Originally Posted by Navajo31

New scale first year is $278 a day. 13 bid periods, 16 days each equals $57,824.

Preferential Bid System (PBS) is supposed to consider your requests regarding rotation length, specific days on/off, etc. Like most companies, junior folks rarely get what they want. Most junior guys will get 6 day on/ 4 day off rotations, flying most weekends and holidays. As you move up, there are more 4 or 5 day rotations with better days off. Right now, the normal bid is 16 days out of 28. Depending on the fleet you are in, chances of getting less than that (which you can request) are not very good. If you really need a particular weekend off, you can bid reserve and get 3 days of your choosing guaranteed off*.
(*Some restrictions do apply.)

It's not always what I want, but I would never describe our schedule as "brutal". And it beats pouring over tons of lines to find the best one for you.