Pbs

[Noodles]

No, not the tv station, the preferential bidding system. My company is looking at implementing it, and I would like to get some opinions.

Please post on here if you like it or don't like it, and why. Also, please include your relative seniority where you work (top 1/3, middle 1/3, or bottom 1/3).

Thanks.

 

[HowardBorden]

No, not the tv station, the preferential bidding system. My company is looking at implementing it, and I would like to get some opinions.

Please post on here if you like it or don't like it, and why. Also, please include your relative seniority where you work (top 1/3, middle 1/3, or bottom 1/3).

Thanks.

I was in the top 10% when it was implemented at a former airline. Although it worked for me (being very senior) I wouldn't wish it on anyone and much preferred the guaranteed schedule offered by regular paper line bidding.

With paper bidding you have a known entity. i.e. if you bid 100 lines and all of them had Christmas off, you were assured Christmas off with paper bidding. Not so much with pref bid, as it is always somewhat of a gamble as to what you get through the weighting of certain preferences.

Much "soft" rime will be lost as the company will be able to schedule efficiently around known absences such as training, vacation or jury duty etc. In the end the pilot will most likely lose days off in the long run as the company can adjust line totals etc.

It is most likely a win for the company as it allows more efficiencies in scheduling employees. Conversely, those efficiencies will most likely come at the expense of "freebies" for the pilot group built in to the paper bidding model.

 

[densoo]

I was in the top 10% when it was implemented at a former airline. Although it worked for me (being very senior) I wouldn't wish it on anyone and much preferred the guaranteed schedule offered by regular paper line bidding.

With paper bidding you have a known entity. i.e. if you bid 100 lines and all of them had Christmas off, you were assured Christmas off with paper bidding. Not so much with pref bid, as it is always somewhat of a gamble as to what you get through the weighting of certain preferences.

Much "soft" rime will be lost as the company will be able to schedule efficiently around known absences such as training, vacation or jury duty etc. In the end the pilot will most likely lose days off in the long run as the company can adjust line totals etc.

It is most likely a win for the company as it allows more efficiencies in scheduling employees. Conversely, those efficiencies will most likely come at the expense of "freebies" for the pilot group built in to the paper bidding model.

Good summary. It's not so much the program but whether absences (Jury duty, training days. Etc) are loaded before or after they run the program. Before is bad. Also depends on agreements regarding min days of, regardless of loading absences before or after. It's a tool that can be misused by the company unless parameters are agreed to beforehand.

 

[scoreboardII]

PBS is a guarantee that pilots will need to supply more days of work for their pay.

 

[wms]

One week of vaca stretched into four if it carries over two months, without vaca low and 17 days off in oct with 96 hours and control of my Skd. I like it. We use prefbid.

 

[wms]

Ps, ours only builds up around vaca if you tell it to. Otherwise you do a trip at each end of the month.

 

[Quack]

As others have stated, if they place all of the "conflicts" in before they run the bid, then it can be a crap shoot as far as what you end up with. Depending on the contract language, if you have a week of vaca and cannot slide it, they can build a trip that ends the day before your vacation and another one that begins when vacation ends. There's good things and bad about it, but if you're super junior or super senior it generally can benefit you; however if you find yourself in the middle third, each month can be like a scratch n sniff sticker...could smell like roses or could smell like a tird.

 

[pianoman]

Pretty much spot on. I liked it while junior, didn't so much mid-pack, and now crossing 40% in my base I like it again.

The rest depends on the rules you negotiate concerning absences such as vacation, training, and others.

 

[igneousy2]

Pretty much spot on. I liked it while junior, didn't so much mid-pack, and now crossing 40% in my base I like it again.

The rest depends on the rules you negotiate concerning absences such as vacation, training, and others.

That is the key...it depends on the contract language implemented surrounding it.

best ways to get a schedule as a pilot...

1. Well implemented PBS system including proper software and proper contract language.

2. Paper Bidding.

3. Dart board at pairing sheet.

4. Chickens walking on pairing sheet and watching where they crap.

...
99. Your worst enemy picking your schedule for you.
100. Poorly implemented PBS system with cheapest software and no contractual protections.

 

[Flying the Line]

One week of vaca stretched into four if it carries over two months, without vaca low and 17 days off in oct with 96 hours and control of my Skd. I like it. We use prefbid.

25 days off for one week of vacation for 88 trips. SWA. Please don't implement PBS here. About 60% in base

 

[slaquer5]

PBS is awesome


Just ask any CEO of an airline. It's a 10 % pay cut for the work group, without most of them realizing what hit them .

 

[wms]

I made 10k more the first year of PBS, in fewer days per month. I consistently get more days off per month with PBS because the company is incompetent at building efficient lines.

 

[JetMonkey]

I'm the lower 10% in my base. PBS for me means, bidding in less than 60 secs instead of spending half of the trip scanning through pairing books. I like to give myself a stretch of 6 or 7 days off every month and I usually get it. It's like having a vacation week every month.

 

[PBRstreetgang]

Ask yourself, who's idea is it....... there is your answer. Companies love it because they get more work and the ability to add flying at their choice. If implemented by the people who are going to actually use it it can be decent, depending on the software. If the company implements the process, watch out, if the sicktime and vacation accrual rates are not adjusted you will lose. I bid in the top 30% of my domicile and in the top 15% of the company and I dislike it, during the summer I get to fly 95 hours a month, since a couple of super senior guys take 3-4 weeks of vacation at a pop, the company just piles their flying onto my schedule, because they can.....

 

[LearLove]

I used it when I was j4j at Rep. (2006 to 2008). I found that I got good results when I kept my "inputs" to a minimum. Meaning the less parameters I gave it the more likely I got what I wanted. That said because I commuted (based in DCA) all I wanted was 4 days trips and 3 to 4 days off between. Also looking at the trips at the time the ones with DH's in them were really bad (unproductive) so I avoided them. So my pref bid would have 2 parameters:

1. no deadheads
2. 4 days trips

and I would get a line with 4 4day trips blocked for 80ish hours. Or 3 4 days and a 3 day. I was single and no kids so I really didn't care about weekends of or even holidays. If for some reason I needed a particular day of I'd put that before "no deadheads".

It pretty much worked for me but I have low expectations/needs. Also if your junior it really depends on how savvy/smart the senior guys are WRT bidding. If they don't care or screw up the bid you wind up with the good stuff.

 

[Noodles]

Thanks everyone for your answers. I haven't worked anywhere that had it, and was curious how everyone's experience with it has been.

 

[Junkflyer]

Your union must be in in the process, the parameters are everything. We have the ability to bid min, regular or max. Meaning we can fly 75-95+ hours per month by choice. Lots of other gotchas involved so whatever you agree to should be well researched. It is a huge benefit to the company so the pilot group should also reap some type of benefit for agreeing to it.

 

[711-24-7]

Loved it at my last airline (we had it negotiated to program it properly), can't wait to get it at my new employer (given if we negotiate the programing of PBS properly, not a good track record for negotiations here).....PBS love it! I have used it as reserve and a schd holder.

 

[Skywest Pylot]

That is the key...it depends on the contract language implemented surrounding it.

best ways to get a schedule as a pilot...

1. Well implemented PBS system including proper software and proper contract language.

2. Paper Bidding.

3. Dart board at pairing sheet.

4. Chickens walking on pairing sheet and watching where they crap.

...
99. Your worst enemy picking your schedule for you.
100. Poorly implemented PBS system with cheapest software and no contractual protections.

#100 = SkyWest.