IslandBoy -
The answer is yes. No, we don't have pref bidding, but in my opinion we have something better. Once the lines are awarded, you can drop trips like crazy, and then there is daily opentime where you can then add/drop/swap like a madman as well. Picking up monthly open time (immediately after the lines are awarded, and everybody drops what they don't want, there is a period where you can sift through what everybody has dropped and pick up what you want) is based mostly on seniority, but daily opentime is first come/first served. You can drop pretty much everything you don't want, and most often there is enough left in daily opentime to pick up other stuff you do want. Only a couple of stipulations - you can drop down to 50 hours during the course of the month, but you have to finish the month with at least 70 hours to avoid a powwow with the CP. You're encouraged to always take vacations, of course, but if you feel like makin' a few extra bucks (like I did last month - new house, Daddy's got bills) you can work over any part of your vacation (i.e., daily opentime) and easily pick up some cashola. Everything over 82 hours is paid at time and a quarter, and I was able to accrue 118 hours of credit, while still hanging on to my 15 days off. Plus, I still have vacation left for another part of the year. Scheduling is definitely one of the strong areas at F9, and my experience with the schedulers is that they have always been tremendously professional and courteous.

Hope that helps.