The FA I was just flying with was bidding 82% in domicile but was within the targeted lineholders and was really upset about getting reserve for May. I asked to look at her bid and in layer 7 she only had 18% of the total pairings selected. She claimed the help line told her to bid that way...

I'm not sure what people are thinking with their bids sometimes. Learning a little bit about PBS goes a long way if people senior to you are bidding that bad.

 

I'm not surprised, and I'm sure she thinks the help line told her to bid that way (of course there's no way they'd suggest such idiocy).

I know a FA that is one of the top 3 in base, and ALWAYS gets PNs and CNs. I've tried to help, but it falls on deaf ears. Oh well, not my problem.

 

What are PN's and CN's?

 

It means you got Owned by PBS!

Typically it means you did not bid accurately, and extra stuff had to be added to your bid that you didn't ask for.

 

PN = Pairing awarded that was not in any layer. On the bid award you'll see P1, P2 etc. Those are pairing awarded that you bid in layer 1 or layer 2. PN means PBS went all the way through your 7 layers and couldn't complete your line so it had to award you something that you didn't bid for. A PN means you screwed up your bid. PBS can't 'screw you' into a PN. You messed it up yourself by making your bid too restrictive for your seniority.

CN = Coverage date pairing awarded that you didn't bid in any layer. If PBS has 20 pairings to award that start on May 1st, there are 40 lineholders in your domicile, and 20 people senior to you bid for May 1st off it will force you to work on May 1st as a coverage date because it needs the remaining 20 lineholders to cover the 20 pairings. You can potentially bid correctly and still get one of these because coverage dates aren't known before you bid. If you want to reduce CNs then make sure your layer 7 is broad enough to allow just about every pairing. It will then in theory award you something you actually bid for that starts on May 1st instead of going to a CN. Once PBS goes outside of layer 7 it can tack whatever it wants onto your line.

Even bidding 75% in domicile I've never had a PN and I've only had a CN one time for a standup because I didn't allow standups in layer 7.

 

For May, in ORD, the break down is about 65% -200 and about 35% is -700/900. As FO's you won't for sure get a 900 checkout. I only flew a -700 trip for OE and they called it good. A month or two later I was given a 900 trip and I just told my captain that it was my first 900 flight ever. It's the same as the 700 but weighs a lot more and flares slightly different.

 

That's what I figured but my check airman said it's an A/C checkout now and they labeled my trip OOE. Either way I'm not complaining gets me out of a day of reserve.

 

OOE just means Other Operating Experience. Your 700/900 IOE is always coded like that. The 900 checkout isn't required but I've heard of plenty of people who have talked scheduling into getting one just to avoid a few days of reserve. Your situation isn't uncommon, it's just not required.

When I transitioned to the CRJ I had a line right away so I actually tried to avoid the 900 check out on purpose just to make sure I could bid for the following month. If I had done a 900 checkout I may have ended up on reserve for a month for no reason.

 

Once you are senior enough to hold a line will you be able to hold a line no matter which aircraft you are flying? Or is it possible you could hold a line for the 200, but then be put on reserve for the 700 or 900?

 

You will be a CRJ line holder, which means any of the variants. In fact we just received a memo that equipment may even change mid-trip now to reduce the longer (30+ hour) overnights. Not sure what to think about that...