The SWAPA Ride Report: Scheduling Tools On Deck + Release to Check In Q&A

In this week’s show, Communications Director Amy Robinson hits the high points of new scheduling features like Open Time Priority (OTP) self service, the upcoming ability to participate in Reserve Voluntary Double Time (VDT), and ELITT across bid periods. She also points to the Schwab Retirement Savings Plan brochure, and gives some quick tips from Professional Standards on staying cool in and out of the jet as we enter the summer months. 

A lot of pilots have been participating in Reserve Release to Check In (RTCI) and this week’s Q&A has some excellent examples of when you may (or may not) want to utilize this C2020 gain. Listen in so you can make the right call!

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Transcript

Welcome back to the SWAPA Ride Report for Friday, the 20th of June 2025.  The SWAPA Ride Report continues to be your source for news, implementation updates and commonly asked questions regarding your Collective Bargaining Agreement.  I’m Amy Robinson from SWAPA Communications. 

The last episode was a pretty deep dive into a number of topics but this week is more of a quick lap around the committees. 

Scheduling still leads the way on updates you probably want to know, so let’s start with them. 

As you saw in Snapshot this Tuesday, Open Time Priority Self Service for July was implemented on time and will be running from June 17th through noon on June 23rd. What this means is if you lost TFP with Month To Month overlap to below line guarantee, you can use the self service interface to select pairings or reserve blocks in your category to recover TFP to at or above Line Guarantee. Now, if no legal pairings in your category are available to recover TFP, then you can call Scheduling and they’ll then place an LG bar for the difference up to line guarantee placed on your board. We’ll link to the blog from the SAC in the show notes, as a picture really does paint a thousand words on this topic.

Now we saw a lot of Voluntary Double Time or VDT going around last weekend, and on that note, a 95% manual implementation will be initiated on time for Reserve VDT on June 30th for July 1st onward.[MM1] [MN2]  So here’s how this works: Reserve VDT is a replacement for the process of Scheduling calling reserves to voluntarily accept an assignment that has duty periods reporting beyond their last RAP. The idea here is that if there are no legal regular VDT bidders, reserves can voluntarily bid and be awarded a VDT pairing that is longer than their remaining reserve block and the first duty period fits within their RAP. Gotta foot stomp this - Scheduling cannot simply assign these to a reserve - they must be bid on by the reserve. The reserve would be treated as released to check-in and paid straight for the duty periods starting within their remaining reserve block, but double time for the duty periods outside of their reserve block. For the initial manual rollout, there will not be open time alerts for Reserve VDT, nor the ability to bid via text. Those will be programmed by the end of August. We’ll be putting more comm out there about this, so keep your eyes and ears open, and we’ll be sure to point to it on all the channels. 

Last up on the scheduling front is ELITT across bid periods - This new ELITT feature is being implemented on time. Big picture, ELITT will no longer be tied to what month you are in but rather show everything left in the current month, and everything in the new month on one screen when the new month "opens" in ELITT. This will allow trading across months on one calendar screen. Category net zero and personal duty counters reset when the new month "opens". Expect July ELITT to open as normal on Tuesday the 24th using the old interface, then the ELITT across bid period interface will be toggled on at noon on the 25th. This is to ensure any unforeseen glitches do not blow up the opening day. SWAPA requests that any feedback on the new interface and functionality be sent to SAC rather than Contract Admin. Personal net zero for JA recovery days is on track for December implementation. For more information on ELITT across bid periods, look for comm from SAC in the coming days so you can take advantage of this Contract 2020 gain.

Stepping over to 401(k), The window for Plan-to-Plan transfers opens late this summer with dates that we will announce soon once the details are ironed out. The Plan-to-Plan transfer is that opportunity for those Pilots age 59.5 years old and under to transfer their SWA Profit Sharing monies to their SWAPA 401(k). On a related note, the Schwab Retirement Saving Plan brochure has been updated, and you can take a peek at this 12-page brochure on the SWAPA website home page on the lower right hand side under “Informational” 401K plan – we’ll also link to that in the show notes and get it on the 401K Committee Page as well.

