SWA took one step closer to being a regional carrier

[Guppiedriver]

Well there you have it. Who do you work for because I'm sure PBS is a very hot item for the company and I'd like to know who to reference as a comparison.

Thanks,
Gup

AWA (aka US Airways new). Everybody is afraid of PBS, because of the unknown. It's not perfect, but once you understand it pretty easy to use. IMO, the guys that have used it and still hate it are the guys that don't take that time to understand it.

I have had months where I was mis-awarded, because of a software programming glitch and got a sh!tty line. But I was able to trade most of the sh!tty trips out after the bid award. Our mis-award resolution sucks, so I went to the trade board and open time to fix my line. The mis-award was not PBS's fault, it was a human programming error. Garbage in = Garbage out.

We ran parallel bids for about six months until we switched over from paper bids to PBS. That way you could see how your PBS bid would turn out compared to your real paper bid. Each month you could tweak your PBS bid until you got results that matched your paper bid.

 

[Skyboy722]

I also came from a company that implemented PBS while I was there, and they ran a "Test period" as well. The only problem with that is that it only takes a couple of guys who choose not to participate because it's not "the real thing", and the results for everyone junior to them are severely skewed. I was thrilled with the lines that PBS built for me, until the tests were over and the real thing began. Then, of course, everyone bid. And I never saw a decent line again.

 

[Tripower455]

Garbage in = Garbage out.

Herein lies the problem........ I do not trust our union to cull the garbage out of what goes into the program......

 

[canyonblue737]

i used PBS for 3 years.

i can't deny it makes nice lines in many cases and it gives pilots lots of options for creating their line. the problem of PBS isn't PBS itself, it is how it compares with what SWA has NOW. PBS will causes MAJOR issues with vacation time and pay and it will reduce flexibility compared to our current ELITT/TRADE/DROP system because it will eliminate the vast majority of overlap issues that create the open time trips that allow for changes to trips and open time picks up above and beyond your normal line. can you make PBS leave open time, or allow the company to overlay overlap corrections on top... yes you can but then you eliminate the reason for going to a PBS system which is to realize a cost savings from fixing overlap and vacation issues.

you can't accurately say PBS is good because Airline X loves it, you have to ask what they had before in terms of a system. perhaps the old way didn't have much flexibility after the lines were awarded so the pilots now are really happy because their initial lines are more what they want. but to decide if PBS is good for SWA you have to weigh how the system creates lines (based on how it is programmed which is decided between the company/SWAPA in the contract) vs. what we have now. i just can't see a way we won't lose because frankly what we have now is really a steal of a deal in terms of what we can get away with and the whole reason the company wants PBS is to realize a cost savings... a cost savings which will come via a loss of flexibilty and vacation time/pay.

should we do this? perhaps we should if only because what we habe now is unreasonable... but not because we think PBS will allow us to have our cake and eat it to because it won't. anyway let me check out of this discussion and add my peace to the real SWAPA forum where we can discuss this without outsiders who perhaps don't understand what we have now mistakenly explain how the changes will effect SWA pilots.

 

[DH2WN]

Herein lies the problem........ I do not trust our union to cull the garbage out of what goes into the program......

Once again here it is. It seems we don't have problems with the idea of changing the system. What we need to do is change our union becuase clearly the only people who like it are the people running it and no one trusts them.

....and to think I had gotten away from ALPA at my last carrier. It seems it's no different here just a smaller scale.

 

[SWA/FO]

What we need is more people to VOTE. Vote and vote often!!

 

[Guppiedriver]

Herein lies the problem........ I do not trust our union to cull the garbage out of what goes into the program......

Well I thought the SW pilot group, SWAPA, and SWA all got along.

Even though we have similar distrusts with our union/company, the PBS system is still not bad. Flexibility after bid awards is not a function of PBS. We handle that through Maestro. Once lines are awarded, you are free to trade pilot to pilot or through open time.

I would not vote for PBS unless you are able to secure good language (open time, etc...)and flexibility for trip trade/drop/pick-up. SWA wants PBS. Therefore, you should demand something in return (flexibility).

 

[SWAPoolie]

Well I thought the SW pilot group, SWAPA, and SWA all got along.

Even though we have similar distrusts with our union/company, the PBS system is still not bad.

You don't know this until it's tested....

 

[airlinepilot]

Nothing to trade for

We have trips to trade for now because of the structure of our present system. What everyone needs to realize is under PBS there is nothing to trade for because it assigns all trips. There will not be any first of the month overlap trips dropped, there is no training conflicts and no vacation problems. GUys and gals....PBS assigns every trip. So the only open time is when someone calls in sick. It takes care of all the conflicts that now give us trips to trade for in ELITT, monthly open time, etc. You cannot trade trips when there is nothing to trade for. I used PBS for 2 years and know what I am talking about. It would change our scheduling system and our current freeedom totally. Think about where the trips come from that we trade for on ELITT. With PSB none of those trips would be there....

 

[Guppiedriver]

We have trips to trade for now because of the structure of our present system. What everyone needs to realize is under PBS there is nothing to trade for because it assigns all trips. There will not be any first of the month overlap trips dropped, there is no training conflicts and no vacation problems. GUys and gals....PBS assigns every trip. So the only open time is when someone calls in sick. It takes care of all the conflicts that now give us trips to trade for in ELITT, monthly open time, etc. You cannot trade trips when there is nothing to trade for. I used PBS for 2 years and know what I am talking about. It would change our scheduling system and our current freeedom totally. Think about where the trips come from that we trade for on ELITT. With PSB none of those trips would be there....

I have used PBS for six years and you're wrong. PBS does leave trips in open time if it is programed that way. It's your job to negotiate the percentage of open time that will be set aside.

If I understand what your saying.....you have been getting extra days off because your current bidding system doesn't recognize that you have vacation, training, or carry in trips? Then the trips that are in conflict with those events are dropped? I see why SWA wants PBS.