jcountry

I am VERY worried about this....

They can just efficient our asses into the ground.

esadof

Well didn't workout to well for them in PHX

jcountry

I hope they realize what a mess it has been to not staff properly over the summer.....

They won't. No airline ever realizes they have a problem until it is a BIG problem.

Spoiler

they won't change
this is the new normal - push and push and before you know it all will adopt it.
no way they will flat out tell you you're working more hours.

PurpleTurtle

Have heard pilots say "They are renting your license. They figure they make money when they push and figure you will protect your license if they push you too far.. so they will push and push until you protect your license."

cactusmike

I don't think that will be a problem going forward. PBS is merely another way of distributing your flying, of awarding trips/pairings/sequences. Our issue here is more of a global issue, too few bodies flying too many hours, with no backup when the system tanks like weather delays.

I think you will like PBS. My second parallel bid came out a little better than the AdOpt PBS bid I just got for August. It's easier for us to bid on the new system, although there are issues sorting the pairings for the airbus guys, who have a large number to look through. AdOpt had an analyzer feature that allowed you to look at how your bids affected the pairing choices, if a bad pairing was on the top of the list you could take steps to reduce or eliminate that pairing.

On the 757 we just have a few trips, it's really all about which island you will go to and what days off you have. PBS gave me two long weekends off next month, I would not have been able to hold that in a traditional line format. With the new system it's super easy to designate the days off you want.

justjack

Let me just admit that I do not thoroughly read these post- I just skim and I could have missed something.
As far as any sort of job action by using sick days let me set your mind at ease. But let me preface it by saying that first of all, among the many types who I do not want to fly with are pilots who are inordinately troubled about something going on at home or work- or in ANY mental state that is less than perfect. Nor do I want to fly with pilots who are physically unhealthy- be it from a cold or a nagging lateral epicondylitis. I assure you that in the long run both the company and coworkers are better off if pilots err on the side of using an extra sick day.
Having said this, I will say that I have always taken sick days only when I truly needed them and I do not have as many as I would like to have left. I have always been in good shape – exercise regularly. I am thin. I eat well. Knees are shot, elbows are shot, and my lower back is the most shot. The most likely scenario if you work to 65, you will use much of your sick time up, just because of normal wear and tear. (If only there was something we could do like saaaay ….we could move days and fly back sick days) So really- don’t fret. The company will be just fine and I am sure that they know it.

R57 relay

I hope so. A west friend sent me a few screen shots of PHX AB July lines when I asked him what was going on and they looked action packed.

Neither of my July practice bids went well. I figured they would produce dream lines with the low participation, but they were both bad. August looks much better, better than what I actually got, but skewed somewhat because I have training and it was awarded before bidding on PBS where I had to arrange my actual line to leave time for cqt to be added later. Maybe I'm getting the hang of it, but plan on spending some one on one time with a PBS instructor next month.

Busy few months, with lots of changes. Good luck to us all.

cactusmike

Great idea, seeing a PBS guy one on one. I went to the class, which helped, but I was able to fine tune my bid with the help of a friend who is an instructor.

Training does kind of screw you because it pays less than a regular trip.

BTW, I went through the three distance learning modules on single FOS today. Now that (DECS) makes PBS look like kids stuff. Holy crap!

R57 relay

I hope you wore your bell bottom jeans while completing that module and filed your claim on a punch card, otherwise you won't get paid.