Originally Posted by
ancman
The lock only exists because of our ancient infrastructure.
I might agree with you if the contract stipulated that PCS will run at specified times, rather than arbitrary “no earlier than” times. Since scheduling chooses each PCS run time, they can easily engage in the nefarious activity you describe with or without a lock. They can make a move that blocks potential PCS moves, then hit “start PCS” a second later. The lock doesn’t actually limit them, it limits us.
The reserve grid is constantly changing whether PCS is running or not. The fact that we can’t see it in real time, along with an accurate reserve list, is ridiculous. Our technology is light years behind UA, and even AA.
Again, a PCS run takes a minute or two tops, and probably well under that outside the 20-22 of each month. And that programming is actually some of the best we've got. There are very, very rarely any award errors since it is entirely automated. All of the crazy crap that happens occurs when a human is involved in the process. I agree that we need to see a lot of improvements to our systems, but complaining about being locked out for well under 5 minutes a day during the most critical schedule process outside PBS isn't where I'd put my energy.