Preferential Bidding
 

From the latest Jetflyer...

"This is very interesting and comes from several UNION sources. In
essence this is what they say about PBS (PBS-Preferential Bidding
System). Feel free to publish this. The UNION sources have said in a
manner of speaking... "PBS is a foregone conclusion." "We should not
think of it as submitting, we should think of it as negotiating good
terms for PBS well in advance."

This is interesting because Continental, NWA, and the others who are
beginning negotiations are getting rid of PBS. Everyone I have talked
with from the other airlines who have PBS state that, (referring to our
vacation as being the best in the industry), "there goes your vacation
and life as you know it"! "If the company wants it, it's bad for the
pilots!!!"

My question is, do we need union leadership with such a defeatist
attitude, or do we need real leadership with pilots who won't fly the
disputed pairings listed in support of proper leadership? In the mean
time, I personally feel that as a pilot group we should be sending the
union leadership a message that this is unacceptable! We as a pilot
group should be supporting the SIG with regard to our schedules!"

Fraternally,


xxxxx xxxxxxx
A-300 Capt. MEM

I've used this system at a previous airline and believe me, it's no fun not
knowing what your schedule will be till it's too late!

PBS is a horrible system! It'll work very well for the top 5% in each seat (like all bidding systems do already), but it will leave out 90-95% of the rest of the pilots.
I sure hope you guys don't go that direction. I would imagine it can't be forced on you without negotiations.
Good luck.

Dealbreaker

I'll second that Knightflyer. But, the camel's nose is already under the tent with the CBA's view/add window and post bid processing period. I will vehemently object to any more movement in the direction of a PBS.

PBS will never get my vote. Absolute deal breaker.

Also, wasn't age 60 a foregone conclusion?. By memorial day nonetheless?

For those former military pilots, PBS is like the military assignment system, you put in your 'dream sheet' and the company give you what they want you to do:eek:. Talking to others who have it, it is almost impossible to audit (i.e. why did the guy below me get a 'better' line than me?:confused:) since it has very very little transparency. Controlling our schedule and understanding why our schedule turns out the way it does is a huge plus. Even though I'm at the bottom of the seniority list, our current system is orders of magnitude better than PBS. No way, no how will I vote for a contract that has it!

NW isn't getting rid of PBS. Most (90%) of the pilots there would never want to go back to hard lines or the "5 minute window".

As long as you have enough control over it (amount of open time after bidding) it a great system. Bidding hard lines is retarded.

Not when PBS would kill the best in the industry vaction pacakge.

Agree, and anyone that doesn't believe that should just bid a VTO during a VAC month!

It works well at NWA because the Union has control over the software "rule sets"


Fedex would never allow us that same control.

The company is WAY smarter than we are. They would, and always are, 3 steps ahead of us.

Look at what they are doing to us now!