PBS Good or Bad?

[ATA73Pilot]

For those of you with Vacation policies that allow the removal of trips "touched" by vacation days - this will negate that little benefit.

PBS will build your schedule right up to the first day of vacation and start the first day back - this is where much of the savings come from for the company.

Picture a 2200 release time before vacation and an 0500 showtime the first day back.

Run as far away from PBS as you can. The only ones to truly benefit are the top 10%. Any item the company wants usually does not end up benefiting the pilots.

 

[pkober]

CAL's PBS is a great example of the negatives. Once I crossed the "splat line," life suddenly got really good. I had to cross the fifty percent mark on seniority. There wasn't a grey month either. It went from pure crap to exactly what I want. To me, a PBS system should be more equitable. As it stands here, it favors the senior pilots above the splat line at the cost of those below. The closer we get to summer flying scheds, the higher the splat line climbs.
There are other issues, but it depends on who you ask. Some guys feel they are getting shafted on their vacation time, others say it works out for them. It's too inconsistant.
A friend of mine who's senior to me bid to get Thanksgiving off. Since I was relatively junior, I didn't bother to and assumed that I'd work that day. I actually got the day off without trying and he ended up working it. The PBS gurus were quick to point fingers, but it just shouldn't have happened in my opinion.

I've been here since Oct 05 and am now at 57% in IAH, hopefully what you say will happen when I hit 50%.

Last Thanksgiving I got four days off over the holiday. I was at about 65%. I wasn't complaining, but that shows how screwed up it can get. Even though everyone above me asked for Thanksgiving off, the computer didn't like it and it gave it to a junior guy.

 

[ACWild]

I've been here since Oct 05 and am now at 57% in IAH, hopefully what you say will happen when I hit 50%.

It won't. The splat line moved higher for summer flying. Sorry. Not sure what the actual number is, but I've heard that it's going to go to 40%.
By the way, we were hired the same month.:beer:

 

[Bavarian Chef]

For those of you with Vacation policies that allow the removal of trips "touched" by vacation days - this will negate that little benefit.

PBS will build your schedule right up to the first day of vacation and start the first day back - this is where much of the savings come from for the company.

Picture a 2200 release time before vacation and an 0500 showtime the first day back.

Run as far away from PBS as you can. The only ones to truly benefit are the top 10%. Any item the company wants usually does not end up benefiting the pilots.

You don't bid vacation with PBS (unless you are really junior). I have good success with bidding even when I was junior due to FliCA (dropping, swapping, trading). Been at jb 19 months, bid 45-50% and life is good.

PBS is not an issues at jb. I'd say most are happy with it.

 

[ExAF]

Depends

Depends and I don't mean the diaper type. I've seen it work both ways. The devil is in the details and the constraints put on the system. I've seen it go from great where even the junior guys were getting most of what they wanted to disgusting where even the senior guys are bitching. It really depends on the "rules" agreed to by the company and the pilots and the constraints applied to the system.

 

[EMB170Pilot]

At my company, I've asked captains what was life like before PBS and "ALL" have said they got more days off with the old system than with PBS.

I was also told from the scheduling committee that PBS is a great system but our company has too many paramaters they set in it which makes it not work as well as it should be.

 

[Andy Neill]

Whenever I would jumpseat SkyWest, I would ALWAYS ask how PBS was treating them. The most common answers I got were "real good" or I got hosed this month but it was my fault". In other words, those that do best with the system are those how to work it best. I saw newhires get Christmas off the first year when the senior guys were flying it because they knew how to work it. They would bid to fly an undesirable trip that ended on the 24th and another that began on the 26th making them illigal to fly on Christmas.

 

[islandpirate]

PBS is an abortion. It will crush your QOL.

 

[get2flyin]

I'm a pretty JR FO and I like it (PBS that is, not being JR). My preferences are pretty simple. Start late and finish early because I hate to drive in rush hour and then maximize my credit for TAFB. I don't have a mistress in another city so all things considered I don't care too much where I overnight. I don't expect to get Christmas, etc. off so I don't bother. I do however utilize it to turn a 7 day vacations into a 14+ days off stretch or get my anniversary off to spend with my wife. You don't always get what you want but you can usually get what you need. That being said I just got hosed on my June bid because we're understaffed. Nothing a sick call can't fix. If you're senior, your going to get what you want regardless of the system. If you're junior, your going to get what's left. Low expectations mean low level of disappointment. Words to live by! That and nothing is ever so bad that it can't get worse. Good luck.

 

[Skywriter70]

Plain and simple, you really have to UNDERSTAND PBS more than any other system to have it work for you, and yes, seniority is a must especially with it. I is something that you must fully understand or you can really screw yourself, there are SOOOO many variables... Saves the company millions, however seems to be at the cost of pilot QOL.