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Frequently Asked Questions
Dropping 4-Day Blocks
Secondary (“Reserve”) Bidding opened on December 11, 2025, with on-call bid lines that contained 4-day Reserve blocks. While the language in our Contract (Article 11.9) hasn’t been used in quite some time, it is still applicable and very relevant to the current situation. Our TWU Local 556 Education Committee put together this resource to help you decide if you want to bid these on-call Reserve lines.
FAQ – Dropping 4-Day Reserve Blocks
Q1: “I was awarded a 4-day block of Reserve as part of my original Secondary Bid Line. Is there are way to break up the block?”
There IS language that affords a Reserve the ability to “drop” up to four (4) days of one (1) 4-day block per month in a singular transaction. You can also break your block apart by dropping a day or combination of days as you wish. You can drop day 2 creating a single day, a day off, and a two day block. Or you could drop days 2 and 3 creating a single day, two days off and another single day.
Article 11.9 states that if you have not been given an assignment, a Reserve Flight Attendant may drop any combination of Reserve day(s) from an originally constructed and awarded 4-day Reserve block. This drop must take place by 1659 CT the day prior to the Reserve day(s) wanting to be dropped.
Q2: “Can I drop the entire 4-day block?”
You can! If you’d like to drop your entire 4-day block of Reserve, you could do so via CWA no later than 1659 CT the day prior to the start of the block. For the 4-day blocks being awarded during the Secondary Bidding process in January 2026, you will be able to process the drop starting on December 19th at Noon CT.
To process a “drop”, you would select your Reserve day(s) and hit the “drop” button.
Q3: “If I pick up a 4-day Reserve block, can I drop it?”
No. The language in Article 11.9 is specific to an originally awarded line that contains a 4-day Reserve block.
Q4: “I have a 4-day block of Reserve and was assigned a 3-day trip. Can I ‘drop’ the last day of this Reserve block?”
Yes! You can drop the last day of your 4-day block on the third day of your pairing prior to 1659 CT, as long as Crew Scheduling has not extended your assignment into that day.
Q5: “I’m not sure if I want to drop my entire 4-day block. Can I drop the first three days and then (if I decide to) drop the last day of the block on the third day?”
No. You can elect to drop the first three days of your 4-day block, but that transaction would be the singular time per month you could drop a portion of (or entire) 4-day block of Reserve. In this situation, you could elect to put the single day of Reserve in TT/GA or be awarded DRT/SDRT/AN-DRT… but you would not be able to drop that single day using the language in Article 11.9. Basically “all sales are final” once you complete the transaction.
Q6: “Can I drop the second day of my 4-day block?”
Yes. You can break up any combination and drop certain day(s). You could choose to drop day 2 and day 4 of a 4-day block. However, both single days would need to be dropped at the same time in the same singular transaction. This would leave day 1 and day 3 left on your screen. You could elect to put the single day(s) of Reserve in TT/GA or be awarded DRT/SDRT/AN-DRT… but you would not be able to drop the single day(s) day 1 and day 3 using the language in Article 11.9.
Q7: “If I elect to drop Reserve day(s), how will that affect my monthly Reserve guarantee?”
You will subtract 6.50 TFP for each day you drop from your monthly Reserve guarantee.
Example: I was originally awarded thirteen (13) days of Reserve with a monthly Reserve guarantee of 84.5 TFP. I choose to drop one whole 4-day block of Reserve. This reduces the number of Reserve days on my screen to nine (9) and makes my monthly Reserve guarantee 58.5 TFP.
Q8: “If I drop the first two days of my block, will my block designation still be ‘K’ for original?”
Yes. If you drop a portion of your Reserve block, the remaining day(s) of the block will still be designated as original (pink “K”).
Q9: “If I was assigned a 2-day on the first two days of the 4-day block, could I drop the remaining two days (day 3 & 4)?”
Yes, on the second day of your pairing prior to 1659 CT you can drop the remaining two days (day 3 and 4) as long as Crew Scheduling has not extended your assignment into that day.
Q10: “Will there be ‘B4’ blocks on the last day of the month? If so, are we allowed to ‘drop’ a ‘B4’ block?”
Yes, there could be “B4″ blocks at the last day of the bid month (January 30, 2026). And yes, you could absolutely use the language in Article 11.9 to drop the “B4” block on the last day of the bid month.
Q11: “If I drop my Reserve block, can I pick up another assignment on those days?
Yes. A green bar will not be placed on your screen associated with the dropping of Reserve. Because of this, you can pick up additional flying (pairing or Reserve) on the days which were dropped.
Q12: “Will dropping Reserve affect my ability to non-rev or use my guest passes?”
Nope! Dropping a Reserve day(s) does not affect your non-rev abilities.
Q13: “If I drop my 4-day Reserve block, will this affect my quarterly record improvement?”
No. Utilizing the language in Article 11.9 will not make you inactive or affect record improvement.
Q14: “Why would the Scheduling Committee build lines with 4-day blocks?”
Our TWU Local 556 Scheduling Committee builds the Primary Bid Lines and Secondary Vacation Relief (VR) Lines using pairings that Crew Planning builds. They do not build the on-call Reserve lines (SAR/SPR/JAR/JPR/JLR).