Section 6 - Bid AdministrationA. UNION SCHEDULING COMMITTEE 1. A Union Scheduling Committee will be established for the purpose of consulting with and making recommendations to the Company consistent with the provisions of this Agreement as to the manner in which pairings and monthly lines of time are constructed for Flight Attendant bidding. 2. The Company will give the Scheduling Committee at least two (2) days to review the pairings and two (2) days to review the lines assigned to each domicile for the subsequent month, and to submit such recommendations to the Director of Crew Resources or her/his designee as to the preparation of the pairings and lines of time. The two (2) day time period will be reduced only if it would result in late distribution of bids. 3. The recommendations of the Union Scheduling Committee will be given reasonable consideration in the final construction of pairings and monthly lines of time. 4. The final decision on pairing and line construction will be at the discretion of the Director of Crew Resources or her/his designee, consistent with the terms of the Agreement. B. PAIRING GENERATION 1. Flight Attendant pairings may be generated separately from pilot pairings. However, if the Company decides to generate one (1) pairing solution for both Flight Attendants and pilots, then the Flight Attendants will receive the applicable pilot duty period credit for such pairings. 2. The Company will build all known flying into pairings, including all stable Variable Staffing flights and Charter flights. 3. No pairing will exceed four (4) duty periods. A pairing which extends into a fifth (5th) calendar day will be scheduled to release no later than 0400 local time on the fifth (5th) day.
5. There will be a mixture of one (1) day, two (2) day, three (3) day, and four (4) day pairings. A one (1) day pairing checks in and out in the same calendar day, a two (2) day pairing checks in and out in two (2) calendar days, etc. The mixture of pairings will be reviewed monthly by the Union Scheduling Committee and the Committee’s recommendations will be given serious consideration by the Company. 6. There will be a mixture of one (1) duty period, two (2) duty period, three (3) duty period and four (4) duty period pairings. 7. The pairings may include a mixture of "like" aircraft types. "Like" aircraft types shall mean those which have been assigned the same basic Flight Attendant complements. 8. Crew Planning will target no more than two (2) aircraft swaps per duty period. 9. The Company will make every effort not to build a pairing which contains two (2) reports in one (1) calendar day. However, in the event a pairing does contain two (2) reports in one (1) calendar day, it shall be subject to the Union Scheduling Committee’s approval. 10. A duty period containing a segment operating through 0400 local shall not contain an additional segment(s) that would extend the Flight Attendant’s duty past 0700 local. C. BID LINE CONSTRUCTION 1. There will be one monthly bid process. In the bid, Flight Attendants may bid for Regular Lines, Reserve Lines and/or Relief Lines. 2. The Company may include Variable Staffing pairings in the bid lines. 3. Days Off: Regular Lines will be constructed with a minimum of ten (10) days off in a thirty (30) day month and eleven (11) days off in a thirty-one (31) day month. Days off in lines will be grouped together in at least two (2) day increments. The Union Scheduling Committee may approve single days off at the Company’s request. 4. Construction of Regular Lines: Regular Lines will be constructed using the following parameters: a. Regular Lines will be built between a range of seventy (70) to eighty-eight (88) credit hours, with a line average that does not exceed eighty-five (85) credit hours per "like" aircraft type (i.e., same basic Flight Attendant complement). In the event of unforeseen circumstances or circumstances beyond the Company’s control, the Company may request to exceed these limitations for a limited period of time, subject to MEC approval. The MEC will not unreasonably withhold its approval. b. As many Regular Lines as possible will be built with cadence. Cadence means that lines contain trips with weekly cycles (i.e., the same days of the week on and off duty are repeated throughout the bid period) with as few work cycles as necessary to reach the line projection. Blocks of time between work cycles should be unbroken. c. Regular Lines will be built with pairings of like aircraft types (i.e., same basic Flight Attendant complements). d. Regular Lines will not contain Reserve days.
e. The Company will make every effort not to construct a line that contains two (2) reports in one (1) calendar day. If, however, a line does contain two (2) reports in one (1) calendar day, it shall be subject to Union Scheduling Committee approval. 5. Construction of Relief Lines: Relief Lines will be constructed using the following parameters: a. Relief Lines published in the Bid Package will contain twelve (12) scheduled days off (designated as Moveable or Golden as provided in Section 9, Reserve, Paragraph A.2.a. and b.) and days of Reserve availability, except that up to twenty-five (25%) percent of the published Relief Lines may be blank lines (i.e., no scheduled days off or days of Reserve availability). b. A Flight Attendant who is awarded a Relief Line (excluding a Blank Relief Line) shall have the opportunity to construct her/his Relief Line from Company Open Time using an automated process.
