The funny thing is when you talk to guys on the line, the senior guys that stand to benefit the most from PBS are the most dogmatically against PBS.

AS trading system sucks. I was 20 out of 150 in PDX and had a hard time getting a trade. It was hard enough that I would bid to guarantee the days off I needed while being on crap trips. If I had PBS I would have had both my days off and my choice of trips.

When I first got here 10 years ago it was a little better. Humans actually did the trades so you could get stuff. For example if you want a DCA 2 day and submit for it, in the “old” days you could put a note in the comments that said you were just looking for a 2 day east coast no red-eye on the 12th or 13th and you would get it if their was one available. Now, with the computerized system, if the EXACT pairing is no longer available (maybe the senior guy traded his DCA on the 13th for the DCA you submitted for on the 12th) you will be denied the trade. So in practical terms, as soon as the number one pilot submits a trade, the hours of scouring the open time for trips that fit are out the window. The farther down the list you are, the more of a waste of time trading is. The benefit to be a little more junior under alaskas system is that at least after a certain point on the seniority list their isn’t a point to even bothering with first step. At least that’s a few extra hours of your life back.

Keep up the fight for PBS, while the PBS haters are the noisiest, I have a feeling they are losing their majority. Get it to a systemwide vote and let’s see.