Yes. In a perfect world. But if we have inadequate reserve coverage (OCT NYC 717A for example) the PB days are next to worthless.

There's always NOV, I suppose.

 

But what I'm saying is, if you have adequate coverage to drop, then you're better off dropping a nice fat 4-5 day trip. It's worth so much more when PB days don't have a max drop value attached to them.

No coverage, then you're stuck with a reserve line and have to fly all of it, which is why I would never advise that strategy unless it is abundantly obvious that coverage will be blue.

You can drop one third of a month's work with 4 PB days in a good lineholder scenario.

A reserve line would never allow such a thing.

 

You have until the end of March 2017 to use any PB days earned in 2016. 2016 PB days will be bid as "supplemental" days with your 2017 vacation. But you can use them January to March. Just PD (or APD) a trip. Then call CS and tell them you want to use your PB days to cover the trip drop.

As a side note, January to end of March is the only time you can use PB days to cover an APD.

Denny

 

No doubt using them to drop a trip as a lineholder is far superior to using them on a RES day. I'm simply making an observation that, in either case, there has to be adequate reserves -- which is beyond our control.

 

Both these responses are correct, it just depends on staffing.

If there are a few blue days in strategically good spots then JB is correct. You can break the sequencing rules in PBS when you use a PD or PB day which makes you just about unusable to scheduling. If you have 4 days on in a row, put a PB day in the middle and now the company can only give you a 1 or 2 day trip at very specific times. You really can't make much more money unless you happen to GS over the PB days. Yes, the value of a PB day over reserve is greater than vacation but unless you GS you don't make more money, you just work less for the same money.

If it's blue days for all my friends then Contrails is correct. Ideally you drop high value trips and GS over the top of them. If that doesn't work, find a high avg daily value trip and drop/pick it back up until you hit the pickup limit. This can work for senior pilots, but from what I've seen junior pilots have very little chance of securing the bang-for-the-buck trips.

My observation is if you're in a category where you can earn PB days you're probably in a category where it will be hard to use them. I was hoping that by switching categories I'd be able to put them to good use (I didn't swap for this reason, it was just a happy coincidence). Here's another tidbit, the scheduling reference handbook says you have to use the PB days by 1 Jan or they become supplemental vacation. That's not true. Between 1 Jan and 31 March you can use a PD and then call CS to put PB days on top of the PD and get paid for the trip/reserve days.

 

are you saying you can use PB days to drop a trip, then WS it and you get 2x pay for it?

 

If you stay under the pickup limit that is exactly what I am saying. You could hypothetically drop/pick-up the same 1 day 8:55 block trip multiple times until you hit the pickup limit. Because of column limitations you'd have to call CS and have them "move" the trip from day to day on your time card but I've been told it can be done.

 

Yes, but..

If you drop the trip, it goes into open time and someone senior could pick it up.

The most efficient way is to drop the trip as you are getting close to a GS, and use only a single PB, then rinse repeat. I had 4 PB days this summer. They helped put me in position to get 3 GS.

 

Can you clarify? I was under the impression that if you had multiple PB days then CS would use all available PB days to cover a dropped trip. Unless of course you would get 1 PB day, use it, GS, then get another.

 

Not exactly. On reserve if you PD you lose the pro-rated guarantee credit for the day (unless you are already over the monthly guarantee). If you were over the guarantee you would "be full" and wouldn't have to use the PB day. If you use a PB day, you don't lose any pay for not being available for that day.