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Reserve

(For more information about Reserve please see the Reserve Survival Guide located on our website, www.unitedafa.org)

Reserve Rotation (Section 10.A.)

Reserve is a necessity in the airline industry.  Irregularities are inevitable and Reserve coverage is necessary for the company in order to meet their operational integrity targets.  Our Contract provides for a "rotating" Reserve system often referred to as "A/B Rotation" (Section 10.A.). The A/B Rotation system ensures that on completion of your fifth year as a Flight Attendant, you are guaranteed to be a Lineholder every other month, at your option provided you bid accordingly.  Upon completion of your fifth year, you will be assigned a Reserve letter, either A or B.  The letter can be found on the upper right-hand corner of your Unimatic LOFBID screen, on your VACBID screen; and on the domicile seniority list.  Reserve letters can change every year.   The Reserve letters are updated in September, which is one month prior to the following years Vacation bid period which opens every year on October 29th,   Reserve letters become effective in February of the following year.  Flight Attendants wishing to trade their assigned Reserve Letter can use POSTRD/TRDBRD to advertise for the desired trade.   Flight Attendants may only trade Reserve Letters once per year (FEB-JAN).  Trade requests are submitted via Unimatic DIS*27871.

When bidding each month, determine if you may have a Reserve obligation as indicated by the Senior Designated Reserve date listed in the monthly Bid Package Cover Letter.  Reserve months are listed in Section 10.A.1.b. of the Contract.  If you are designated as an 'A', you have a Reserve obligation in "odd" numbered schedule months.  If you are designated a 'B', you have a Reserve obligation in "even" numbered months.  Flight Attendants with five years or less seniority have a Reserve obligation every month.  However, some Flight Attendants with a Reserve obligation every month may be able to hold a line in their Reserve months depending upon the amount of flying assigned at the domicile.

The following are the months you may have a Reserve obligation under A/B rotation:

"A" (Odd Numbered Months) "B" ( Even Numbered Months)
January February
March April
May June
July August
September October
November December

In accordance with Section 10.A.5. of the Contract, the most Senior Designated Reserves and the most junior Lineholders of the same letter should preference both schedule and Reserve positions.  If it is your Reserve month and you want to do everything possible to avoid Reserve, bid all lines, including Relief before Reserve lines.  If it is your Lineholder month and some lines are so undesirable you would prefer Reserve, after you bid the lines you want, bid Reserve lines. If you do not bid a Reserve line you cannot be assigned one in your Lineholder month.  

Reserve Move-Up Line of Flying (Section 10.B.)

According to Section 10.B. of our Contract, a Reserve who wishes to move into a line of flying left vacant or which may be constructed from open flying during the month may indicate such preference at the time of bidding by checking the appropriate box on her/his bid screen.  Move-Up lines will be constructed with either pure Domestic or pure International IDs.  A Reserve may also elect a preference for Move-Up lines between Domestic, International, or 'Either' during the bid process.  A Reserve may also specify and be awarded up to two (2) protected days in their Move-Up line of flying.  The Reserve shall be allowed to remove her/his name from the Move-Up list within a specified period of time established at each Domicile following the awarding of bids, as stated in the monthly Bid Package Cover Letter.  The Reserve may also alter their preferences for type of flying and remove protected dates by using the 'MOVEUP' entry in Unimatic.  In addition, subsequent to the bid award, a Reserve may notify Inflight Scheduling that they wish to be placed on the Move-Up list.  In such an instance, the Reserve will be placed at the bottom of the existing list. 

The company shall make up and/or award Reserve Move-Up line(s) at each Domicile.  Reserves who have bid for Move-Up lines shall be contacted in seniority order as lines open up.  If both of the protected days specified by the Reserve cannot be accommodated, this Reserve will be bypassed and remain on the Move-Up list in seniority order until such protected day(s) can be honored.  The protected days do not have to be days that were scheduled days off in the Flight Attendants awarded Reserve line.  A Reserve who indicates no protected day(s) off, or whose protected day(s) have been satisfied, must accept such assignment.  If more than one line is available, the Reserve may be offered a choice of lines.  If the Reserve has a vacation or will be on ANP status for seven (7) days or more in the remaining part of the month, she/he will not be moved into a line of flying until the period of unavailability passes.

You can monitor the building of Move-Up lines at your domicile through MUADIT in Unimatic.  Be aware that a Move-Up line can be built up to the monthly maximum for the individual Flight Attendant. 

Reserve Assignments (Section 10.C.)

