PBS is a HUGE gain in productivity.

Can't speak for DAL, but from talking with friends at other airlines who were involved in looking at the PBS, the numbers are pretty big.

Overall, PBS provides a %15 increase in productivity (IE same work with less pilots). Just the month-month transition alone is worth 7-8 percent. The rest comes from eliminating the conflict from vacations, training, mil leave and so on.

%15 increase in productivity is HUGE. That is a FAT number to the bean counters at any airline which is why they trip over themselves to push it.

What that means in real terms is if you are at the bottom %15 of your category, you face the real possibility of displacement. If you were looking to upgrade or move to a higher paying piece of equipment, you are SOL.

If you are going to engage a company for PBS, this has to be taken into account. Sure, PBS offers some pretty decent bid satisfaction by the nature of the way the system works, but the loss of "touching trips", if a contract contains it, can really wreck "good deals".

So you have to decide what kind of pay rate makes up for the loss of potential. That number can get pretty fat.

This issue is related to, although not the same, as pay banding. Depending on the size of the bands, you REALLY need to make the pay rate worth it, which would have to include a raise for the guys at the top of the band.

Nu