Don't get me wrong, I would prefer we keep "old fashioned" line bidding for Phase 1 bidding. Hands down, no if's and's or but's. You are correct though, when someone senior changes something, it has a domino effect on everyone junior to whoever made the change. Same thing happens when you run a normal (non-SmartPref) award. The difference is, you can see that effect on YOUR award in near real time and adjust your bid/expectations accordingly rather than just waiting until the award to be disappointed/excited. Unless a very senior guy is just an ass (not outside the realm of possibilities) there is no advantage for them to squat on the bid and then throw it in last minute to screw everyone else.

Not sure how things are on the CRJ side but on the ERJ our relief (or build-up/composite/phase 2/etc) lines ALREADY are built in a very, very basic PBS style. You basically send in an email with your preferences and someone in crew planning builds you a line that may or may not honor those requests/preferences in seniority order. Essentially, this is TRUE globalization because they really just build lines that work for their overall solution while honoring requests "if possible". I am in favor of SmartPref in this context ONLY and ONLY IF it doesn't result in there being little or no open time left for trading. As long as the union KEEPS control of line construction and sets a limit on how much open time is to be left over for trading, then this shouldn't be hard to guard against.

Now, if PBS spreads into phase 1, we have a real problem and I think most pilots will see an impact on their QOL.