This message is for pre-merger Hawaiian Flight Attendants

A Look at the November Pairings for LAX & SEA

The November Bid Packet is out, and Council 47 has reviewed the flying designated for both LAX and SEA. With several significant changes to our flying this month, we’ve put together a recap of what members can expect, along with additional information gathered during our meeting with Crew Planning.

If you have specific questions about the bid packet, please submit a PBS Inquiry Form. Any other questions or comments, please email your officers. 

In Solidarity,

Josh, Paul and Beth
Council 47 Officers
47@afahawaiian.org

SEA Pulse Form (anonymous)
LAX Pulse Form (anonymous)
Council 47 SEA Committee Contact Roster

Greg Wickstrom and Patrick Smith
PBS Committee
PBS Inquiry

Greg Wickstrom and Patrick Smith
PBS Committee
PBS Inquiry

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👀TL;DR👀

🌴 LAX: November brings flying on all 31 days of the bid period. Members will see 15 single-day turns, increased SAN and SMF layovers, and 50 pairing occurrences totaling approximately 961 credit hours. Council 47 remains committed to advocating for more consistent flying and improved scheduling opportunities for LAX.

⛰️ SEA: November brings 43 HNL pairings, a significant increase from October, while FCO flying ends and LHR and NRT remain consistent. Members will see 127 pairing occurrences totaling approximately 2,223 credit hours, including more two-day trips and a new UW Football Charter. ICN flying decreases slightly, but international long-haul flying still represents approximately 65% of SEA pairings.

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🌴 Los Angeles 🌴

WHAT’S CHANGING IN NOVEMBER?

LAX HAS FLYING EVERY DAY OF THE NOVEMBER BID MONTH

During AFA’s review of the preliminary November bid packet (prior to the published bid packet), we identified November 18 as a day without an LAX pairing.

As we shared in our October update, ensuring consistent flying opportunities remains a priority for your leadership. For November, we again worked directly with Crew Planning to address the gap and requested that flying be added for November 18.

We are happy to report that our efforts were successful! A three-day SAN pairing was added for November 18, meaning LAX has flying on all 31 days of the November bid month which includes December 1!

We appreciate Crew Planning’s willingness to work collaboratively with AFA to address this concern and provide consistent flying opportunities for our members.

MORE SINGLE-DAY TURNS IN NOVEMBER

One of the most noticeable changes is the increase in single-day turns. November includes 15 single-day pairing occurrences, compared to just two in October.

The majority are A330 turns operating LAX-OGG-LAX and LAX-HNL-LAX, generally crediting between 11:02 and 11:25.

These additional turns provide more opportunities for members who prefer flying without an overnight layover.

SAN BECOMES THE PRIMARY LAX LAYOVER

November brings a significant change in our layover destinations. While OAK dominated the October packet, SAN becomes our most frequent layover destination in November, with 18 pairing occurrences.

The primary pairing operates LAX-LIH-SAN / SAN-LIH-LAX, providing approximately 35 hours in San Diego.

These three-day pairings generally credit between 23:19 and 23:37, making them some of the highest-credit pairings available in November.

MORE SACRAMENTO FLYING

SMF also sees an increase in November, with 11 pairing occurrences, compared to three in October. Most of these are two-day A321 pairings operating LAX-KOA-SMF / SMF-KOA-LAX. They provide a 12:38 layover in Sacramento and credit 21:55.

There is also a three-day SMF pairing beginning November 30, providing a longer 35:48 layover and crediting 22:08.

This provides members with both shorter and longer layover options.

LONG SEA LAYOVERS CONTINUE

LAX retains A330 three-day pairings with long SEA layovers, although there are fewer than in October. November includes five SEA pairing occurrences, compared to 12 in October.

These trips operate LAX-OGG-SEA / SEA-OGG-LAX, provide approximately 35 hours in Seattle, and credit 22:57.

While the number of SEA pairings decreases, the longer layover construction remains available.

CREW REST SEATS ON A321 DUTY DAYS OVER 14 HOURS

Members will also notice that the longer A321neo pairings continue to be staffed with 5 Flight Attendants rather than the standard 4 when scheduled duty periods exceed 14 hours due to FAR requirments.

We want to remind LAX Flight Attendants of the contractual crew-rest seat protections outlined in the Los Angeles Domicile Letter of Agreement (LOA 34-26, 1.d).

For applicable A321neo flying scheduled over 14 hours of duty, Row 46 AB must be hard-blocked for Flight Attendant crew rest. A hard block means these seats cannot be assigned to passengers and must remain protected for contractual crew rest breaks.

When working these pairings, we strongly encourage the FFA to have a conversation with the gate agent before boarding begins on each applicable flight leg to verify that the required seats are properly hard-blocked.

Do not assume that because the seats were protected on one leg, they will automatically be protected on the next. Having these conversations before boarding helps ensure that the working crew and gate agents are clearly aware of our contractual provisions and can avoid confusion or unnecessary issues once boarding begins.

These protections were negotiated for a reason, and it is important that we remain diligent in ensuring they are honored.

