Duty Time
Duty time begins when you are required to report to fly, deadhead, or for Standby Reserve. Duty time continues through debriefing at home or at a layover, or when a Standby Reserve is released to begin a legal rest. Our Contract provides for extensions to duty time (listed later in this section) for certain circumstances related to clearing customs, holding time, etc.
There is a maximum time you may be scheduled to be on duty. This depends on the type of operation (Domestic or International), what time you check in, your scheduled flight time, non-stop/multi-stop status, and scheduled activity within the pairing. The actual time you may be on duty depends on the same factors.
➢ Commencement of Duty (Section 6.R.)
Duty time, which starts at check-in, includes all flight time, deadhead time and sit time and concludes after a period of debriefing and customs (if applicable), at your layover or home base. The actual duty times apply only once you have checked in for the first assignment (flight, deadhead, standby, etc.) in the duty period. Any rescheduling must be done without exceeding the maximum actual duty time based on the original commencement of duty.
Your check-in time prior to departure is calculated based on whether you are at base or on layover and type of aircraft on the initial segment in the duty period. If reporting for a non-flying duty assignment, such as Standby Reserve, the duty time begins at check-in or scheduled start time of the assignment. Check-in times for aircraft types shall be as follows:
Deadhead check-in time is 0:45 minutes at any point, home or away. Charters, offline and ferries may be increased by 0:15 minutes.
➢ Changes in Home Base Check-In Times
The Company may decide, with input from the AFA, to increase check-in times for particular flights, aircraft fleets or bases when circumstances dictate. If such changes occur, they will be reflected in the monthly bid packet cover letter, and the increased check-in times must comply with the duty maximums.
The Company may increase the scheduled home base check-in times up to 0:15 minutes, as shown in the table below. The Company may not change the check-in times for A319/A320 or B737-700 aircraft.
Flight Attendants affected by this scheduling change will be paid $5.00 for each 0:05 minute incremental increase and this pay will not be offset by other pay factors.
➢ Release from Duty (Section 6.R.9.)
Determining when you are released from duty depends on the type of activity for the last flight (work or deadhead) of the duty period, where your duty period terminates, and any necessary activities after your last flight blocks in, i.e. customs, holding.
Your duty period ends following any required debriefing time. This will be considered to have occurred:
➢ Upon release from any non-flying duty assignment (i.e., Standby Reserve, Training), or;
➢ Upon block arrival of a deadhead segment, or;
➢ Fifteen (15) minutes after block arrival of a flight not requiring customs clearance, or;
➢ Thirty (30) minutes after block arrival of a flight requiring customs clearance, or;
➢ At the conclusion of holding time or random drug/alcohol testing or unusual circumstances leading to extended customs check, if that is later than the scheduled release time.
➢ Clearing Customs (Section 6.R.10-11.)
If you are scheduled to depart from a station where a customs check is required, fifteen (15) minutes will automatically be added to your check-in time and included in your duty time (“pre-clearance”). Additionally, if you are scheduled to arrive at a station where a customs check is required, in addition to your debrief time you will automatically be scheduled fifteen (15) minutes to clear customs. These times are automatically built into the pairings. When a customs check is extended due to unusual circumstances, you must contact Scheduling to have them extend your duty time accordingly.
➢ Flight Attendant Contact during Delays/Cancellations (Section 7.X.)
If your flight assignment is delayed, the Company must notify you as soon as possible if the delay is known two (2) hours before scheduled departure and the delay is estimated to be more than thirty (30) minutes – as this notification would change your check-in time.
If you are not notified and check in at the scheduled time, Crew Scheduling should update your duty time to reflect your actual check-in time. You should also notify/follow up with Crew Scheduling. Your duty time will be different than others working the delayed flight if they were notified of the delayed period. This would apply both at home and while on layover.