Pro Tip 1: If you have kids in school, bid their spring/fall breaks. If you don't have kids in school, bid dates just before school ends or after school starts.

Pro Tip 2: Bid for late in the vacation year and try to move up in the monthly vacation bid.

Pro Tip 3: If you are so junior it doesn't matter, try to use the vacation drop. *cough*

 

For someone quite junior, that's key! Bidding all the weeks means you'll get something awarded first cycle, and it will be the best you can do in any cycle. If you don't do this then in the second cycle those senior to you will take the leftover weeks from cycle one (which you could have had) and by the time it gets to you there will be even fewer decent weeks available. This is basically my bid,

Group One: Christmas, Thanksgiving, and a couple of other specific weeks I really want, then every week chronologically from Jul to Dec. I know I won't get the holidays, but you gotta try, then it's guaranteed you'll get the best Fall week your seniority will hold.

Group Two. Same as group one, except every week reverse chronologically from week 52 to Christmas, which will give you the best Spring week your seniority will hold.

If someone got zero weeks awarded on the first cycle this might be a good strategy on the second cycle, except there's no need to bid slots that have zero availability.

If there's nothing good left you can always use a week for the Super Bowl!

 

Great advice. Bid all 52 weeks....or at least the ones you really care about. I bid the holidays then every week in the summer at a minimum.

 

Unlike the old UAL contract there is no move up in the current contract. So bidding all late in the year doesn't make that moveable. If you want vacation to bid in the monthly rounds you should have selected the minimum number of required days in the declaration phase. Those undeclared days are the ones you bid in the monthly rounds. Also if you have your vacation canceled for training those days become available for monthly bidding.

 

not correct!
I moved two weeks from this winter forward to last summer in the monthly bids.
If you have unassigned you can bid for that in monthly as well, but when you go into the monthly vacation bidding you will see the option to request to move forward future assigned vacation as well.

 

Was it a trade or a move up. I swear I read no move ups in the current agreement.

 

I moved a week from January and a week from February both forward to July.

Couldn't believe I got it because it is always staffing dependent, but I put it in the system and it came through.

Helped that I was on the 747 and they were overstaffed, but the system is set up to have you select which vacation you would like to move, so it is definitely legal. If they have the staffing to allow for more vacation to be taken than is currently assigned to annual folks, it goes out in seniority order. (to those who ask)

 

All that matters is that you get vacation during Oshkosh and Reno.

 

Pro Tip 1.......Success!!!

 

Several times I've had rips assigned over Reno, and the crew desk could not figure out why so many in SFO were calling in sick over a particular weekend in Sept....