Maybe I'm the only one but I just can't figure out what or how PBS works. I'm no where near the point of understading it's sort, I just want to put in my requests. I've fought this program for the past year and almost always have to call the PBS help line, tell them what I want and have them enter it for me. Truthfully I do this every single month unless I can simply copy a bid from a previous month. Even after the PBS help line inputs my preferences and I go back in to PBS to verify, I see a bunch of bid elections but still don't understand how the reflect my desires. That said, I'm pretty much getting the schedules I want so I guess the PBS help line folks are doing their job.

I've read all the PBS bid gouge documents out there and tried to put stuff in like it suggests. All I get is error messages that say something like "you can't have a specific bid in a non-specific bid group" (or something like that). What the H3LL does that mean? If and when my bids are submitted sucessfully I almost always get an automated email a day or two later from ALPA saying that they think I made a mistake and to verify my bid.

So, has anybody created a friendly and understandable document that speaks to the very basics of bid entry in PBS? Beers on me if I can understand it and get it to work.

Ranger

Which airline?

Although counterintuitive, it's pretty much based on the "avoid" statement. In the first bid group avoid everything you don't want, then below those avoids, put any number/type of "award" statements you want, with one of them being the generic "award work -- lowest" statement. Copy that bid group to be your next bid group and in that new bid group delete one of the avoids. Continue in this manner in successive bid groups until there are no avoids left.

When your line comes out, dispute the results within 48 hours because it will will have nothing to do with reality, your seniority, or what any sane person would consider a livable lifestyle or income.

But actually, this method works pretty well.

Ranger,

Check your messages. I sent you something.

PBS for dummies?

PBS = crap, case closed

If you have a PBS gouge package - can you PM me as well?

Heyas Ranger,

Which airline?

PBS comes in a couple of different flavors by a number of different vendors, so you have to be specific.

PBS can be great, or it can be utter crap, depending on the "man behind the curtain" settings.

Nu

I think PBS is great, especially since the alternative is bidding 500 lines in my category. Sure I can't turn 1 week o vacation into 3, but thanks to PBS I have a QOL that I wouldn't normally have at my seniority in my category. PbS gives me the best my seniority can give me.
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Ranger when I bid it's really for days off but it looks like something like this:

Regular line:
1. XYZ days off else start next
2. AbC days off
3. Trips that overnight here
4. Trips that sign in enroute later than 10am

Reserve Line
1. XYZ days in order of importance followed by ABC days that I would also like off plus what days off I want.

Looking at my regular bid I have told PBS that I'll only take a line if I have XYZ days off otherwise go to reserve bid. But if I can get those days off then give me as much as 2-4 as you can. If all that was critical then the else start next would have been put last.

Looking at my reserve line PBS would see I only want to work tue-thu. I let PBS figure out what it has to drop to give me the XYZ and/or ABC days I wanted.

The biggest issue that can make or break PBS, is who has control over the finished product. If the company does, then the pilots have to accept whatever the company wants to run. If the pilots (union) does, then there is some checks and balance to the output which can make a huge difference.

I agree with you.

My schedule has never been better than under PBS at old Continental. However, I'm relatively senior and took the time to learn it as well as understand the constraints. Doing so yields a much better schedule than pre-constructed. Unfortunately, even after six years, there are those, including senior people, still in "denial."