total: ~17% of trips.
• Remain stable and healthy within the operation.

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ODANs/Red Eyes/Pink Eyes & Bullets

ODANs

• Increased to ~6–7% of trips.
• Benefit significantly from a 9-bank schedule structure.
• Some routes now operated with larger aircraft, increasing staffing from 3 to 4 Flight Attendants.

Red Eyes

• Remain consistent with May levels.
• Return of West Coast flying out of Charlotte (since April).
• Better balance overall:
  • Less impact on open time
  • Reduction in traditional turns before West Coast flying
  • More “step-out” routing through other bases

Pink Eyes & Bullets

• Remain under 1% of trips.
• Largely unchanged, with slight reductions in Pink Eyes.

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Bottom Line

• The operation continues shifting toward higher productivity models:
  • More legs
  • Longer duty days
  • Increased sit time as a built-in recovery mechanism
• 3-day trips dominate and carry the greatest workload burden.
• Gains in efficiency for the company do not always translate to improved quality of life for Flight Attendants.

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June 2026 Bidding Timelines

While we have been stepping into summer, June is the largest month for flying and is prone to irregular ops with weather events. Expect more disruptions as we are running the fleet to the max. You will see more flying, higher line averages, and more reliance on reserves to keep it all afloat. When the disruptions happen, know your contractual rights as we expect the aggressive rescheduling will continue as the company tries to grab back portions of our contract.

Stay alert and document everything that is happening. Be mindful that crew scheduling tapes every call, but Daily Ops does not. We have been seeing FAs being written up by Managers and Daily Ops where all they need to do is make a comment to your Performance Manager and you will be disciplined without the company having to produce any evidence of wrongdoing. Get witnesses to every interaction with management you have, document, document, document- that is your only real protection.

We are expecting a crazy summer, one we should be looking forward too, yet we keep hearing the same excuses from management for the dismal operation and financial outcomes. Make sure you bid for higher line averages and fill every layer. Our counterparts at Spirit are hurting right now, we don’t want to be following in their footsteps next year.

Take care of yourselves and each other.

The Charlotte APFA Team

In Solidarity,

Scott Hazlewood
APFA CLT Base President
[email protected]

Frank Cagle
APFA CLT Base Vice President
[email protected]

APFA CLT: (704) 665-7474