This message is for pre-merger Hawaiian Flight Attendants

A Look at the October Pairings for LAX & SEA

The October 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

---

👀TL;DR👀

🌴 LAX: October 26 is the only day without LAX-originating flying. OAK remains the most common layover, longer SEA layovers continue, and A330 staffing increases to 9. Some longer A321 duty days are staffed with 5 Flight Attendants, and A321 turns scheduled over 14 hours have required hard-blocked crew-rest seats.

⛰️ SEA: ICN frequency decreases but includes longer 72-hour layovers on select trips. FCO ends October 23, with two unusual final pairings operating the same SEA-FCO flight and special FFA bidding/pay procedures. HNL layover opportunities decrease later in the month as flying shifts to single-day turns. NRT transitions to the 787 and full SEA staffing, while LHR and NRT provide SEA-originating flying every day of the month.

---

🌴 Los Angeles 🌴

WHAT’S CHANGING IN OCTOBER?

NO FLYING ON OCTOBER 26

LAX will have flying throughout October, with October 26 being the only day without an LAX-originating pairing.

Council 47 identified this gap during our meeting with Crew Planning and asked that a pairing be added so LAX would have flying every day of the month.

Unfortunately, Crew Planning determined there was no viable flying available to build on October 26. One option considered was a LAX-HNL-LAX turn, but that construction would result in a scheduled duty period of approximately 15:53.

Crew Planning acknowledged the gap, apologized, and committed to working toward greater consistency in LAX-originating flying in future bid months.

OAK REMAINS THE PRIMARY LAX LAYOVER

OAK continues to make up the largest share of LAX flying in October.

The most common pairing is a two-day LAX-LIH-OAK / OAK-LIH-LAX trip, generally crediting approximately 22 hours.

LONG SEA LAYOVERS CONTINUE

LAX also retains a significant number of three-day A330 pairings with long SEA layovers.

These trips generally operate LAX-OGG-SEA, provide approximately a 35-hour layover in Seattle, and return SEA-OGG-LAX.

A330 STAFFING INCREASES TO 9

Members will also notice that the LAX A330 flying is staffed with 9 Flight Attendants in October.

This reflects an important contractual staffing protection for LAX. Under Section 34-15.A.4, A330-200 turns originating out of the LAX domicile are staffed with one additional Flight Attendant, increasing staffing from 8 to 9, for groupings constructed during the February, March, April, September, October and November bid months.

SFO, SMF AND SAN ADD SOME VARIETY

There are also a smaller number of pairings that provide alternatives to the more common OAK and SEA trips.

The A330 SFO pairing operates through HNL and provides approximately 31 hours in San Francisco, crediting 22:17.

The A321 SMF pairings operate through OGG and provide approximately 33 to 35 hours in Sacramento, crediting between 21:14 and 21:45.

On October 31, there is also a two-day LAX-LIH-SAN / SAN-LIH-LAX pairing providing approximately 13 hours in San Diego and crediting 23:32.

LONGER A321 DUTY DAYS RECEIVE ADDITIONAL STAFFING

Members will also notice additional staffing on some of the longer A321 duty days.

The October 31 SAN pairing is staffed with 5 Flight Attendants rather than 4. It includes scheduled duty periods of 14:15 on Day 1 and 14:49 on Day 2.

The two LAX-LIH-LAX turns at the beginning of the month are also staffed with 5 Flight Attendants, with a scheduled duty period of 15:15.

CREW REST SEATS ON A321 TURNS, OVER 14 HOURS

LAX Flight Attendants should also be aware of the crew-rest seat protection for A321 turns scheduled over 14 hours of duty.

For these flights, Row 46 AB must be hard blocked for Flight Attendant crew rest. A hard block means those seats cannot be assigned to passengers and are reserved for crew-rest breaks.

When working one of these pairings, we encourage the crew to coordinate with the boarding agents before boarding to confirm that the required crew-rest seats are properly blocked. Doing so can help avoid confusion or miscommunication at the gate and ensure the required crew-rest seats remain available for the crew.

BY THE NUMBERS

45 pairing occurrences
~980 hours of total pairing credit
~21:46 average credit per pairing

TRIP LENGTH

Of the 45 LAX pairing occurrences:

• 2 | 1-Day Trips
• 26 | 2-Day Trips
• 17 | 3-Day Trips

Nearly 96% of the trips include a layover, with only two single-day turns in the October packet.

