UNDER FLY - or- Legally Flying More Than Your Option Maximum

UNDER FLY - or- Legally Flying More Than Your Option Maximum

Q: Is There A Way To Legally Go Over My Option Maximum?
A: YES. There are two ways to exceed your monthly option maximum.

1. When awarded vacation Buy Back
2. Or by Flying Back Your Monthly UNDERFLY.

Q: What Is UNDERFLY?
A: Whenever ‘Actual Flight Time’ is LESS than the ‘Scheduled Block Time’ the difference is called UNDERFLY. Or stated another way; the amount of time you BEAT schedule is called ‘underfly.’

UNDER FLY:

Is figured at the end of each flight leg/segment.
Is calculated by subtracting Actual Block Time for each leg flown from Scheduled block time.
Is NOT offset by going over schedule on another leg/segment
Soft-time such as deadheads are NOT counted towards your ‘under fly’ totals. However, if for example, your deadhead arrives at the gate 15-minutes BEFORE scheduled arrival, that 15-minutes can be added to the amount your may fly over your option for the month.

EXAMPLE: Flight 957 from PHL to MCO Scheduled Block Time is 2+35, Actual Block Time (what you flew) is 2+10; UNDERFLY = +25.

A non-option FA who flew this leg may fly back the +25; his/her allowable monthly maximum is now 90+25. You can usually find an extra hour or two every month just by adding up your entire UNDERFLY.