Vacation Accrual (Section 18.B.2.)

Our 2012 - 2016 Contract provides for improvements to Vacation Accrual as follows:

Section 18.B.1. of our Contract defines the full vacation accrual to be used in the calendar year following completion of continuous service based on the following schedule:

Full Vacation Accrual

Accrual of Vacation Hours

In order to receive full vacation accrual, a Flight Attendant must complete 97:30 minutes of paid activity in each quarter of the twelve month period that ends with the August schedule month prior to the vacation year.

Our annual vacation bid period is defined by the language in Section 18.E. of our Contract and begins on October 29th. Based on this schedule, the company must determine the amount of vacation that must be put out for bid and this is done during the vacation planning period which begins each September. Given the recently negotiated requirement for Flight Attendants to complete 97:30 of paid activity per quarter for a twelve month period in order to be eligible for the full vacation accrual, the annual evaluation of paid activity must end prior to the beginning of the vacation bid planning period which begins in September each year. For this reason, the twelve month period for the evaluation of paid activity must end in August of each year. Working back from August, the paid activity quarters and their corresponding vacation accrual quarter are as follows:

Said another way, the paid activity during the period encompassing the Flight Attendant schedule months (designated quarter) of September through November will determine the number of vacation days accrued during the January - March calendar months.  If during the September - November schedule months the Flight Attendant completes 97:30 minutes of paid activity, then the maximum number of days of vacation, based on years of completed service, will be credited for those months.   This evaluation will continue for each paid activity quarter during the twelve month September to August evaluation period.

It is important to understand, the implementation of this provision does not mean that you must fly an equal number of hours each month to achieve the 97:30 minimum. Any combination of hours resulting in 97:30 of paid activity completed by the last day of the defined quarter will count in determining if the full vacation accrual will be credited.

Let’s take a look how these various accruals interact and their impact on the vacation accrued in 2013 for use in 2014:

• Full Vacation Accrual Period - January 2013 - December 2013
• Paid Activity Evaluation Period - September 1, 2012 through August 31, 2013
• 2014 Annual Vacation Bid Period Opens:  October 29, 2013

How is Paid Activity Defined?

Paid activity is any flight time credit (VAC, ONSL) and includes publicity and training, as outlined in Section 15.G. of our Contract.

What if I fly less than 97 hours and 30 minutes each quarter?

Section 18.B.2. If a Flight Attendant has less than sixteen hours and fifteen minutes (16:15) in a specific quarter no vacation time will accrue.

Accrual of Vacation Days Example

Paid Activity Hours Each Designated Quarter

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