CONTINUING TO ADVOCATE FOR LAX FLYING

We recognize the importance of maintaining sufficient flying opportunities for our LAX members. While November offers more single-day turns and additional variety, total published pairing credit remains relatively similar to October.

Our success in securing flying for November 18 highlights the value of AFA’s continued engagement with Crew Planning. We remain committed to protecting our LAX domicile, advocating for consistent flying opportunities, and ensuring our contractual provisions are respected.

BY THE NUMBERS

50 pairing occurrences
~961 hours of total pairing credit
~19:14 average credit per pairing

TRIP LENGTH

Of the 50 LAX pairing occurrences in the November bid packet:

• 15 | 1-Day Trips
• 11 | 2-Day Trips
• 24 | 3-Day Trips

Approximately 70% of November’s pairings include a layover, compared to nearly 96% in the previously reported October figures.

The increase in single-day turns is one of the most significant changes in November’s flying.

WHERE ARE WE LAYING OVER?

OOf the 35 November pairings with a layover:

• 18 | SAN
• 11 | SMF
• 5 | SEA
• 1 | HNL

SAN represents just over half of all LAX layover pairings in November.

AIRCRAFT MIX

Of the 50 November pairing occurrences:

• 32 | A321
• 18 | A330

Approximately 64% of the LAX pairings are A321neo flying, with the remaining 36% operating on the A330.

This represents an increase in A330 pairing opportunities compared to the previously reported October figures.

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⛰️ SEATTLE ⛰️

WHAT’S CHANGING IN NOVEMBER?

FCO FLYING ENDS

One of the biggest changes is the elimination of FCO flying from the November bid packet.

October included 21 FCO pairing occurrences, while November has none. This removes Rome as a layover destination and reduces the variety of European flying available from SEA.

MORE HNL FLYING

November brings a significant increase in HNL flying, with 43 pairing occurrences compared to 12 in October.

Members will notice a wider variety of HNL pairings, including different departure times, deadhead constructions, and layovers ranging from approximately 13 to 36 hours. Most of these are two-day pairings crediting approximately 12 hours, providing more scheduling options for members who prefer shorter trips.

LHR AND NRT FLYING REMAIN CONSISTENT

Both LHR and NRT continue to operate daily throughout the November bid month.

• LHR: 31 three-day pairings, crediting 19:50, with a 24:40 layover.
• NRT: 31 three-day pairings, crediting 19:20, with a 24:15 layover.

These continue to provide consistent international flying opportunities for SEA.

ICN FLYING DECREASES SLIGHTLY

ICN decreases from 23 pairing occurrences in October to 21 in November. The longer Sunday ICN pairings remain available, offering a 72:40 layover in Seoul and crediting 24:30 over five days.

The remaining ICN pairings are three-day trips, generally crediting 21:50, with a 24:40 layover.

UW FOOTBALL CHARTER ADDED

November includes a University of Washington (UW) Football Charter beginning November 12, operating SEA-BFI-LAN / LAN-BFI-SEA.

This four-day A330 pairing provides a 46:25 layover, credits 16:40, and is staffed with eight Flight Attendants.

Some may be familiar with Charter Flying, but Charter Flying is a new type of flying at our SEA base. And while these flights operate differently from our regularly scheduled service, published charter pairings are subject to the same applicable contractual duty limitations, legal rest requirements, staffing provisions, and pay protections as our regularly scheduled flying.

Service and Catering Guidelines: Once the crew has been finalized, the Company will contact the assigned Flight Attendants directly to provide information regarding the service expectations and catering guidelines specific to this charter.

Important Reminder About Trip Trades: Under Section 12.A of our Agreement, charter pairings may only be traded for other charter pairings. This means you cannot ordinarily trade a charter for an Extended Range (ER) pairing or a single-day turn. An exception applies when the grouping has been posted for a drop in accordance with Section 12.O.

We encourage members to keep these restrictions in mind when bidding, particularly if you anticipate needing flexibility to trade your awarded trip.

BY THE NUMBERS

127 pairing occurrences
~2,223 hours of total pairing credit
17:30 average credit per pairing

Approximately 65% of all SEA pairings are international long-haul flying.

While November has 9 additional pairing occurrences (+7.6%) from last month, total published pairing credit decreases by approximately 124 hours (−5.3%). This reflects the shift from longer international flying, particularly FCO, to shorter HNL pairings.

TRIP LENGTH

November offers significantly more two-day flying, primarily through the increase in HNL pairings.

• 0 | 1-Day Trips
• 41 | 2-Day Trips
• 80 | 3-Day Trips
• 1 | 4-Day Trip
• 5 | 5-Day Trips

Three-day pairings continue to make up the majority of SEA flying, while the additional two-day options provide greater scheduling flexibility.

WHERE ARE WE FLYING?

Of the 127 November pairing occurrences:

• 43 | HNL / OGG combinations
• 31 | LHR
• 31 | NRT
• 21 | ICN
• 1 | LAN (UW Football Charter)

HNL becomes SEA’s most frequent layover destination in November, followed by LHR and NRT.