Date: July 2, 2009
To: All Flight Attendants
From: Claire Taitte, Manager Inflight Crew Planning
Re: August Lines and AM/PM pairing indicators
In order to build the most efficient, cost-effective pairings possible for August, we had to make some changes to our pairing generation program, DPOS. This, in conjunction with the further trimming of the flight schedule, resulted in more mid-day pairings. This means some of the PM pairings check in and release earlier, and we have more overall commutable pairings.
When building August lines, we discovered these code changes triggered inconsistencies in how the system is labeling pairings as AM or PM. In the past, we have labeled pairings that check in prior to noon Central Time as AM pairings in EBS (orange color). Pairings that check in at or after noon Central Time have been labeled PM (blue color). However, in August you will notice some pairings that are not labeled in accordance with the noon Central Time cutoff.
Article 28.2.A of the CBA states: “Whenever multi-day pairings (2, 3, or 4 day pairings) appear on a line of time, check-in times will be consistent. If an excess of either A.M. trips or P.M. trips necessitates mixed check-in times on a line of time, the pairings will be scheduled so that there will be only one change from A.M. to P.M. or vice versa per line.”
Because we have used the noon Central Time cutoff in the past to apply the language of consistent check-in times, we must use this same definition for August bid lines. Therefore, you may see some AM lines that have more than one PM-labeled pairing and some PM lines that have more than one AM-labeled pairing.
- Some PM-turned-AM pairings are labeled in the system as “AM” pairings (orange in EBS), even though they check in at/after noon Central Time. We put these pairings on PM lines. Therefore you will see some PM lines that—if looking at the colors—appear to have more than one AM pairing.
- We also have some pairings that check in prior to noon Central Time that are labeled PM pairings. By any other definition besides the noon Central Time cutoff, these pairings could be defined as PM pairings. Many of them release late. Many of these pairings are in BWI and MCO, and check in at/after noon Eastern Time. However, in order ensure we are in compliance with the contractual language, we put these pairings on AM lines. Therefore you will see some AM lines that—if looking at the colors—appear to have more than one PM pairing.
Also, because of the major schedule change on August 16, we have some lines that have actual inconsistent check-in times defined by the noon Central Time cutoff. In accordance with the CBA, these lines contain only one change from AM to PM or vice versa.
What does this mean to you? We strongly recommend that you look at the pairings closely when bidding for your August line. Also, if you want to avoid bidding for an AM line that has a pairing with a late release, you may wish to utilize the EBS filters. You can utilize the “Commutable Trips” filter to exclude any lines that have pairings with late release times. To do this, select “Release Before”, and choose your latest desired release time. For example, if you want to avoid bidding for a line containing pairings that release after 1800 Central Time, select that time under “Release Before” and click “Ok”.
We apologize for the inconsistency this month and are working on a long-term fix for future bidding periods. |
