Also known as a management efficiency tool.

In an understaffed airline PBS is a weapon in the hands of the company. Be careful what you wish for and agree to. In a well staffed airline it can lead to better QOL. With PBS staffing matters.

What other bidding systems are used?

Right now we use line bidding. X number of lines (schedules) that are made by the company & union. You look at all the lines and put them in order of preference. You are awarded a line that is left on your list after those senior to you are awarded their lines.

Praying for a better bidding system soon with more options to bid, swap and drop

Got it, thanks. Is there a benefit/negative for pilots for each type of scheduling?

Line bidding with improvement windows is better than PBS. Going to PBS is a net negative for any lineholder at XJT. I would strongly advise the union to not budge on our bidding system. Maybe quality of trips, but the current system is good.

Having used the current line bidding system for over 1.5yrs now, and the previous PBS bidding system, I have to disagree. While all PBS systems aren't created equal, it has the potential to be a quality of life improvement for the pilot group with the right work rules.

Personally, I'd like a PBS system that has some sort of line improvement window. I don't have the skills or knowledge to figure out how that would work, considering PBS is supposed to reduce the amount of open trips left over, but I think that's something most of the pilot group would get behind.

+1 to this. The only people that want PBS are those that do not know how to work the initial line improvement window. I haven't had a month with less than 20 days off in quite some time. That's without PBS and using our current system.

PBS is neither good or bad. It all boils down to strength of the rules that govern how PBS awards, trips, line value maximums, stacking unstacking etc. The list goes on. Rules that allow maximum flexibility for company will bite you in the butt everytime.