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Fast Fact Friday
Order of Assignment & RDV
Friday, January 17, 2025
Q1: “The new Reserve Report (Reserve Report 2.0) lists JAR first… and then JPR, JLR, SAR, SPR. Does this mean JAR needs to be used first before any other type of Reserve?”
No. Crew Scheduling will assign Reserves within the same category (SAR, SPR, JAR, JPR, JLR) and with the same number of days remaining in their Reserve block. There is nothing that requires Crew Scheduling to utilize one type of Reserve (SAR, SPR, JAR, JPR, JLR) before another type of Reserve, nor is there language requiring them to use a Reserve liable for a specific number of days before another.
Example 1: I am on JPR. Does Crew Scheduling need to use all the JAR Flight Attendants before me? No.
Example 2: I am good for a 3-day and Crew Scheduling assigned me a turn. There are lots of Flight Attendants good for only a turn. Does Crew Scheduling need to use the Flight Attendants good for a turn before me? No.
NOTE: The new design of our Reserve Report was released for the roll-out of the new Shifted Reserve System. TWU Local 556 was unaware that the ordering of Reserve types would be changed to have Junior designations before Senior designations. While the reordering does nothing to impact the order of assignment, it does make reading the report more challenging. Our Team brought your concerns and some ideas on how to improve the readability of the Reserve Report to the Inflight Tech Team. We will continue to meet and discuss possible improvements to this Report when the Tech Department has the capacity to make adjustments.
Q2: “I am working a block of OSAR and am #2 on the Reserve Report for a 3-day with a liable for contact time of 0300 Local Time (Pacific Time). The Flight Attendant who is #1 for a 3-day isn’t showing as liable for contact until 0515 Local Time. There is a 3-day in Open Time with a scheduled check-in of 0500 Local Time. If Crew Scheduling assigns me that pairing, have I been used out of order?”
No. Because the Flight Attendant who is ahead of you on the Reserve line-up is not legal to contact for that pairing, Crew Scheduling could contact and assign you that flying without it being considered out of order. An out of order issue would arise if you were both legal to contact for an assignment and Crew Scheduling assigned you (#2 FA) before assigning the person ahead of you on the list (#1 FA).
Q3: “I am working a block of NJAR and am #1 on the Reserve Report for a 3-day. My liable for contact time is 1435 CT. The liable for contact time for Flight Attendants who are #2 and #3 is 0300 CT. Crew Scheduling called me at 1435 CT and assigned me APSB with a 1635 CT check-in. Crew Scheduling assigned JAR #2 at 0300 CT a pairing with a scheduled check-in of 0530 CT. Crew Scheduling assigned JAR #3 at 0305 CT a pairing with a scheduled check-in of 0515 CT. Wasn’t I used out of order because my check-in is later than the people after me on the Reserve Report???”
No. The order of assignment requires Scheduling to assign legal Reserve Flight Attendants in order of the Reserve line-up. Because of your late liable for contact time, Crew Scheduling could not call or assign the early check-ins given to JAR #2 and #3. Also, note that JAR #2 was assigned at 0300 CT for a check-in at 0530 CT and then JAR #3 was assigned at 0305 CT for a scheduled check-in at 0515 CT. Because JAR #2 was assigned before JAR #3, this was the correct order of assignment.
Q4: “Can Crew Scheduling still use Reserve Flight Attendants out of order during the overlap period?”
Yes. During the overlap period, Crew Scheduling can give assignments out of order. (Contract Q&A) They do this in the hopes of keeping Flight Attendants legal for their assignments in the new bid month. Why? There are multiple reasons.
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Crew Scheduling would like to make the least amount of schedule adjustments as possible. This makes it easier to manage the operation and uncovered flying.
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Any pairings pulled by Crew Scheduling on the first three days of the new bid month will be dropped into Open Time… and be available for 1.5x.
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Overlap pulls are done without pay. Southwest Airlines knows that pulling pairings from a Flight Attendant’s schedule negatively affects their pocketbooks. They would rather not pull a pairing and then make it the Flight Attendant’s responsibility to make up that TFP.
Q5: “Did the calculation for Relative Daily Value (RDV) change in Contract 2024? Does Pass/Fly still come into play with the new Shifted Reserve System?”
The only thing that changed with the RDV calculation is the increase to Reserve daily pay to 6.5 TFP. The Pass/Fly preference still plays a big part in the order of our Reserve Report.
Crew Scheduling will assign Reserves within the same type (SAR, SPR, JAR, JPR, JLR) and with the same number of liable for contact days in the following order:
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Flight Attendants with an RDV of zero (0) or higher (positive RDV) and a “FLY” preference in seniority order (most senior to most junior).
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Flight Attendants with an RDV of zero (0) or higher (positive RDV) with a “PASS” preference in reverse seniority order (most junior to most senior).
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Flight Attendants with an equal RDV value less than zero in order from the highest RDV to the lowest RDV.
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Flight Attendants with an equal RDV value less than zero (0) with a “FLY” preference in seniority order (most senior to most junior).
Flight Attendants with an equal RDV value less than zero (0) with a “PASS” preference in reverse seniority order (most junior to most senior).
