Airline Pilot Central Forums

We received word today that the PBS Help Desk, which has normally been staffed with pilots, is not being staffed with company paid employees that are not pilots.

The PBS Help Desk has been a great resource and helps pilots immensly. If you have to try to "work the system" to get days off, or to maximize pay during a vacation/training month, the Help Desk has been an amazing benefit to the pilot group.

So...one has to ask...why can't APA just start their own PBS Help Desk. God knows that we waste enough money on other crap like the Frat House in DC, or renting out the Yacht Club in San Diego, or the all-night drunk fests at every Top Golf in the country. I think the PBS Help Desk would help far more pilots than the 100 boomers that attend OshKosh or Sun-n-Fun every year.

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APA Pilots,

For the last eight years, APA line pilots have dedicated themselves to staffing the PBS Help Desk, assisting you with bidding questions and strategies and providing a sympathetic ear to bend. Starting in July, non-pilot personnel will staff the PBS Help Desk. No pilots will be available to field questions.

It’s important to acknowledge that the pilot PBS instructors had only a few months to transfer their knowledge to the new instructors. Despite our best efforts, the adage “you don’t know what you don’t know” applies to management’s aggressive transition schedule. The new instructors have faced a steep learning curve with little real-world experience to solidify the ideas and concepts of PBS.

Additionally, the new instructors lack access to tools that APA has utilized monthly:

The Pairing Report Dashboard, providing a bird’s eye view of pairing length trends, destination changes, and staffing deltas.
PBS Award History, crucial for reviewing historical coverage dates, reserve versus line trends, and assisting with Award Challenges.
Intimate knowledge of our CBA as it pertains to various aspects such as vacation, reserve, Part 117, and work rules.

When you’ve called the PBS Help Desk, you’ve spoken with an APA pilot who flies the line, understands the issues you’re facing, and is vested in your success because we live it as well. We understand commuting, fatigue, challenges with family schedules, living out of a suitcase, and all the challenges that come with our profession. There is no replacement that can match our level of real-world experience, skill, and empathy for what our pilots go through each month. Our goals have always been to maximize your compensation and quality of life in accordance with our Collective Bargaining Agreement. It remains to be seen whether the new company instructors will share similar goals and, even if they do, whether they will have the knowledge and understanding to help our pilots achieve them.

As you reach out to the PBS Help Desk from this point forward, please bear in mind the limitations of the new instructors. We trust they will all be doing their best given the abbreviated training period they have been afforded, but they are not line pilots. We encourage you to be respectful to these company employees during all your interactions, and recommend keeping a detailed record of your calls to the Help Desk. This can be particularly useful if there are any issues or challenges related to awards. If you maintain detailed notes on who you spoke with and when, the PWG (PBS Working Group) can more effectively address and resolve any concerns. This helps ensure accurate communication and continuous improvement in the Help Desk’s support processes.

Escalating to the PWG is always an option after an Award Challenge has been returned to you and you do not feel their answer was correct or want more background regarding why your bid result occurred.