c. Relief Buildup Process: Between 1000 on the 27th and 1800 on the 28th, Crew Resources may assign additional Company Open Time to days of Reserve availability remaining on a Relief Line. Crew Resources will also assign days off and either Company Open Time or days of Reserve availability or a combination of both to Blank Relief Lines. As a result of the Relief Buildup Process, Crew Resources may not assign a Relief Lineholder more than eighty-eight (88) credit hours. d. A Relief Lineholder shall be considered a Regular Lineholder on any pairing(s) other than those assigned while on Reserve status.
g. Once a Relief Lineholder’s line is projected to meet or exceed seventy (70) hours, she/he shall have all remaining Reserve days canceled and be treated as a Regular Lineholder for all purposes. It will be the Relief Lineholder’s responsibility to contact Crew Resources once she/he is scheduled to meet or exceed seventy (70) credit hours. If Crew Resources, at the time of contact, has already made a Reserve assignment for the following day(s), then the Reserve day(s) with the trip assignment will not be canceled. D. BID LINE DISTRIBUTION AND PROCESS 1. Contents of Bid Line Packet: The Flight Attendant Bid Line packet shall include pairings and pairing numbers, scheduled flight time, credit time, scheduled duty time, TAFB, layover information, including city, hotel contact numbers as known, report time, deadhead time, closing date and time for bids, training dates and times, and vacation information. 2. Publication and Award of Bid Line Packet: a. The Bid Line Packet will be made available to Flight Attendants by computer, and at the Phoenix hub by 0900 local time on the 13th of each month. The Company will attempt to have the Bid Line Packets at the other hubs by 0900 local time on the 13th. However, in no event will they be made available later than the arrival of the first flight from Phoenix into the hubs after 0900 Phoenix time on the 13th. A sufficient number of extra packets will be placed in all hubs. Once the bid packet has been distributed, it will be changed only with prior notice to the MEC. Upon written request, Inflight will send out bid packets to Flight Attendants on vacation and leave at no cost to the Company. b. The Bid will close at 0900 on the 17th of each month, and be awarded and posted by 1800 on the 18th of each month. c. Final Adjusted Lines for regular lineholders will be made available to Flight Attendants on-line and at all hubs by 1800 on the 19th of each month. This is the official Company notification of the entire schedule for the month.
E. BIDDING 1. Bid Eligibility While on Leaves of Absence: A Flight Attendant’s eligibility to bid while on a leave of absence will be determined by the Company based on the following criteria: a. A Flight Attendant will be eligible to bid if she/he is on a leave of absence of definite duration and, as of 0900 on the 16th day of the prior bid period, is determined by the Company to be available to return to work for at least fifteen (15) days during the following bid period. (Leaves of definite duration generally include: Personal, Bereavement, Parental, Voluntary, Maternity/Paternity/Adoption, Jury Duty, Military or Union Leaves of Absence). b. A Flight Attendant will not be eligible to bid if she/he: (1) is on a leave of absence of indefinite duration; or (2) is on a leave of absence of definite duration and, as of 0900 on the 16th day of the prior bid period, has been determined by the Company not to be available to return to work for at least fifteen (15) days during the following bid period. (Leaves of indefinite duration generally include Medical, OJI, or Family Medical Leaves of Absence). 2. Building of Lines for Flight Attendants Who Were Ineligible to Bid a. If a Flight Attendant was ineligible to bid and returns to work after the bid award, Crew Resources will attempt to build a line for her/him from Company Open Time containing trips like those she/he would have held based on her/his seniority. If the Flight Attendant’s seniority would not allow her/him to hold a Regular Line, Crew Resources will attempt to build her/him a Relief or Reserve Line commensurate with her/his seniority. b. To the extent like trips are not available in Company Open Time for the purpose of building a Regular Line, the Flight Attendant will be assigned to Guaranteed Reserve for those days on which such trips are not available. If unlike trips are available in Company Open Time, the Flight Attendant may choose to accept unlike trips instead of an assignment to Guaranteed Reserve. c. Crew Resources may use trips dropped by Flight Attendants for the purpose of building lines for Flight Attendants who were ineligible to bid. d. If the Flight Attendant returns to work for a partial month, her/his minimum guarantee will be prorated accordingly. 3. Submission of Bids A Flight Attendant will bid via the computer. Bids will open at 0900 on the 13th and close at 0900 on the 17th.
