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The Quarter System Revisited and How to Read a Line of Flying

By Jason Ruff, former Chairperson
AFA UAL MEC Reserve Committee

(aka: How did I end up with a 126 hour max?)

With the increased monthly and quarterly maximums in the new Agreement, and with so many locations experiencing A/B rotation, now more than ever it is important for Flight Attendants to recognize the impact on how they can be scheduled. It is possible to be flown up to 126 hours in a reserve month if you are not careful with your scheduling decisions during the quarter.

The major pitfalls to be aware of if you don't want to be flown an excessive number of hours are:

  • The new monthly MAXs are: 92/184/261, with an option to 97/194/276. This compares with the old 85/170/240 with an option to 90/180/255.
  • OPTING AT ANY POINT IN THE QUARTER, FOR ANY REASON, OPTS YOU FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE QUARTER. Many of us are now used to this concept, but it bears repeating now since the potential for very high MAXs exists. BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT OPTING!
  • MOVE-UP LINES CAN NOW BE BUILT TO YOUR MONTHLY MAX, both domestic and international. It used to be that only international move-up lines could be built to your MAX while domestic move-up lines were limited to 80 hours. So if you are in a situation where you will end up with a high MAX for the month, think carefully before putting yourself on the move-up list.
  • PICKING UP OPEN FLYING OR RDOs during a lineholder month, if it puts you over your non-opted MAX for that month, will automatically opt you for the remainder of the quarter. This can leave you with a very high MAX in your next reserve month later in the quarter. Many people who are used to being on straight reserve instead of A/B rotation get surprised by this one when they try to maximize their hours during a lineholder month.
  • IF YOU ARE ON RESERVE THE THIRD MONTH OF THE QUARTER, YOU CAN NOW BE FLOWN 87 HOURS no matter how many hours you have flown in the first two months. This is effective with the June-July-August 2003 quarter and so will be in effect for August, 2003, and every third month thereafter. This is a change from the previous third month MAX of 77 hours for domestic (Section 10.H.2.) and 75 hours for international (Section 12.V.6.).
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So how do you end up with a 126-hour (or another very high) monthly MAX?

First, let's review all of those numbers and abbreviations found at the bottom of your LOF. The categories at the bottom of a line of flying (DSPLOF) are:

• GAR: Line guarantee (00:00 for reserves (RSVs)).

• MIN: Monthly minimum (65:00 for lineholders (LHs); 75:00 for RSVs). For reserves this figure is reduced by 3:45 in a 31-day schedule month and 3:57 in a 30-day schedule month for each unavailable day (for example, DNF or ANP).

• ACT: Actual working flight time for the month (projected for the entire month for lineholders; month-to-date for reserves).

• FTM: Credited flight time (ACT plus credited or "soft" time-- deadhead, duty, and trip rig credit; vacation pay; etc.).

• MAX: Maximum credited time that can be flown for the month (1st month: 92 or 97, if opted; 2nd month: QMX minus FTM in the previous month; 3rd month: QMX minus FTM in the previous two months OR 87, whichever is greater). Reduced as appropriate for being unavailable; see MIN.

• QAC: The total actual flight time (ACT) in each month of the quarter so far.

• QPJ: The total credited flight time (FTM) in each month of the quarter so far.

• QMX: 1st month: 92, or 97 if opted; 2nd month: 184, or 194 if opted; 3rd month: the greater of EITHER 261, or 276, if opted; OR, 87 plus FTM in the previous two months. Reduced as appropriate for being unavailable; see MIN.

• OPT: Y if opted at any point in the quarter; N if not. BID = opted through the bidding process on the bid screen; OPS = opted "operationally" by notifying the crew desk after the bidding process; RDO = opted by picking up a trip that put you over your non-opted MAX for the month.

Now, how do those columns and abbreviations translate into the real world?

An easy way to remember when the quarters begin is to remember "3, 6, 9, 12." That is, the first months of the quarters are March, June, September, and December. Following is a breakdown of how reserves can be scheduled in any month, based on the information at the bottom of a LOF. It is divided into six sections, to represent each of the possible three months in a quarter under either the "opted" or "not opted" scenarios. The first three describes the process when a Flight Attendant does NOT opt; the last three discuss opting.

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DID NOT OPT:

  1. FIRST MONTH (Mar., Jun., Sept., Dec.)/DID NOT OPT: In the first month of the quarter, reserves can be scheduled up to 92 (CREDITED) fight hours. LOF info: MAX = 92 (can be flown up to 92 hours this month); QMX = 92 (it is the only month of the quarter so far); and OPT = N.
  2. SECOND MONTH (Apr., Jul., Oct., Jan.)/DID NOT OPT: For the remainder of the quarter, it is possible to be scheduled over 92 hours, even if the Flight Attendant did not opt. In the second month of a quarter, how much the Flight Attendant can fly depends on how much s/he flew in the first month. A reserve can be scheduled to fly 184 hours minus what s/he was credited with in the first month (remember reserves are always credited with a minumum of 75 hours per month, even if less hours were flown, assuming full month availability). For the second month, if the Flight Attendant only flew 75 hours or less in the first month, s/he can be flown up to 109 in the second (184 minus 75 = 109), even if s/he did not opt. New LOF info: MAX = 184 (QMX) minus the number of hours credited in the first month.
  3. THIRD MONTH (May, Aug., Nov., Feb.)/DID NOT OPT: In the third month, reserves can be flown the greater of EITHER 261 hours minus what was flown in the first two months, OR 87 hours (Sections 10.H.2., 12.V.6.). Therefore it would be possible for reserves to legally end up with a maximum of 271 hours for the quarter, even if they did not opt (184 hrs. the first two months, plus 87 hours in the third). New LOF info: MAX = the greater of EITHER 261 (QMX) minus the number of hours credited in the first two months, OR 87. If 150 hours were credited in the first two months, the third month MAX will be 111 (261 minus 150). If fewer than 150 hours were flown in the first two months, the third month MAX can be even higher. If the 87-hour rule pushes the QMX above 261 (i.e., if the FTM of the first two months of the quarter plus 87 is greater than 261), the QMX will be adjusted to show the higher number.
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DID OPT:

  1. FIRST MONTH/DID OPT: Remember first of all that once opted, Flight Attendants are opted for the remainder of the quarter-- so if a reserve has opted in the first month, s/he has really opted for three months. LOF info: MAX and QMX = 97; OPT = Y.
  2. SECOND MONTH/DID OPT (opted either this or last month): This is where reserves can start to rack up some serious time. If a reserve did opt, but didn't fly much the first month, s/he can be flown up to 119 hours (194 minus 75) in the second month. MAX = 194 (QMX) minus the number of hours credited in the first month.
  3. THIRD MONTH/DID OPT (at ANY point in the quarter): Reserves can be flown up to a MAX of 276 hours (QMX) minus the number of hours credited in the first two months, OR 87, whichever is greater. Here's where the 126 hours in the title of this article comes from: if 150 hours were credited in the first two months, the third month MAX will be 126 (276 minus 150). If fewer than 150 hours were flown in the first two months, the third month MAX can be even higher. If the 87-hour rule pushes the QMX above 276 (i.e., if the FTM of the first two months of the quarter plus 87 is greater than 276), the QMX will be adjusted to show the higher number.

The bottom line is be very careful when making scheduling decisions now such as opting, putting yourself on the move-up list, or picking up open flying. You may inadvertently be putting yourself into a situation later in the quarter where you could be forced to fly many more hours than you want to.

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