Reserve assignments are made from a Reserve availability list that can be displayed using RSVFLY.  Reserves are listed first in day of availability category (number of scheduled days on remaining before the next scheduled day off), and then in time accrued order based on credited time within each day of availability category, the Reserve with the lesser time accrued listed first.  The day of availability categories are as follows: one-day; two-day; and three-day.  After the three-day category, at Domestic domiciles (domiciles in the US, except HNL), all Reserve Flight Attendants good for four-or-more days are in the same category (Sections 10.C.4., 5., & 8.) in Time Accrued Order (TMAC).  At International Domiciles including HNL, Reserves continue to be separated into four-day, then five-day, then six-day, etc., day of availability categories and are listed in TMAC within each category.

Reserve line numbers are in the same range for both Domestic and International location. 

  • Call-in Reserve (CLLR) is designated in the 1400 series
  • Ready Reserve (RSV) is designated in the 1500 series

During the actual award of monthly schedules, some Reserve lines may have more positions assigned to them than others.  While the company determines the number of Flight Attendants to be awarded on a specific Reserve line in compliance with Section 10.C.1.a., the company must award at least one Call-in and one Ready Reserve position for each published Reserve line.  In addition, this provision requires a minimum of 65% of the Reserves at the domicile will be assigned Call-In status and 35% to be Ready Reserve status.  Section 10.C.1.c. provides for the company and the Local Council President to review this ratio on a monthly basis.  Locations with fewer than 20 Reserves, will assign Call-In and Ready Status at a minimum of 50% in compliance with Section 10.C.1.b. and this information and the number of Reserves assigned each line will be indicated in the monthly Bid Package Cover Letter when this situation exists.

CLLR Assignments (Section 10.C.5.)

Open positions with check-in times in the 24-hour period beginning at 0500 the following morning shall be assigned to Call-In Reserves according to their 1-, 2-, 3-, 4- or more day classifications in Time Accrued Order (TMAC) and qualification. Following the 1500 open flying process, remaining non-ONSL positions with check-in times of between 0500 the next day and 0459 the day after are filled (Section 10.C.5.). The process begins after 1500 for the next day's trips with the one-day trips in check-in time order. The earliest one-day trip is assigned to the first legal, available, and qualified one-day Reserve on the list. Once the one-day positions have been filled with one-day Reserves, then the two-day assignments are made. If there are insufficient legal, available, and qualified Reserves in a given day-of-availability category to fill all the trips of that length, the crew scheduler goes back to the top of the OPNTRP list and looks for remaining trips of that day category along with those in the next day category in check-in time order, and assigns them the next day of availability category of Reserves. For example, if there are insufficient one-day Reserves to cover the one-day trips,  the crew scheduler goes back to the top of the OPNTRP list and assigns the remaining one-day trips along with the two-day trips in check-in time order to legal, available and qualified two-day Reserves. If there are insufficient two-day Reserves to fill the remaining one- and two-day trips, the crew scheduler goes back to the top of the OPNTRP list again, now looking at one-day, two-day, and three-day trips in check-in time order to assign to legal, available and qualified three-day Reserves. When this point is reached, if ID#1 is a one day trip with a 1000 check-in (which may still be open if no one- and two-day Reserves were legal or qualified for it) and ID#2 is a three-day trip with an 1100 check-in, the first three-day Reserve will end up getting a one-day trip (assuming she/he is legal, available and qualified for it.) However, if ID#1 is a three-day trip with a 1000 check-in and ID#2 is a one-day trip with an 1100 check-in, the first three-day Reserve will get a three-day trip while the second three-day Reserve will get the one-day trip, all else being equal.

Once the crew scheduler begins assigning the 4 day trips, the process differs for assignments at Domestic and International locations. Once the three-day Reserves have been exhausted, or four-day assignments are being filled, at Domestic locations (US domiciles except HNL), Reserves good for four or more days are considered to be in the same day-of-availability category. If Reserve A is good for six days with 35:00 TMAC (time accrued), and Reserve B is good for four days with 40:00 TMAC, Reserve A will be listed and assigned first (all else being equal) because she has less TMAC, even though she is good for more days. At International locations (including HNL), on the other hand, Reserve B will be listed and assigned first because she/he is good for fewer days (four instead of six). To summarize, for a four-day ID for which both Reserves A and B are legal, available and qualified, at Domestic locations, it will go to Reserve A, because Reserve A has less time accrued than Reserve B. At International locations, it will go to Reserve B, because Reserve A is good for more days than Reserve B. If a CLLR is out on a trip at the time the next day's CLLR assignments are being made, the Reserve's assignment is based on the arrival time and time accrued estimated upon completion of the ID (Section 10.C.7.c.).

