Frequently Asked Questions by Topic

The completion time of the APSB shift could determine the liable for contact time. However the JAR, JPR or JLR will not be liable earlier than their established contact time. For example:

A JPR is assigned APSB from 1600 Local until 2100 Local. They are due a 12:00 Domicile break once their five hours of APSB is completed. This takes them to 0900 local the next day but they still would not be liable for contact until the start time for Junior PM Reserve, which is 1000 Local.

Once per bid period, Crew Scheduling can assign a Reserve an assignment that checks in more than two (2) hours but no more than four (4) hours after the end of their contact time. These assignments will be paid 1.5x for all trips flown or credited for the first duty period of the assignment. (The premium will be paid above their guarantee.) For the remainder of that bid period, Flight Attendants may, but are not required to, accept any future reserve assignments with a check-in that occurs during this timeframe.

If Crew Scheduling contacts a Reserve with a check-in that occurs 4:00 hours after their contact time ends, the Reserve will be paid 2.0x for the entire pairing. The premium will be paid above their guarantee.

Just like today, each bid line will consist of the same type of On-Call Reserve. There will be no mixing of different On-Call Reserve types in the Secondary Bid Lines.

JAR contact time is two hours prior to first check-in or 0300 Local time, whichever is earlier. The exception to this is the first day of the JAR block. Due to Southwest’s technology issues, no Reserve is liable for contact earlier than 0300 Central time on the first day of the Reserve block.

So, depending on the flight schedule, JAR may be on call earlier than 0300 Local time on days 2 and 3 of a block.

There is no language that requires Crew Scheduling to utilize one Reserve designation before moving to another Reserve designation. Crew Scheduling must follow the Order of Assignment language outlined in Article 11, as well as any requirements for check-in or debrief associated with the type of Reserve they are assigning.

Each Reserve designation has specific times associated with when they can self-assign and the check-ins that can be self assigned. Self-assignment rules are still the same in regards to the number of trips in Open Time must exceed the Domicile’s max pairings in order to be able to self-assign.

Reserve Self Assignment

Date of ratification May 1, 2024.

At the end of an assignment Reserves will now be able to check their status through “the system” (CWA). Crew Scheduling will change their status to show an additional assignment,  “Released” or “Status Pending.” If the status still shows “Status Pending” 30 minutes after block arrival the reserve is automatically released. Reserves can continue to call Crew Scheduling for release and liable for contact time (if applicable) if they prefer to.

If a reserve calls to waive a deadhead at the end of an assignment, on the last day of their block and Crew Scheduling does not have an additional assignment at the time of the call then Crew Scheduling will release the Reserve from the deadhead and their Reserve obligation.

A Non Elective Contribution (NEC) is the industry standard for Pilots. The 17% rate is in line with the other major carriers. 

The Pilots negotiated 3 more Holidays than we did; New Year’s Eve, Easter Sunday and Christmas Eve. However, they are paid a flat 6.5 TFP per Holiday no matter how much they work on the Holiday. Also, Pilots are unable to utilize Open Time to trade off of July 4th, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Flight Attendants are paid 2.0x on what we work, including RIGs, and we have no trading restrictions for Holidays.

The Pilots received a higher snap up because they were that far behind the pay scales of the other major airlines. Southwest Captains are now only 1% above Delta, American and United 737 Captains. Our 22.325% snap up takes us 19% above Delta Flight Attendants.

The Pilots have a longer time period for Red-Eye flying (0100-0500 Pairing Domicile Time) but they are only paid a 3% override. We are paid a 15% override plus $1 more per TFP. We were not willing to reduce our pay to match their time period.

Our contract has a shorter duration than theirs.

The Pilots have been paying $15 per month to “The SWAPA VEBA Plan” which is a trust that covers medical insurance premiums for Pilots on Medical or OJI leaves. In their new Contract, SWAPA has transferred the assets of the trust to the company in exchange for continued medical insurance while on leave via a supplemental insurance program. Our Union is actively looking for solutions to assist our Members in obtaining continued medical coverage while out on an OJI or Medical Leave. 

This is completely false.

Yes, the Pilots pay 1% of their income in dues instead of a fixed amount like we do. SWAPA received $12.8 Million of the ratification bonus money into the SWAPA treasury.

• Vision coverage on the Regular Plan 
• Extended Ground Time Pay 
• Late Return Override
• Last Day Late Premium
• Emergency Leave for care of a family member
• Pay for every gate return
• Ability to waive a deadhead at the beginning of a pairing up to 24 hours prior to check-in
• Hotel and must ride transportation if a reschedule or drug test causes you to miss your commute home 
• Infectious Disease Language.

