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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.”
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