BlueMoon

1000 times this.

I spent 11 years with PBS at two separate companies and never want to go back to it.

Line bidding is transparent. PBS is not.

Fdxlag2

Exactly, no PBS is worth 15% in pay at least. Something else to consider when the next guy is drooling over United or Delta’s WB Captain scale that maybe 20% of their pilots get.

busdriver12

I end up with secondary's quite a bit. Sometimes they are far better than any line I could ever hold, sometimes they stink. But even when they are great, they are awarded at the last minute, and it is never transparent, nor do I know what to expect. Accepting PBS would be insanity. I hope we never do that.

I turned down my recall at a legacy after a short furlough for two reasons, not even considering retirement. In fact, I think I wasn't even aware of what the retirement was. I appreciated the security of working for FedEx, because it completely sucks to be furloughed, and I really liked my job at FedEx much better. Mission oriented, about the flying and not the passenger and flight attendant BS, flexible schedule, and just more enjoyable all around.

StarClipper

I second everything you guys are saying, absolutely positively no PBS. But that’s not the monster infront us facing right now. I wish guys felt the same way about not changing the A Plan. That’s where the focus needs to be.

Hacker15e

For the gray-beards out there, please, please educate the masses of 5-millionaires and 3-millionaires sitting in your right seats about how PBS would negatively impact our quality of life at Purple.

I thought PBS was awesome when I was at the regionals -- it gave me what looked like quite a lot of control over my schedule. If you'd asked me about bringing PBS on property when I was in indoc, I would have been all for it. I'm certain there are guys at other majors/nationals/LCCs/ACMIs who think the same based on their experience.

I was fortunate in initial to be paired up with an upgrading captain who also became my de-facto "sponsor" and explained the Ways Of The Force, and things like how the downsides of PBS were far more substantial than my perceived upsides based on my previous experience. Having never bid a vacation, or bid a line, or bid a VTO, I had no idea how these things worked, nor how the contract language could be used along with a little strategy to get a whole lot of time off and still get paid for it. I was woefully ignorant...and I've been fortunate to fly with numerous Captains who have continued to educate me on how to figure out life at Purple. Now with a sliver of experience under my TSA-approved belt, the answers seem so crystal clear now, but there are a lot who haven't figured it out for themselves yet.

There are going to be a lot of us new guys who will be voting members when the next contract comes around. Please make the effort to exercise good mentorship with us so that we will be smart when it comes to these issues.

mainlineAF

The ultimate setup would be a PBS system that did not know your planned absences. I doubt the company would ever go for that bc that’s one of the main efficiencies of PBS.

That would be awesome. PBS is so much better on a month to month basis. But if it keeps you from being able to turn a week of vaca into 6 weeks off then that would suck.

HoursHore

Or a vto during a vacation month.

5millionaire

Explain why it’s better

Hacker15e

I think this is quite debatable, as you'll have to specifically define your terms with respect to "much better".

Line bidding has predictability and visibility/transparency that doesn't exist in PBS, even if the "blind to your conflicts" method could correct for the harm to the vacation system. You know beforehand exactly what schedules are available, and you can generally predict what you can and cannot hold on a regular basis. These are substantial QOL elements in and of themselves.

The PBS slot machine's random payoff of the layovers I want on the dates I want (sometimes) doesn't necessarily counter that predictability for many folks.

Again, PBS is an efficiency tool for schedulers and IMHO a sucker bet for pilots that offers fleeting bright, shiny things without actual gains in QOL behind them.

UnusualAttitude

One man's thoughts:

I am mid thirties with two years in at Purple. Prior to Purple I spent nine years flying RJ's and one year at an Atlanta based Legacy carrier.

1. In regards to PBS - adopting PBS would have an incredibly negative impact on our QOL at Purple. We enjoy the most robust vacation system in the aviation industry. By robust I mean that you often have many options when it comes to using vacation. One can choose between maximizing time off, pay, or at times selling the vacation. The truth is that at some point in the year most of us need that extended break. I can typically handle flying at night without much issue (sure some nights are a lot harder than others) but those breaks with a week of vacation are often well needed breaks from the grind. That being said, PBS would deteriorate that benefit. Even if the language was pretty restrictive at first it would be under attack with every passing contract. Next thing you know the benefit is completely gone. Why even open that door?

From the companies point of view, and I've said this before, adopting PBS would create a need to completely change how we build our schedules. Hub turns could no longer be a string of single day pairings. Every week of hub turns would have to be built as a full week of flying. This restricts a great deal of their flexibility and ours. Need just one day off? Now you can drop that one day. With PBS it is likely you would have to drop the entire week, greatly decreasing flexibility. Likely that sick calls would go up as well.

2. Retirement - The legacy I came from was contributing 15% to a DC plan at the time I left. I think that might be 17% now but I'm not sure. With our current A plan it takes just over $2.5 million dollars to generate the annual income and that is assuming between a 5 and 6 percent return. If we were dumb enough to rid ourselves of this plan then I have just given up $2.5 million dollars overnight. Unless my classmates from the legacy all have over $2.5 million plus whatever the company has contributed to my B fund in their retirement accounts at the 25 year mark then I count myself ahead because that is the intrinsic value of what my retirement will be worth at 25 years. Why would I be in favor of giving that up? I'm not. In fact, I am highly concerned about what is happening right now but I'm listening. I have flown with a few guys who say, "you have plenty of time to make it up." Why would I want to make it up? I only caring about getting further ahead.

Anyhow, just my opinion on those two subjects. I love flying for Purple, it's an incredible job and I can't even begin to tell you how great the crew force is to work with, day and night. We have an excellent training department and our management in my experience has been great. I play by the rules, commute responsibly, and enjoy the benefits.

-UA