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Fast Fact Friday
Vacation Bidding
Friday, July 4, 2025
Q1: “Can you tell me the Vacation Bidding for our accrued 2026 vacation days will occur and where do I go to bid?”
Of course! Below, we’ve included a graphic sharing the Vacation 2026 Bid schedule as announced by Inflight Crew Planning in RBF 2025-51. Vacation Bidding takes place in the Crew Bid & Award app on your iEFB or SWALife.
Keep in Mind: Round One Vacation Bidding we bid for two vacation choices. This means you will be awarded two of your bid upon choices based on your seniority. Don’t forget to set your preferences to agree to or prohibit being awarded slots in the same month (i.e., June 1-7 and June 14-20) and/or slots in back-to-back months (i.e., June 1-7 and July 1-7).
Q2: “I’m on Medical Leave. Do I still bid for my accrued vacation?”
Yes, all active and inactive Flight Attendants with accrued vacation for next year will bid during this round of vacation bidding.
Q3: “How do we accrue vacation days? And where can I find how many days I will need to bid?”
Vacation accrual is based on your years of Southwest employment based on the language in Article 14.1 of our Contract.
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A Flight Attendant with one (1) or more years of employment, but less than five (5) years, will receive fourteen (14) days of vacation.
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A Flight Attendant with five (5) years or more of employment, but less than ten (10) years, will receive twenty-one (21) days of vacation.
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A Flight Attendant with ten (10) years or more of employment, but less than eighteen (18) years, will receive twenty-eight (28) days of vacation.
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A Flight Attendant with eighteen (18) or more years of employment will receive thirty-five (35) days of vacation.
Q4: “I have 21 days of accrued vacation. Does that mean I can only be awarded a 21-day slot?”
No. You can bid for and be awarded slots that result in you being awarded your 21 days of accrued vacation. This means you can bid for and be awarded three (3) 7-day slots, a 7-day slot and a 14-day slot, or a 21-day slot. It’s all based on what you choose to bid and what your seniority can hold.
Keep in Mind: If you bid for a 14, 21, or 28-day slot, you cannot break it up using Vacation Open Time or Flight Attendant trade later. This means if you are awarded a 14-day slot, you can only trade for another 14-day slot. You will not be able to trade for two 7-day slots.
Q5: “If I forget to bid in Round One, will I just be awarded a leftover vacation slot?”
No. You will continue to bid through the subsequent rounds of Vacation 2026 Bidding. If all four Rounds of Vacation 2026 Bidding have completed and you have remaining accrued vacation days, you will be awarded a remaining slot(s) to ensure you have been awarded the appropriate amount of contractual vacation for the following year. Vacation Trading for 2026 slots will open later in 2025 (for example, Vacation Trading for 2025 slots opened on November 5, 2025. Remember, our unlimited trading applies to vacation as well.