Live Smartpref overated?

[Nevets]

These are all things that everyone would like to see improved; QOL is not limited to scheduling.

Yes, but you ignore the other part of my post you didn't quote here. We would like to keep these things we already have in our contract. Trying to keep vacation low AND improving other rules to make flight line at least as good to keep our side's QOL is just not going to happen. We will not be able to keep vacation low, improve scheduling/PBS work rules, keep our B fund, keep our higher 401k matching, keep our higher vacation accrual, keep our higher sick time accrual, keep our health benefits at the current premium ratios, get fair increases in pay rates, and whatever other work rule tweaks that we would like to have.

This is where we probably disagree. For the lower seniority "constrained" pilots that face the possibility of uncertain globalized assignments every month, it seems that scheduling QOL could incur a significant hit. In the minds of many Prefbid supporters, trading a seniority-based award engine for one that invokes globablization over a large part of the pilot population does not seem like a one-for-one exchange.

But it's not uncertain! You know right away if you are in the constrained group. You know right away what your bid results may look like. You know right away what days are being unstacked. You know this all before the lines are final. In prefbid, everyone's lines gets massaged after bidding closes and blind to the line pilot. In smartpref, only the constrained group is globalizes and they see it before the lines are final and can adjust bidding strategies accordingly. The senior people are not constrained and get exactly waht their seniority can hold and the junior people are in the constrained group and may get unstacked. It's still seniority driven but its just different. In flight line EVERYONE gets their lines massaged and you will never know if the final subjective solution was the best for you.

Does this apply to all pilots or only to those not in the constrained group? Under Prefbid, every pilot can set "backup" trips.

For all pilots not in the constrained group. I believe they are working to get the constrained group to be able to do this as well. But what I'm talking about is when it shows you your possible line, it also shows you a list of all the other pairings that you had to choose from. It lists them in on order that meets your criteria so you can move them up or down on the list so that if someone senior to you takes one or more of your tentative pairings, you know exactly which other pairings will replace each of the ones that may be taken.

This is what I understand globlization to be: When globilization is in effect, it is possible for pairings that a senior pilot has ranked highly to go to a more junior pilot (and in turn, to receive lower priority, less desirable trips). Flight line does not globalize. If a senior pilot bids specific pairings, those pairing are not awarded to a more junior pilot at the whims of union or company subjectivity. The changes introduced "subjectively" do not override specific pilot preferences. The system does not bypass higher preferences for lower ones to make a viable solution. Seniority is preserved.

Like I've said before, it uses neutral trips just as flight line does when people are subjectively massaging them. But yes, you may be unstacked. And what I mean about subjectivity is that not every pilot can conceive of every single iteration of their possible line that may be part of the dozens of multiple solutions the PWG may come up with. There is no way to bid with multiple bid sheets in a way that will always give you the best line for you in every single solution that the PWG comes up with. You never get to see them and the PWG decides what is best for EVERYONE COLLECTIVELY, not what is best for the number 1 bidder and second best for the number 2 bidder and etc etc. This is what I mean any time I say that it socializes. In smartpref, only the constrained group is subject to globalization.

These questions do not make sense under Prefbid---nor do the concepts of a better or worse line. But suppose they did. If a pilot could consider one solution run "better" or "worse" than another, then that pilot has not been specific enough in designating desirable pairing. Creating specific, detailed preferences removes any sort of variability that any "subjective," external influence could play---regardless of seniority.

Extended Prefbid scenario:
Pilot wants 3-day trips.
Pilot submits only one preference: 3-day trips.

Let's suppose that only two iterations are considered by the company.
Solution 1: Pilot receives six 3-day trips, each credited at 16 hours.
Solution 2: Pilot receives five 3-day trips, each credited at 18 hours.

Which solution is "better"? Maybe the pilot would prefer Solution 1 because the credit hours are higher; maybe the pilot prefers Solution 2 because it offers more days off.

Let's suppose the pilot "prefers" Solution 2 but that the final award is Solution 1; the system tries to assign lower-credit trips first. Solution 1 does not conflict or globalize the pilot: The pilot specified only 3-day trips, and the pilot receives 3-day trips. In other words, the pilot was not specific enough when submitting preferences.

Since Solution 1 and Solution 2 were possible outcomes for our pilot, how could the pilot receive the "more desirable" solution? Simply improve preference criteria or add additional preferences or both. A better preference submission would be this: 3-day trips, credit > 17 hours. Now, even if the system tried to award lower-credit pairings first, the pilot would still receive pairings crediting more than 17 hours and drive the award to Solution 2.

In fact, even if the company ran the same two iterations, both should be identical for the pilot: Because the pilot is senior enough to hold the 18-hour, 3-day trips, the system will not be able to assign lower-credit pairings.

First, lets get this straight. You can have two lines with six 3 day trips worth 16 hours each and still have one you feel is better than the other. You will never know it though because you never see the dozens of different solutions and the final one that the PWG subjectively picks for all your pilots. With smartpref, you see if you are senior enough to hold the higher credit ones and the resulting extra day off. You see which other 3 day pairings are available and you can select your backups. It'll show you right away of you screwed up your bid, in your example by not being specific enough. You get as many tries as you want and not just 12-36 (if you count the two prelims and the final one the PWG picks for everyone). With smartpref you can easily have that many in one bid window or you can choose to only have one final award like in flight line.

 

[labbats]

Not to be a paranoid person but you should ask yourselves why the company wants this so badly. It isn't to help the pilot group I can assure you.

 

[Nevets]

Not to be a paranoid person but you should ask yourselves why the company wants this so badly. It isn't to help the pilot group I can assure you.

It's to get a system that actually comes up with a viable solution without requiring half a dozen people being paid to manually globalize/socialize/massage the unsatisfactory outcome.