From the United Inflight Communications Department: 

To help address staffing needs, the current pmUA Collective Bargaining Agreement allows for Limited Critical Coverage (Section 9.J.3).  Please keep in mind that the Limited Critical Coverage provision is different than traditional Critical Coverage.  After the Limited Critical Coverage is announced, pmUA flight attendants who pick up trips via open flying that begin during the announced period will be compensated at 1.5 times his/her rate of pay. You must fly the trip to be paid the incentive. Additionally, Lineholders are not required to be available for the two-hour standby period. 

We are announcing Limited Critical Coverage at 11:30 AM Central Time on August 30,  2017 for pairings originating August 31. This Limited Critical Coverage is being offered at EWR, BOS, DCA, ORD, DEN, LAS, SFO, LAX, HNL, FRA, LHR, NRT and HKG bases only. 

The regular open flying processes will run each day at 1200 awarding trips for the remainder of the schedule month. The open flying run at 1500 will only award trips that begin the following day.  Once Limited Critical Coverage is announced, flight attendants who are awarded open flying that begins on August 31, 2017 will be paid at 1.5 times rate of pay for those trips.  

After 1200, and before Reserve Preferencing begins at 1800, Lineholders wishing to pick up a trip departing the next day in the identified critical coverage time period, should submit an Open Flying request. Crew Scheduling will process open flying and flight attendants will be notified by Crew Scheduling following normal process. The Reserve Preferencing will still run at 1800 local time. Lineholders wishing to pick up trips after the 1800 Reserve Preferencing run may still do so, and will also be compensated at the 1.5 times rate of pay if the trip begins during the designated Limited Critical Coverage time period.  Please contact Crew Scheduling to submit an open flying request after 1800 for trips departing the next day.  

When Limited Critical Coverage is declared, a flight attendant holding a reserve line may elect to participate in LCC by picking up a trip on days-off providing the LCC trip returns the flight attendant to her/his home base in time for a legal rest prior to 0700 of the next scheduled reserve day (refer to Section 10.F.2). The Company may waive this requirement and allow flight attendants on reserve to pick up a trip during the LCC period, on a day-off and fly into her/his next scheduled block of reserve days. For the LCC on August 31, 2017, the Company will waive the requirement that flight attendants return to their home base in time for a legal rest prior to 0700 of the next scheduled reserve day. Flight attendants holding a reserve line in August who pick up trips during the LCC period that carry into their reserve days will be paid at 1.5 times the rate of pay for the value of that trip. Submit your request via DSPFAI and enter OFR then select RSV ON DAY OFF.

Contact Crew Scheduling if you have additional questions.