The proposed language states “Check-in times will include appropriate time for Flight Attendants to perform their pre-flight duties prior to the commencement of boarding.” (Article 8.2.A.1.c)  This means that boarding will not begin at 40 minutes prior to departure. The NT decided, based on feedback in the latest membership survey, that negotiating a higher TFP rate was more valuable than boarding pay.

This ensures our trip sheets accurately reflect our Contractual Duty Day and Rest periods while out on a pairing and clears any confusion on when premiums apply.

No. 

No. This language was added to codify language to allow a Flight Attendant to sit and eat during their duty day.

This language is already in our Contract for Reserve, and it will now also apply to Lineholders. If Crew Scheduling calls on your overnight and you answer, you must receive seven hours of uninterrupted rest (either before that call was made or afterwards). If seven hours uninterrupted is not received, the Flight Attendant will be paid 1.5x until legal rest is attained

SWA is required to give the Union at least 90 days notice prior to implementation of the first day of a scheduled bid period. An RBF will be published to notify the Flight Attendants.

Two changes:

1. You can now use intermittent FMLA and remain “active” for the quarter which allows you to record improve using a “No Chargeable Occurrence” quarter.
2. You can now bank up to negative two (-2) points for a “No Chargeable Occurrences” quarter. This means that you can still get to negative points even if you use your PIN/Doctor’s Note and/or intermittent FMLA in a quarter.

Yes. Any attendance infraction EXCEPT Funeral leave, jury duty and an MBL for which no points are charged will prevent Perfect Attendance. This has not changed.

Yes. “No Chargeable Occurrences” quarter(s) will get you to negative two (-2), “Perfect Attendance” quarter(s) will get you to negative six (-6) and the “December Bonus Point” will get you to negative seven (-7).

No. The WDA is unpaid but will not count as a chargeable occurrence.

There is no limit to Intermittent FMLA usage.

Whenever you go on a leave (other than intermittent FMLA, funeral, jury duty or an OJI of less than 7 days) your status is changed to “inactive” for the quarter and that disqualifies you from quarterly record improvement.

Yes. A note from a virtual or telemedicine appointment will be accepted as a Doctor’s Statement as long as it includes the necessary information outlined in Article 32.4.

Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) or Osteopathy (D.O.), Dentist, Orthodontist or Oral Surgeon, Clinical Psychologist, Doctor of Chiropractic (DC), Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant

Original means the pairing a Lineholder was scheduled for. It does not necessarily mean the originally awarded trip.

Currently we are only paid for a gate return if the combined time of the gate return and the actual flight exceed the scheduled block time. If TA2024 is ratified The Gate Return will be paid separately from the actual flight. The Gate Return will be paid one-tenth (0.1) trip for each five (5) minutes in excess of such flight’s scheduled block time, truncated to the nearest five (5) minutes.

If the crew is not split due to a reschedule, the D position Flight Attendant will deadhead.

 If a Lineholder is rescheduled to a later release time into domicile on the last day of their pairing, they will be paid 1.5x for all flights blocking in after their original block-in time that were not part of their original assignment.

 In the context of Last Day Late Premium, original means the trip the Lineholder originally had when checking in for the trip they were later rescheduled for. This could be, but not limited to, the original trip a Lineholder was awarded during bidding, or a trip they picked up or traded from TT/GA or Open Time. 

Lineholders will be treated the same as Reserves when it comes to compensation if they exercise options to have a day off after being Stranded.There will be no loss of Stranded RIG, and the day pulled for being Stranded will be paid. In addition, if a Lineholder opts to not be pulled for a day off, they will choose which day they would receive 1.5x.

The Reserve on a crew must always be used prior to a Lineholder, regardless if everyone on the crew is on a different pairing number.

If the crew is not split due to a reschedule, the D position Flight Attendant will deadhead.

If a Lineholder is rescheduled to a later release time into domicile on the last day of their pairing, they will be paid 1.5x for all flights blocking in after their original block-in time that were not part of their original assignment.

Lineholders will be treated the same as Reserves when it comes to compensation if they exercise options to have a day off after being Stranded.There will be no loss of Stranded RIG, and the day pulled for being Stranded will be paid. In addition, if a Lineholder opts to not be pulled for a day off, they will choose which day they would receive 1.5x.

In the context of Last Day Late Premium, original means the trip the Lineholder originally had when checking in for the trip they were later rescheduled for. This could be, but not limited to, the original trip a Lineholder was awarded during bidding, or a trip they picked up or traded from TT/GA or Open Time.