CLLRs should not be converted to Ready Reserve unless the language of Section 10.C.6. is met: "Call-In Reserves shall only be converted to Ready Reserve when the number of Ready Reserves available is equal to or less than the projected number of Flight Attendants needed for the following day." However, it is important to note that the number of "needed" Flight Attendants is not solely based on the number of the remaining open trips at the domicile.

Ready Reserve (Section 10.C.8. and 10.E.)

A Reserve shall be given fifteen (15) hour notice at the Domicile point before departure time except that when the need for a Reserve cannot be determined at least fifteen (15) hours in advance of the flight, a lesser notice may be given. Although every attempt shall be made to assign a Reserve at least four (4) hours prior to departure time, a Reserve receiving less than four (4) hour notice will attempt to make the assignment. Except for periods of relief from duty provided in Section 7., a Ready Reserve will be subject to contact at any time and must be available by keeping the company advised of where she/he can be reached. These assignments shall be made as soon as practical and shall include layover hotel and telephone number if assigned to an ID not published in the monthly key pages.

Notice of Assignments (Section 10.E.) / Personal Contact Information

  • A Reserve may provide one (1) alternate contact at a time. Personal beepers will be considered as an alternate contact.
  • Scheduling must attempt to call each number in the FDUG screen over a 45 minute period. Each call must be placed 15 to 20 minutes apart.
  • Once given an initial assignment at the home domicile, a Reserve need not remain available for contact.
  • If an ID is assigned to a Reserve and then subsequently reassigned to a Lineholder, the crew scheduler will attempt to contact the Reserve before she/he leaves for the airport.
  • If a Reserve is required to report to the airport for a flight assignment and that assignment cancels and she/he is required to remain for a later assignment, she/he shall be covered by the standby Reserve provisions of Section 10.G.
  • An available Reserve may be released from contact for a period of time with the approval of the crew scheduler.

Calling for Assignments (Section 10.C.7.)

The only Contractual way to receive a CLLR assignment is to call CATS after 1900, option 2-2-1; or call the crew desk. Do not use "What's In My ID?" on CATS or check your line in Unimatic.  That information may or may not be your actual, correct Call-In Reserve assignment. The 1900 Call-In Reserve assignment process requires a Reserve to be assigned one of three possibilities:

  1. A specific ID or ONSB with a check-in time of 0500 the next day through 0459 the day after
  2. Converts her/him to ready status for the following day, obligating her/him to be telephone available beginning at midnight, or
  3. Releases her/him for the following day, until the next evening's 1900 Call-In Reserve assignments.

(Section 10.C.7.a.). If the 1900 Call-In Reserve assignment system does not provide one of those three assignments, or if the system is otherwise not working properly, the Call-In Reserve must contact the crew desk (Section 10.C.7.b.). In addition, if it is after midnight, the CLLR assignment system is not normally available and the Call-In Reserve must contact the crew desk for their next day's assignment.

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Going On & Going Off Reserve

When going on or off Reserve at the end of the month, special availability rules apply on the last day of the old month:

  • Going "on Reserve" or from Lineholder to Reserve -  if you are on Ready Reserve
    the first day of the new month (including Converted Call-In Reserves), you must be telephone available at 2000 the evening of the last day of the current schedule month for assignment to IDs departing  after midnight the first day of the new schedule month (Section 10.C.11.).
  • Going from Reserve to Lineholder status from one month to the next, if you are on
    Reserve at the end of the month and have any time left in the month, you may receive a multi-day assignment departing on that last day. This is true even if it works you into days off in your Lineholder month, or causes you to miss or be illegal for your first trip as a Lineholder in the new month (Section 10.C.11.). Any legality problems in the new month should be taken care of upon your completion of the ID.
  • Going from Reserve to Reserve, you cannot be scheduled to work into a day off.
    Following days off, the Ready Reserve has the obligation of being telephone available at 0001 with an earliest check-in time of 0500. (Section 10.C.10.).

Purser (Section 9.P.4. and 12.D.5.)

Qualified Purser positions (except Domestic narrowbody Purser positions) are filled with Reserves in accordance with Section 9.P.4. for Domestic widebody positions, and Section 12.D.5. for International positions. If another Qualified Purser is on the base or equivalent ID, the open Purser position will be filled as if it is a regular, non-Purser position in day of availability/Time Accrued Order (TMAC). The Qualified Purser on the flight will be required to take the position in briefing. If there is no Qualified Purser on the base or equivalent ID, a Qualified Purser Reserve may be assigned out of Time Accrued Order (TMAC) to fill the position. International Qualified Pursers are qualified to work Domestic Qualified Purser positions; whereas, the Domestic qualified Purser may not be assigned to the International Qualified Purser position during Reserve assignments.