5. Bids shall be awarded on the basis of domicile seniority. 6. A Flight Attendant who fails to bid or bids an insufficient number of lines in the bid, but who otherwise has the seniority to hold a line will be awarded the next numerically available line and cabin position in seniority order. 7. Until such time as there is an automated system for retrieving bid awards, the Company shall maintain the Bid Award Hotline. Any number of Flight Attendants may receive their bid awards during any single call to the Bid Award Hotline. A hard copy of the bid awards will be posted in secure areas with reasonable access and in Flight Attendant crew rooms in hubs. 8. A Flight Attendant who wishes to protest the bid results must do so within forty-eight (48) hours after 1800 on the 18th or the time they are awarded, whichever is later. If a mis-award (including a mis-award of the "A" cabin position, but excluding mis-awards of "B," "C," "D" or other cabin positions) is due to no fault of the Flight Attendant, Crew Resources will attempt to build a line similar to the line she/he would have held. If like trips are not available, the Flight Attendant will be assigned to Guaranteed Reserve for those days on which such trips are not available. If unlike trips are available, the Flight Attendant may choose to accept unlike trips instead of an assignment to Guaranteed Reserve. F. LOW TIME ADJUSTMENT
b. The following Flight Attendants shall be eligible to use the self adjust process:
(2) A Flight Attendant who selected the High Time Option in accordance with Paragraph E.4.c., above. (3) A Flight Attendant whose line value fell below her/his original awarded line value due to an adjustment pursuant to Section 5, Hours of Service, Paragraph A.1. c. During the self adjust process Flight Attendants may pick up trips from Company Open Time subject to the following limitations: (1) Flight Attendants identified in Paragraphs F.1.b.(1) and F.1.b.(3), above, may pick up trips to increase their line value up to a maximum of five (5) hours over their original awarded line value. (2) A Flight Attendant who selects and is granted the High Time Option, may pick up trips to increase her/his line value up to the high end of the high time range she/he selected. d. A Flight Attendant may trade a lower value trip for a higher value trip from Company Open Time if the higher value trip covers at least the same days as the lower value trip. e. A Flight Attendant who fails to adjust her/his line to minimum guarantee shall be subject to Company adjustment. 2. Company Adjustment a. After the completion of the self adjust process, the Company may assign trips from Company Open Time to Flight Attendants remaining below minimum guarantee. The Company adjustment process will begin at 1200 on the 24th of the month and will be completed by 1400 on the 25th of the month. b. Crew Resources shall make the adjustments in seniority order and in the following manner: (1) Crew Resources shall first attempt to assign like trips. If making assignment to a Flight Attendant identified in Paragraphs F.1.b.(1) and F.1.b.(3), above, then Crew Resources shall also attempt to assign like trips to the days on which the Flight Attendant was originally scheduled to work. (2) Where like trips are not available, Crew Resources shall assign unlike trips. If making assignment to a Flight Attendant identified in Paragraphs F.1.b.(1) and F.1.b.(3), above, Crew Resources shall also attempt to assign a trip(s) to the day(s) on which the Flight Attendant was originally scheduled to work, and will assign the trip(s) with the least amount of credit necessary to reach minimum guarantee. c. Once a Flight Attendant identified in Paragraphs F.1.b.(1) and F.1.b.(3), above, is projected to meet or exceed minimum guarantee, Crew Resources will not assign her/him any more trips. d. Once a Flight Attendant who selected the High Time Option is projected to be within the high time range she/he selected, Crew Resources will not assign her/him any more trips.
A Flight Attendant may drop down to forty (40) credit hours during a vacation month based on Flight Attendants designating the High Time Option. Requests not to be low time adjusted will be accommodated in seniority order to the extent allowed by the prescibed formula. G. EXPEDITED BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT PROCEDURES The Company agrees to arbitrate any grievance filed by the Union alleging a violation of this Section 6 on an expedited basis directly before the System Board of Adjustment sitting with a neutral arbitrator mutually acceptable to both parties. If a mutually agreed upon arbitrator cannot be selected within three (3) business days of the filing, an arbitrator will be selected pursuant to Section 31 of the Agreement. The dispute shall be heard no later than thirty (30) days following the submission to the System Board (subject to the availability of the arbitrator), and shall be decided no later than thirty (30) days following submission, unless the parties agree otherwise in writing.
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