Understanding the Difference Between Vacation Slide and DTS
The following information, is intended to be used as a guideline when bidding your schedule in a given month that you have vacation.
Section 10 of the current collective bargaining agreement provides for two options to enhance your vacation time. They are “Vacation Slide” and “DTS.” “Vacation Slide” is designed to help you maximize your amount of pay when taking vacation and “DTS” is designed to help you maximize your time off. There has been a great deal of confusion with regards to these two options.
It is important to remember that they are two separate entities. They cannot be taken together. In other words, you cannot request a “Vacation Slide”, slide yourself into a conflict and then also drop the conflicting trip. Only one option at a time is available to you.
You must first begin by deciding which option you would like.
If you only want to drop trips that conflict with your vacation, then you need only indicate the “DTS” option on your bid ballot. Nothing else is required and any trip that conflicts with your vacation will be dropped. Drops are not subject to staffing levels nor are you paid for the time you opted to drop.
If you are only interested in maximizing your pay and do not wish to drop any time then “Vacation Slide” may be the option you are looking for. “Vacation Slide” will allow you to effect a change in the start date of your vacation (either up or back) to cover a conflicting trip in it’s entirety, thereby maximizing your pay since we are paid on a “trips missed” basis. Please read Section 10 paragraph H. of your contract carefully as “Vacation Slide” is often difficult to understand. If this is the only option you want then you need only indicate “Vacation Slide” on your bid ballot. Once your preliminary line is awarded, Crew Scheduling will attempt to slide your vacation. They will first attempt to take you out of conflict by sliding your vacation to cover the FIRST trip sequence in your vacation block that is in conflict. If you cannot be taken out of conflict this way, then Crew Scheduling will attempt to take you out of conflict by sliding your vacation to cover the LAST trip sequence in your vacation block that is in conflict. If you cannot be taken out of conflict by either of these two methods, then no slide will be done.
You may however, indicate both “Vacation Slide” and “DTS” on your bid ballot. In this case, “Vacation Slide” will be attempted first. Should all attempts to slide your vacation result in your scheduled vacation still being in conflict, Crew Scheduling will then go back and drop any trips that were originally in conflict with your vacation. (see example 4)
Please also remember that “Vacation Slides” will only be permitted to overlap into another contractual month, with the concurrence of Crew Scheduling.
The following is a series of questions and answers as well as examples to help you better understand how these two options work.
Question:
What does a conflict mean?
Answer:
Part of the Webster’s definition states that it is a clash. That is a good way to think of it. A conflicting trip will be one that actually clashes or goes into your vacation block. Just because a trip touches or butts up against your vacation block does not make it a conflicting trip. Please know the difference. If your vacation block is 08MAY-14MAY and there is a trip in your awarded line that ends on 07MAY, this IS NOT a conflicting trip. Using the same vacation block as an example, if there is a trip in your awarded line that ends on 09MAY, then this IS a conflicting trip.
Question:
How do I indicate a request for “Vacation Slide” or “DTS” on my bid ballot?
Answer:
There are several different selections you can make when opening your bid ballot. Of course the first thing you normally do is press #4 which is the add/start option that begins the bid process. If you press #1, the “options” selection, this will provide you with the means to select either “Vacation Slide” or “DTS.” Your selection of either option will be noted at the top of your completed bid ballot with a “Y”, which means a yes indication. Please check this to be sure it is indicated, by printing a copy of your completed bid ballot (HIB/*).
Question:
Can I slide my vacation first and then drop trips that conflict with it after that?
Answer:
No. The two options may not be taken together; only separately.
Question:
Do I have to attempt to slide my vacation first, before becoming eligible for “DTS?”
Answer:
No. You may choose to take either “Vacation Slide” or “DTS” all on their own. There is no requirement for you to choose one before the other.
Question:
I marked both the “Vacation Slide” and the “DTS” on my bid ballot. What will happen now?
Answer:
The Crew Scheduling department will attempt to slide your vacation FIRST, in the order listed earlier. Should all attempts to slide your vacation result in your scheduled vacation still being in conflict, they will then go back and drop any trips that were originally in conflict with your vacation. Only if you have indicated both options on your bid ballot will they drop conflicting trips after all attempts to slide your not be successfully accomplished.
Question:
I forgot to request the “DTS” option on my bid ballot when I bid. How can I let Crew Scheduling know that I want to use this option?
Answer:
*There is a mask you can pull up, it is “RF 200 DTS.” You must make your request sometime within 72 hours following the closing of the bids.
Note-This procedure was changed via a letter of agreement signed 2/9/07.
Question:
Will the “DTS” option drop trips that conflict with my vacation on both ends?
Answer:
Yes, unless your vacation overlaps from one contractual month to another. In this case you will need to request the “DTS” option in both months when bidding.
Question:
I bid continuous duty overnights for the month in which I have vacation. Will “Vacation Slide” and “DTS” cover three consecutive CDOs and consider them on sequence?
Answer:
No. Each continuous duty overnight is considered an individual sequence. “Vacation Slide” and “DTS” will only cover one CDO that is in conflict.
Question: I have entered the “Options Menu” in my bid ballot, but I don’t see a selection for “Vacation Slide.” Where is it?
Answer:
Under the “Options Menu”, “Vacation Shift” is the same thing as “Vacation Slide.”
Examples of Vacation Slide and DTS
1. In this example, your vacation block runs from March 20th – March 27th. If you indicate the DTS option only and were awarded the following line, you would be off from March 15th – March 31st. You would only be paid from March 20th – March 27th.
2. In this example, your vacation block runs from March 20th – March 27th. If you indicated the Vacation Slide option only and were awarded the following line, you would be off from March 17th – March 27th. You would be paid for trips missed from March 19th – March 25th. The company would attempt to slide your vacation to cover the first trip sequence in your vacation block which will take you out of conflict.
3. In this example, your vacation block runs from April 3rd – April 9th. If you indicated the Vacation Slide option only and were awarded the following line, you would be off from April 4th – April 10th. You would be paid for trips missed from April 4th – April 10th. The company would attempt to slide your vacation to cover the first trip sequence to take you out of conflict. Since you cannot be taken out of conflict this way, the vacation would then be slid to cover the last sequence, which would take you out of conflict.
4. In this example, your vacation block runs from March 20th – March 27th. If you indicated both the Vacation Slide and DTS options and were awarded the following line, you would be off from March 16th – March 31st. You would only be paid trips missed for March 20th – March 27th. An attempt to slide your vacation in either direction will not take you out of conflict so the company would then invoke the DTS option you indicated on your bid ballot.
Examples of Bid Ballot Information
The following is an example of your main menu bid ballot. To indicate either Vacation Slide or DTS, press “1” options. Then press the “enter” key.
The following is an example of what the “options” menu looks like after you have entered it. To indicate Vacation Slide only, press “1” and then the enter key. To indicate DTS only, press “2” and then the enter key. To indicate both options press “1/2” and then the enter key. (please note that vacation shift is the same thing as vacation slide)
The following is an example of a completed bid ballot. On this bid ballot only the DTS option was indicated. It is circled for you to see and has a “Y” next to the words “Drop Trip.” If the Flight Attendant had not chosen to exercise the DTS option., there would be an “N” marked next to the words “Drop Trip.”
