Summer 2023 Vacation Bidding Closes on Friday

Dear Cabin Crew,
 

As a reminder, 2023 Vacation Bidding closes on Friday at 1200 Eastern on 12MAY (less than 3 days from now). If you want to utilize your seniority to bid for vacation, you must place a bid using the link below.

Before you place a bid, please read the Bidding information sheet here: Bidding Information Summer 2023

You can place your bid here: VACATION BIDS FOR SUMMER 2023

Make sure you are logged into the Norse Intranet so you can access the links above and bid for vacation.

Frequently Asked Questions
 

What time period does this Summer 2023 vacation period apply?

The Summer 2023 vacation period is 03JUL to 05NOV.

Why do I only get to bid for one (1) week?

Your scheduling committee decided on allowing for one (1) week of seniority based bidding for the Summer 2023 vacation period for two main reasons: 1) This is the first time we are testing out a seniority based bidding system, and 2) we want to ensure that all seniority levels have equal opportunity to bid for vacation.

What if I want/need two or three weeks of vacation for Summer 2023?

Make sure to submit a bid for one of the weeks you need for vacation. Soon after the bids close, we will announce all vacation slots that went "unbid" and will become available to everyone on June 1st on a "first-come, first served" basis.

What if I have a really important event coming up that has been planned for a long time (e.g. a wedding) where I absolutely need the time off?

If you have a really important event where you must have the time off regardless, you must contact HR after the bids close and request a personal leave for the necessary. Keep in mind that personal leaves are unpaid.

 

What if I recently switched AOCs or been promoted to SCCM? Does this change my vacation bidding seniority? What if I change in the future.
 

Yes. If you have recently switched AOCs or acquired a special qualification (SCCM) since the seniority list was last published, you will be awarded vacation based on your new/current AOC and SCCM status. As stated in the bidding information, if you change AOCs or special qualification (SCCM, GI) after your vacation is awarded, you may be required to re-bid for vacation.
 

Am I required to place a bid?

You are not required to place a bid for vacation. If you don't place a bid, you will not be awarded vacation and you will not lose any vacation days.
 

If I already submitted a vacation request for the Summer 2023 vacation period with planning or HR, do I still have to bid for vacation?
 

YES! Unfortunately, planning is not honoring any previously submitted vacation requests. If you previously submitted a vacation request for the Summer 2023 bid period covering 03JUL to 05NOV, you MUST PLACE A BID.
 

What if I don't want to bid for vacation right now or I want to take vacation at a later time?
 

If you choose NOT to take vacation for the S23 period, there's no need to place a bid. You will not be awarded any vacation and you will retain your available days.You will still be eligible to bid for leftover Summer 2023 slots that start in the "first-come, first served" round on June 1st.
 

What if I want to bid for vacation for the winter season (November 2023-Feb 2023)? Will we be able to request more than one (1) week next time we bid?
 

Winter 2023 Vacation bidding will be announced in a couple of months. The Scheduling Committee will ensure that two or more weeks of vacation are available in the seniority-based round. Based on the feedback we receive from this process we will also consider a "ranking" system where you can bid for your 2nd, 3rd choice, etc. if your 1st choice isn't available.
 

If I choose not to bid for any vacation this year, will all of my vacation rollover until the next year?

Article 9 Section 2 of our CBA specifies that any unused VAC days can be rolled over into the following year. A maximum of 14 days can be rolled over. If you currently have over 14 days of vacation and you choose not to bid for vacation in the Summer 2023 or Winter 2023 (coming soon), any VAC days saved up over the 2 weeks will be lost.

How many days of vacation does a week of vacation use?
 

The Union and the Company agreed to use four (4) vacation days to make up a week of vacation, with three (3) of the days coming from our contractual 12 days off every month. So if you have 20 unused vacation days, you can use them to bid for/obtain five (5) weeks of vacation.

What If I have less than 4 days of vacation left? What can I use them for?
 

If you don't have enough vacation days to bid for a full week of vacation, you can use the remaining days for extra days off when submitting a day off request or for additional paid personal or sick days.

Who do I contact if I need clarification or have other questions about vacation bidding?
 

You can contact the AFA Scheduling Committee at [email protected] from your Norse email address. The company blocks outside (non-Norse) email to this address, so please make sure to use your Norse email. Your AFA Scheduling Committee is working on securing a union-email address that you can contact using personal email.

Is the Union now in charge of vacation bidding going forward?
 

It is possible but uncertain at this time. The Planning department was overwhelmed with vacation requests and was not responding to crew members due to roster requests and vacation requests being handled by one person. The Union's Scheduling Committee offered to help with vacation and the Company accepted. It's the goal of the Union to have an automated seniority-based vacation bidding process in a proper vacation bidding module, which is done at other airlines. The Union continues to push Management to secure an automated system for schedule bidding and vacation bidding.
 

Who do I contact if I have any other union-related questions or concerns?
 

You can always contact your union representatives at [email protected] from your PERSONAL email address. The reason why we ask you to use your personal address for union-related concerns is because we don't want to utilize Company-owned systems for potentially sensitive issues that may involve discipline.

We hope this helps answer some questions and concerns,

Katarzyna, Ted, and Ish