That’s the truth of it.
Line bidding and our SAP are the best QOL tools you could ask for. They create inefficiencies though that require the company to keep an inordinate percentage of the pilot group on reserve. So the current system is great, but it only really benefits the top half of the seniority list.
PBS wouldn’t be much of a change for the top 25% of the pilot group. You’ll still likely get all/most of what you want and there’s a good chance it could actually generate better schedules for you than what you get with our current line bidding plus SAP. The “middle 25%”, that is to say the junior line holders, will likely see a decrease in flexibility and won’t be able to get as good a schedule. And the real benefactors would be the bottom half of the seniority list who will see drastically reduced reserve times.
Overall PBS would likely be better for the pilot group as a whole. But someone is always going to be unhappy no matter what happens. PSA management wants PBS here and they’ll likely be willing to pay up to get it. Flow increasing to 1% plus a true min day and rigs, and maybe a higher percentage accelerated pay credit would be a good place to start. I’m sure we’ll know more later this year as negotiations progress.