Washout

After using SP for months I actually like it. I've rarely had any surprises once the bid closed in comparison to what the live bidding was showing beforehand.

I have many friends on the ASA side who really like FL and have observed and played around with it when they were bidding. SP is far more intuitive than FL but they both get the job done.

The globalization argument is pretty weak considering FL is manually selected and tweaked after it's run. With SP you get to see immediately if you're in the restricted group, pairings available, what you'd hold live etc. The software is quite robust but has been made out to be the boogeyman for some reason. Since it doesn't have to be set up run to a 0 open time solution unstacking looks to be quite rare as long as the pairings aren't terribly uneven.

The FL lockout period is a huge sticking point. I think we'd all agree that the time between bid closing to the schedules being final should be minimal.

Saying that the software hasn't been tested is disingenuous at best. Yes XJT is the only current customer, but it's been working just fine for our phase 2 bidders. The reserve vacation bidding has been greatly improved.

The work rules are the most important part and I know in the past you commented on it's apparent lack of support for CDOs etc. All it would take is a little reprogramming to reflect the negotiated work rules.

I hope we can get this done. I don't really care which system we go with, I only hope that we can get some solid rules for both line holders and reserves.

PeezDog

I really wish they let the Crj side try it too so we can finally have concrete examples. I'd still be cautious about practice bids vs actual bids when the company really wants to try to screw you for something

Opelmanta

Company screws you all the time you just don't feel it anymore!

CanoeBum

What does SmartPref do on a vacation month? I'm indifferent to software, however I really like being able to only work 7 days in a month while only using one week of vacation with FlightLine. It's all about being at work the least amount possible for me though. If I can keep my time off I don't care what software we have.

GregD

Hello all, new guy here. I've searched through the almost 850 pages on this thread and still haven't found what I'm looking for. What I hoped to find was something about XJT's hiring and training process. I see the minimums listed elsewhere, but was curious what guys are actually getting hired with. Are there already posts that cover this information?Thanks in advance.

air101

Why would you even consider going to a dying carrier in which you would be stuck at the bottom of the seniority list with little to no movement??

g-code

In the practice runs I have seen, junior guys are getting 23 days off in a vacation month. It's really quite different than other PBS systems. It's very graphic oriented, but there is NO trade lockout and it even shows a color-coded calendar when you log in specific to your senority that will show you which days off you have a better chance of getting. For example, if you don't care which days you work and you just want a ton of days off, you can use that tool accordingly and bid for high credit trips on days (weekends and such) that would be difficult for you to hold off if you are junior. Conversely, if you really need a certain weekend off, you can prioritize it over other days to hold it off. After seeing the ins and outs, it's main strength is it largely eliminates "bidding blind" because you see real-time what everyone else is doing. Now, is going to be 100% accurate if some guys senior to you have bid? No. Will it give you a general idea though? Yes.

I was staunchly anti-PBS a while ago until I decided to try it by bidding down into the secondary and I liked it. Once I got educated on the ins and outs of it and the conditions under which we would use it in a phase one scenario, I think for most guys it will be superior to line bidding.

Leroy Smith

Does the arbitration put the PBS thing to rest finally?? Is there any real argument left (other than online bickering??) It would be great to actually work towards resolution on some real issues. And if the jetlinkers can start using SmartPref, they can start to see how it works in the real world. If it works as advertised for a year or two while we have the seperate systems, great!! And if the unknown unknowns pop the balloon, then no skin off our noses.

CanoeBum

Good enough for me. If we could go ahead and finish this contract now that'd be great....

yimke

Maybe he wants to live in base and doesn't want to contribute to the cause of race to the bottom? I wouldn't call it dying, just downsizing to profitability and positioning for growth.

To answer your question: it varies. Anywhere from thousands to R-ATP minimums or lower. Come in with a good attitude and hard work to training, there should be minimal issues. Unlike some carriers, we are not "out to get you."

Air101 is correct though. You will be at the bottom for a while, and you will sit reserve for maybe 1-2 years? Pay your dues, one way or another. I think the recruiters do a good job being transparent in how it will be. Unlike, selling unicorns and pixie dust to get you to come.