Open Domestic narrowbody Purser positions are filled in briefing in accordance with Section 9.F.7.  All Flight Attendants who have been flying at least one year are qualified to work these positions. If a senior Flight Attendant chooses to not work the position, it will be filled by the most junior Reserve, even if there is a more junior qualified Lineholder present.

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Returning from Sick Leave (Section 10.C.7.d. and 10.C.8.c.)

  • Call-In Reserves who call off sick leave prior to that evening's Call-In assignments being made will be given an assignment during the normal 1900 Call-In assignment process.
  • A Call-In Reserve who calls off between 1900 and midnight will be given an  assignment at the time of the call. A Call-In Reserve who calls off after midnight shall be considered on sick leave for the calendar day (Section 10.C.7.d.).
  • A Ready Reserve who calls "off" sick leave before 0900 will not be certed ONSL for the day and will be available for assignment for the balance of the day. (Section 10.C.8.c.)

If the crew desk calls a Ready Reserve for an assignment less than four hours before ***departure time*** (as opposed to check-in time), it is considered to be a "short call." While there is no contractual prohibition against the crew desk making a short call, a Reserve should not be penalized if she/he has made a reasonable effort to make the flight, shows up at the airport, and has missed the flight anyway (Settlement, ORD 7-95).  For the purposes of standby assignments, the report time is considered the same as departure time. 

Section 9.I. and 12.0. Assignment of Open IDs, Section 9.K. Irregular Operations, Section 12.R. Schedule Irregularities, Section 9.M. On-Time Sections and Consolidation of Flights are areas of the Contract which provide direction as to how reassignments should be made in the operation. However, any changes must be made within the contractual flight time, duty time, legal rest, and day off parameters and legalities provided for in the Agreement.

Open Ended (UNI) IDs

Open-ended ("UNI") IDs must be initially closed within 15 hours of arrival at the layover location (Section 10.K.; or within 24 hours on an International ID, Section 12.U.5.). However, once a Reserve's ID is initially closed, it can still be changed at a later time. A Reserve's rest period should not be interrupted to close an open-ended ID or to change an ID, as described in Section 7.J.5.  In accordance with Sections 9.I.3.b, 12.Q.3.c. ID's may only be left open-ended once within the ID.

On Standby (ONSB) (Section 10.C.9. and 10.G.)

When reporting for standby (ONSB), a Reserve must check-in with the crew desk or Inflight Services Duty Desk (as determined by local procedures) upon arriving at the airport. The standby Reserve can be given a flight assignment that is scheduled to depart within five hours of the beginning of the ONSB period. As an example, a Reserve assigned ONSB at 1600 can be assigned to a flight that is scheduled to depart at 2100 or sooner). If that flight is delayed past the five hours, the standby Reserve is obligated to stay with the delayed flight (within duty time limitations). If the standby Reserve does not receive a flight assignment within four hours of reporting for ONSB she/he should block out with the crew desk to be released. As an example, a Reserve assigned 1600 ONSB is not given an assignment by 2000, should contact the crew desk for release. Standby Reserves not given a flying assignment receive five hours flight pay and credit.

Monthly Maximum (Section 10.H., 9.E.4.a. and 12.P.2.a.)

There are additional considerations as they relate to a Reserve's monthly maximum and the implications of opting.  You can be scheduled to work up to 95 credited hours each month.  You have the option to opt up to 100 hours or you can opt to fly an unlimited number of hours. With the elimination of the quarter system, opting in a Lineholder month will not impact your maximum in a Reserve month.

When going on Reserve (from a Lineholder to a Reserve month), be careful when picking up an overlap trip from open time that begins at the end of the old (Lineholder) month and returns at the beginning of days off in the new (Reserve) month for two reasons. First, if you pick the trip up prior to the award of schedules for the new month, any days off in the new month will not be restored. However, if the Company allowed you to pick up the trip after lines have been awarded for the new month, any days off interfered with would have to be restored (System Board of Adjustment Award HNL 29-78).  Any days off that are missed due to a scheduled overlap ID that was in your original line of flying, as awarded, will be restored in the new month.  It is also important to remember if you carry over hours from your Lineholder month into your Reserve month, these hours will apply towards the 78 hour minimum and do not increase your monthly guarantee.  It is only once you have completed 78 hours of Reserve assignments that these carry-in hours are paid in addition to the Reserve minimum because we are always paid the greater of what we have worked or our Reserve minimum (guarantee).

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