The answer to this question from the union has chapped my butt for years. Any answer having to do with the open time release is just stupid. All that is needed is a tiered open. If they are worried about PMU, then PMU opens at 900 and then full open time opens at 905. With real time trading, it won't take 5 minutes, maybe 5 seconds.

The worse answer you will get if you press the union even harder about real time trip trade is a BS answer that comes from the company. The companies position is that if two people submit PMU at the same instant for the exact same trip, then one will not get the trip and the PMU will revert to MU because the computer can't figure it out. Of all the stupid answers. Just put a statement that if your PMU reverts you must notify scheduling to reset the MU to PMU.

I pressed this issue hard a few years ago and was told by the union negotiator that "according to the company expert", there are several hundred times a month that PMU is not awarded due to an earlier time stamp by another PMU. First, I completely doubt that PMU is outstamped ever outside of the initial open time release. Most pilots get PMU maybe once every couple years. The mere fact that the union did not go...What!! shakes my confidence in their ability to recognize untruths coming from company sources. Second, the very definition of real time means that there is really only a micro second after one person presses submit while the trade is processed. Unless you pressed submit at exactly the same instant, and it took the exact same micro time for your trades to travel, then someone will get trip not available. There will be no earlier time stamps, because the trip will be gone. Real time is just that real time. Heck, I'd even give up a rolling open time seniority window, 60 seconds per 100 seniority numbers if they are that concerned about the "flood" of inputs. At least I'd have absolute real time for the rest of the month outside the first couple minutes. That would beat the frustration of 10+ hours of open trade inquiries.