A couple quick reminders from your Pro Standards committee – summer is here and with it comes an uptick in traveling and all the things that come with the operation when that happens. Let’s make a concerted effort to make everything as chill as possible, from the jet to our temperaments – if you have an issue with anyone out on the line, make Pro Stan your first call. Take a look on the SWAPA App under the line ops tab to find a handy checklist and all their contact information. And speaking of chill, I fly on y’all pretty often and really appreciate it when the plane is cool, so whatever it is that you do to make that happen, please keep it up! 

We mentioned this in a standalone blast last week, but it’s worth repeating that Contract Admin is currently experiencing extremely high call and case volumes. They’re also training new team members and transitioning to an updated case management system, so response times to phone calls and email inquiries may be longer than usual over the next couple of months.

Help us help you, and please wait until your board shows “Audit Complete” before requesting a payroll audit. After that audit is complete, the pay audit tool on the SWAPA website is also a good stop before writing in. We’re working on getting that added to the SWAPA app as soon as we can, so use the website for now. Along those same lines, please avoid sending multiple messages on the same issue. Duplicate emails and calls actually slows down our ability to respond, as we work through each case thoroughly.

We appreciate you bearing with us as we work to return to quicker response times —the changes we’re working through now are built to serve you better, and we anticipate being back to normal response times by mid-August.

Alright. Let’s run through this week’s Contract Q&A:

Tomorrow, I start a 4-day reserve block, and I have been assigned a 3-day trip. I am trying to use “Release to check-in”, but Scheduling says that this is unavailable. Is this correct?

This is correct. RTCI is only available if the assignment is equal to or greater than the reserve Pilot’s remaining RAPs.

Here's another RTCI question: My RAP started 2 hours ago, and I just received a call from Scheduling with an assignment that reports in 3 hours. I asked to “Release to check-in”, but Scheduling told me I could not since my RAP already started. If my pairing hasn’t started yet, why can’t I use this RTCI option?

Release to check-in is designed to eliminate the reserve block and any reserve considerations. Since your RAP has already started, you cannot retroactively eliminate the time spent being contactable as a reserve. Section 13.G.3.a.2 details that this option only exists “if the reserve Pilot has not already started the reserve block…”.

In a similar situation, another pilot writes: I have been assigned a reserve pairing that will trigger “short-call provisions” in accordance with Section 13M3. If I elect to use Release to check-in, will I maintain the premium on day 1 and the close-in parking?

Good question. No, you will not. Section 13.G.3.a.6 specifies that “At the time the Reserve Pilot is released to check-in, he will be subject to provisions in Section 12 and will no longer be subject to provisions in Section 13.” This means that ALL reserve consideration will be removed. This would also remove the eligibility for the Reserve Release Override (RRO). If it’s not super clear by these two questions, as a reserve pilot, you will want to consider the pros and cons of electing RTCI.

Here’s a cancelled reroute question similar to the one a couple weeks ago: As I came back into domicile at the end of my pairing, I was notified of a reroute that included an additional flight and unscheduled overnight. As I was preparing the flight, Scheduling called back to say that they couldn’t find a 2nd pilot and that the flight was being cancelled. What pay am I due in this situation? Should I be pay protected for the unscheduled overnight reroute?

Scheduling will need to account for your extended FDP. Since you were held past your original release, the company will pay you an additional 1.00 TFP on top of the value of the day. However, they are not required to pay you for the unperformed reroute. Make sure the company uses an FDP placeholder in your pairing AND adds the 30-minute release time to ensure that your DHR calculation is correct, if necessary.

This last one is about displacements: I got displaced in the May vacancy award and I have been using the Temporary Living Expenses language to reimburse me for hotels needed. I was displaced again in the July vacancy. July would be my 3rd month of hotels from the first displacement. Am I owed a full 3 months of hotels for the July displacement?

Unfortunately, no. As the 2nd displacement occurred within the initial 3-month period, you are not eligible for an additional 3 full months. However, the CBA does afford you 1 additional month of paid expenses. If you had completed the first 3-month period and THEN been displaced again, the new displacement would be eligible for up to 3 months of additional temporary living expenses.

That’s the headlines and Q&A for this week.  If you missed anything, the transcript can be found in the show notes on swapa.org and in the SWAPA App. Go to the App to get the latest SWAPA Number, Ride Report, Reporting Point, and last 10 SWAPA emails for offline consumption, so you can get caught up on what’s been happening.  As always, send us your feedback at comm@swapa.org.  and the next episode of this program will air on on Thursday, July 3rd. 

Until next time - Fly safe, fly informed.