That can be negotiated and amended. Doubt ALPA would give company “unilateral control of pairings.” Can anyone name one regional airline where that is happening.


People are nervous about a bogeyman that does not exist when it comes to PBS. There is a win-win situation out there that works great for both parties, that middle ground has to be found. Hardliners hold up progress. Sometimes Management understands not to walk into a gunfight with pitch forks, so they wait it out until the day that Amazon order of AR’s are delivered at the door step. Then they approach ALPA with pitch forks, having the AR’s strapped to their backs. Oh it’s a pilots market alright, until the gun fight begins at the negotiation table.

Sometimes working together for the best outcome for both pilots and company is not a bad idea. Screaming screw the company and PBS, give them nothing is not a viable negotiation strategy, in any “market”.

 

I agree 100%, but in order for this approach to work the pilot groups has to have faith that the agreed upon deal won’t be violated. I have a feeling right now the trust is at a low.

 

When has the company ever worked together for the best outcome for both parties? And why should we? This mentality is why we get destroyed at the negotiating table.

 

Anyone who wants to know about PBS and how it will impact your QOL, go ask a senior FA how their transition to PBS was like during and after bankruptcy. I encourage you to ask not one, but many out there. That will give you a true barometer as to how “positive” the impact will be.


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It is not just about screwing the company or whatever. PBS is a pay cut. Right now the company pays for transition conflicts. Losing PBS means losing those conflicts. That is lost pay. Also we would lose DTS. As somebody who always DTS's my vacation, this is a huge give away. Why would we give a single thing away right now?

When we almost got PBS a few years ago (after bankruptcy), the company did have the complete last say over pairings. ALPA could suggest changes but if they didn't meet the company's parameters, ALPA's suggestions were scrapped. I remember a scheduling rep told me one month the ALPA pairings had greatly improved commutability and cadence but they were scrapped because the base-wide number of crew overnights/hotels the company had to pay for went up by two for the month.

PBS is lost pay for pilots, it is a gain of control for the company, and it requires that we trust our untrustworthy management. I'm not saying PBS could never be beneficial, but there is absolutely no way any pilot should be considering giving the company anything in exchange for improvements. Every single change to our contract right now should be an improvement, with absolutely nothing given in exchange. We gave for years, it is their turn to give now.

 

What is DTS?

 

Drop Trip Sequence

Basically, as a line holder, if your vacation block touches any sequence, the “left-over” days on either end are dropped. You’re only paid for the days within your vacation block. The dropped days surrounding your vacation are unpaid.

 

Many “senior FA’s “ now really like PBS (vs immediately prior to and a little while just after Bankruptcy, to get use to and understand the system)

Change is hard. We all know there are kinks just about every roll out. These kinks do not help foster confidence. Kinks in any rollout is not a indication of the short, or long term benefits of the whole system. Let that sink in a little. You will find hell raisers everywhere. I still have meat in the game curing while many of you flow in 1 year to a well established and oiled PBS system at American. Just reality, I understand they are not the same, I am not claiming they are, or that they will be. Totally different for now I know. BUT YOU START SOMEWHERE, and it’s not in fear. I’m sure AA had hell raisers at one point, just like our FA’s Pre and just after BK. Now? Not so much.

Not hearing complaints at other regionals either. Not even Mesa. Again lots of PTSD, here at Eagle/Voy. I don’t blame many of you, to say you’ve been through a lot is an understatement. Royal screwing from many levels, angles and inserted in various holes is what happened to you guys 3 to 4+ years ago.

 

Talk to guys at Skywest. I haven't heard anyone who likes it. The only people who don't mind PBS are those in the top 30% of seniority. Everyone else gets screwed.

I DTS most of my vacations so losing the extra week or two of free time, give or take, is a game changer for a lot of folks.

The bottom line here is that PBS only benefits the company. What do the we get out of it as a benefit? I have neither seen nor heard of any major positive aspect that improves QOL from PBS. Supposedly there will be less people on reserve. Supposedly. I highly doubt that will change seeing that this company's reserve system revolves around 1/3 of the pilot group being on reserve. And the only way for that to change is for an overhaul to the reserve system as a whole.

The simple fact is PBS is beneficial for the company's bottom line and nothing more than that.

 

My AA mentor loves PBS. He basically gets what he wants and get plenty of time off.