Seniority and What’s my Board Date?                     

LAST Updated 6/29/2018 Most information is still good; but some links may be obsolete.

Pass riders are boarded on flights in group order.

 The old sUA boarding priority groups (BP-6 and BP-8) were replaced in March 2012 by these groups:

              SA0V: Employees, retirees, and their accompanied pass riders when using VACATION passes.

              SA1P: Employees and their accompanied pass riders when using PERSONAL passes.

              SA2R: Retirees and their accompanied pass riders when using PERSONAL passes.

              SA3V: Unaccompanied pass riders when using a employee/retireeʼs VACATION pass

                            Exception: unaccompanied spouse/domestic partner fly on vacation passes at SA0V.

              SA4P: Unaccompanied pass riders when using a PERSONAL pass.

                            Exception: retireeʼs unaccompanied spouse/domestic partner fly on personal passes at SA2R.

First, all positive-space standbys are boarded, then all SA0 (space-available) standbys are boarded, followed by SA1, SA2, SA3, etc.  Within each of the above groups pass riders are boarded by “Board Date” seniority.

In the old travel policy sUA pass riders’ seniority was determined by “date of hire”.  Under “DOH”, retirees continued to accrue seniority after they stopped working.

In the new travel policy all pass riders’ seniority is based on how long they’ve worked; known as “years of service” (YOS).  Now, when employees retire, they stop accruing more seniority (but they do not lose seniority).

Old policy (DOH): whoever got hired first is senior.

New policy (YOS): whoever has worked the longest is senior.

YOS (years of service) is determined by “date of retirement” minus “date of hire”. 

A retiree hired in 1970 who retired in 2000 would have 30 “years of service” (2000-1970=30). 

Example: Jack was hired January 1, 1970; Jill was hired January 2, 1970.

While they were both still working, Jack was always senior to Jill.

After ten years, Jack retired on January 1, 1980.

Jill continued working for twenty more years, retiring on Jan 2, 2000 with 30 years of service.

On January 2, 2000 (the day Jill retired):

In the old travel policy (date of hire): Jack would have 30 years and 1 day seniority, Jill would have 30 years.  Jack would still be senior and he would always board before Jill, forever!

In the new policy (years of service): Jack would have 10 years of service and Jill would have 30 years; Jill would board first (she would have been boarding ahead of Jack since 1/3/1980, when she had accrued 10 years and one day of seniority).

There is a common misconception that retirees LOSE seniority under the YOS system; that is false. Retirees maintain the Years of Service they earned, however, they do not earn more seniority after they retire (like they did with DOH). 

What does change every day is a retiree's "Board Date".

All pass riders are boarded within boarding priority groups by their “Board Date”.

What’s my Board Date?                          

            Your “Board Date” is calculated by “date of travel” minus your “years of service” (YOS). 

Retirees’ “Board Dates” will change every day because “date of travel” changes every day.  However, a retiree’s “years of service in years/months/days” always remains the same as time passes.

In the above example, if Jack & Jill took a flight on August 15, 2015 Jack’s “Board Date” would have been August 15, 2005 while Jill’s “Board Date” would have been August 15, 1985. (Jack still has his 10 years of service, Jill has her 30 years).

More information, including boarding priority charts, is here: 

FlyingTogether> Travel > Boarding priorities & cabin eligibility    

Active employees’ Board Dates do not change because every day they remain employed they accrue another “day of service”. Until they retire, an employee’s “Board Date” equals their date of hire.

Your “years/months/days of service” are noted below your name and your ID number on the Employee Profile page in FlyingTogether>employeeRES>QuickLinks>EmployeeProfile.

A “Board Date” calculator is on the same page; it displays your Board Date on future travel dates.

“Board dates” are displayed on the “pass riders list” in employeeRES when booking travel.

If you think your “Board Date” is incorrect, use the “Feedback” link in employeeRES>QuickLinks, and select “Board Date” from the drop-down menu.

Complied by Kirk Moore, RAFA Travel Benefits Committee