Hey Delta Pilots,

SWA pilot here. As many of you likely know, the pilots of SWA are in the middle of voting on our new TA right now. One of the issues that is repeatedly raised as an enormous advantage at SWA is that we do not use PBS for bidding. Many of our pilots bemoan PBS as the worst possible thing that can happen at an airline: worse than giving up scope and maybe even worse than furlough. PBS is the devil itself. The big objection is that PBS eliminates any opportunity to get extra pay and time off during monthly overlap and during vacation months.

Our new TA does not include PBS. However, it does include substandard retirement, pay, lifetime earnings, and hotel language compared to the other "Big 4" airlines. Many of those advocating for a YES vote on our new TA do so on the basis that "at least it doesn't have PBS". For many SWA pilots, PBS is an absolute deal-breaker.

Is this a well-placed fear? I have only used line bidding in my airline career so I have no comparison. I have heard good and bad about PBS. Most of the Delta pilots I've talked to have liked PBS. I don't know if they are a representative sample.

I've heard Delta has a highly tweaked version of PBS. Not all PBS systems are the same or equal. Can you Delta pilots please share your experience with PBS and what you think of it? If you have experienced line bidding before, please let me know how you think it compares to line bidding.

It seems many of our pilots would prefer substandard big-ticket items (lifetime career and retirement earnings, hotel language, medical insurance provisions, many more hours blocked/yr, etc) in our new SWA TA in order to avoid being forced to accept PBS. Is avoiding PBS really worth all of that?

Thanks!