Well it's October again, and you know what that means: Time to begin thinking about Vacation for next year.  The primary vacation period opens Oct. 29.

The usual F/A Vacation Bid Packages will be available at all domiciles the week of Oct. 20, and will include planning calendars and bidding rules, with examples, etc....

Until then, here's a quick summary of what to expect:

Vacation Period	Open	Close	Posted
Primary Bids	0830 Oct 29	0830 Nov 7	0830 Nov 12
Secondary Bids	0830 Nov 16	0830 Nov 23	0830 Nov 28
Tertiary Bids	0830 Dec 1	0830 Dec 7	0830 Dec 11
All times listed are local domicile time

As you know, the number of vacation accrual days has been lowered with the restructuring agreement.  Joy.

The maximum accrual is now 44 days for a flight attendant with 25 or more years of service.  No more '30-years or more' category.  Here's the summary:

If you were on furlough status during 2003, whether voluntary or involuntary, or on a leave of absence you will not accrue vacation for the period of absence.  This is because a flight attendant's annual vacation allocation is reduced by 1/12 for each 30 days or major portion thereof, on a prorated basis, of furlough, leave of absence or disciplinary suspension (Section 18.C).

Please note that: Flight attendants on involuntary ANP (Section 5.L) are not affected by a reduction in vacation for the period of absence.

United will let loose their Vacation Team on Oct 20.  They will be available via FLT-LINE (option 5, option 1) to answer questions related to vacations bids.  The Vacation Team desk is open Monday through Friday, 0830-1700, Central time.

You can contact the Crew Advisory Telephone System (CATS), option 4, for vacation accrual and award information which will be available after Oct. 27.  Happy bidding!