WHERE ARE WE LAYING OVER?

Of the 43 pairings with a layover:

• 25 | OAK
• 12 | SEA
• 3 | SMF
• 2 | SFO
• ​1 | SAN

OAK represents more than half of all LAX layovers.

AIRCRAT MIX

Of the 45 pairing occurrences:

• 31 | A321
• 14 | A330

Approximately 69% of the LAX pairings are A321neo flying, with the remaining 31% operating on the A330.

---

⛰️ SEATTLE ⛰️

WHAT’S CHANGING IN OCTOBER?

ICN FREQUENCY REDUCES

ICN frequency decreases in October, and the pairing construction changes.

Most ICN flying is built as three-day pairings with approximately 24-hour layovers, while Sunday departures become five-day pairings with approximately 72-hour layovers.

The five-day pairings depart on October 4, 11, 18 and 25 and credit approximately 24:28 to 24:30.

FCO SERVICE DISCONTINUES

FCO service discontinues during October, with the final SEA-FCO departure on October 23. Two crews will operate unique repositioning pairings, both working the same SEA-FCO flight before deadheading FCO-LHR and then LHR-SEA back to domicile.

AFA identified two issues with these pairings that Crew Planning will correct:

• Italian Language Position: The October 23 SEA-FCO flight was constructed without an Italian-language position. S3004 will be modified to include the position.
• LHR-SEA Deadhead Checkout: Both pairings currently reflect a 15-minute checkout following the LHR-SEA deadhead. Because customs clearance is required upon arrival in SEA, this will be corrected to 30 minutes after block-in.

We also confirmed with PBS that Flight Attendants may bid FFA on either pairing. Both awarded FFAs will receive FFA pay, but because both crews work the same SEA-FCO flight, seniority at sign-in will determine which Flight Attendant performs the FFA duties onboard.

Both crews are scheduled to deadhead LHR-SEA with a 10:20 block time. Under Section 31.F.2, a Flight Attendant scheduled to deadhead for a duty period of 10 hours or more must be ticketed in Business Class or First Class. This protection applies to both pairings.

The crews have different London layovers, approximately 16:10 and 40:10, before deadheading home on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. The different constructions help accommodate the required premium-cabin seating for the LHR-SEA deadheads.

HNL LAYOVERS DECREASE

Members will also see a reduction in the frequency of HNL layovers.

The packet includes HNL layover pairings on October 1, 2, 5, 12, and 19, including three-day trips with approximately 39:47 in Honolulu. Beginning October 25, the construction shifts toward single-day SEA-HNL-SEA turns, reducing the number of HNL layover opportunities.

NRT MOVES TO THE 787 AND FULL SEA STAFFING

October marks the transition of NRT from its previous mixed-base A330 staffing arrangement to a 787 operation fully staffed from SEA.

October 2nd pairing begins the transition, operating the A330 outbound from SEA and returning on the 787 with the full nine-position crew staffed from SEA. Crews operating this pairing are expected to have both branded uniforms.

Beginning with the October 3 SEA-NRT departure, the route operates on the 787 in both directions with the entire nine-position crew staffed from SEA.

This also means that once the flight reaches 85% of its revenue count and the crew-to-load position is activated, the 10th Flight Attendant position will also be filled from SEA.

BY THE NUMBERS

118 pairing occurrences
~2,347 hours of total pairing credit
~19:54 average credit per pairing

TRIP LENGTH

Of the 118 SEA pairing occurrences:

• 7 | 1-Day Trips
• 2 | 2-Day Trips
• 100 | 3-Day Trips
• 4 | 4-Day Trips
• 5 | 5-Day Trips

The majority of SEA flying is built as three-day pairings, representing approximately 85% of all pairings.

WHERE ARE WE FLYING?

• 31 | LHR
• 31 | NRT
• 23 | ICN
• 21 | FCO
• 12 | HNL

HNL FLYING

There are 12 HNL pairing occurrences, consisting of:

• 7 | 1-Day Turns
• 2 | 2-Day Pairings
• 3 | 3-Day Pairings

The three Monday departures on October 5, 12 and 19 provide approximately 39:47 in Honolulu.

Beginning October 25, the construction changes significantly, with SEA-HNL-SEA turns appearing daily through October 31. These trips credit 12:00 in a single day, with a scheduled duty period of 15:22 and are staffed with 10 Flight Attendants and is considered to be an Augmented Crew due to the longer duty day.