Navblue is the software we use for PBS. It's pretty good, but just like I assume it is over there, there are plenty who hate it. It still needs a fair amount of work though.

 

I used it, it was great, I cancelled it when I thought I figured it out and promptly messed up a bid and missed getting holiday pay. Fortunately I was able to get it in open time, but that one mistake would have paid for almost 2 years worth of a bidnav subscription.
Bidding isn’t rocket science but this is more efficient and a great sanity check. You could spend hours trying to figure out how to work the system or try to look at how similar minding folks bid or you can just plug what you want into tripnav or bidnav and move on with your life.

 

I'm just glad I took a C++ computer programming class in college...

Anyone know if there's any merit to the new PBS actually arriving anytime soon??? I've been hearing this since I was hired around 2.5 years ago...

 

Supposedly there is a class in March for committee chairs to take part in so they can get a first look at it. Sounds like we should see something soon.

 

It's been in the works since before Covid, but no one seems to know when the company will actually pull the trigger.

 

Will Bidnav be a good help for a junior to get a long streched dayoffs?

I dont mind redeyes, working in a row, and work on weekends..

I know the seniority matters all but i was wondering if the softwares would help me a bit get what I wish to get.

What about Aircrewedge? Good as well?

 

If you are intelligent, you can do it yourself... If not, pay someone else simple as that

 

I will add that the PBS software is about to change. I would wait as these services might be completely defunct in 2 bid periods.

 

Junior 737 FO here (~60% in base, ~80% of lineholders). I've actually had plenty of luck getting 10-11 day stretches off in a row, for the past 5-6 months, when I've been both above and below the G-line. (Currently writing this from Melbourne, Oz on our fourth 10-day getaway in as many months.)

You don't need BidNav to help make this happen. I've used BidNav quite a bit for almost the past year, but I find that I probably don't need it anymore. But back to your question:

One quirk of PBS (which BidNav can't help with) is that there is no way to request "give me any 10 days off in a row, I don't care which dates, I just want 10 days off in a row." You have to specify a certain set of dates. Naturally, if you want *any* stretch of 10 days off, that's not too hard to get. You just plug in a different set of 10-day breaks into your bid groups. Here's how I do it:

1) I use all 20 bid groups. In the first 10 bid groups, I'll pick 10 sets of 10-day-off breaks. I figure I have a decent chance of getting at least one of these requests. I also improve that probability by waiving everything. (BidNav tells you not to do this, but if you waive everything, you're more likely to get the 10 days off you want.)

So for example my first 10 bid groups look really simple:

Bid Group 1:
1. WAIVE Min days between work blocks 1
2. WAIVE 1 in 7 Day Off in Base
3. WAIVE Double Duty Restriction
4. WAIVE Duty in consecutive WOCLs
5. AVOID Work 07 Apr -- 17 Apr
6. AWARD Work 01 Apr 0001 -- 30 Apr 2359 (L-)

Bid Group 2 is the exact same as above, except I change the dates in Row 5 (Avoid) to different dates.

2) In the second set of 10 bid groups, I do the same as above, except I shorten the block of 10 days off to blocks of 8 days off. (I can still do a decent vacation in 8 days.) If I can't get 10 days off, then I'll take 8.

Now, there are some HUGE caveats to this approach.

First: waiving all four line properties means that in the parts of the month that you're working, you will wind up working pretty intensely. Last month, I got 11 days off at the start of the month...and then had to work three (3) 4-days in a row, with only one full day off between 2 of those 4-days. In between the other pair of 4-days, I had less than 24 hours off between the two trips. All of this was due to the waives in lines 1, 2, and 3 of the above bid group.

So, BidNav will recommend that you don't waive these line properties. But if you're OK with a really intense set of work blocks, then I find this approach has worked really well for me (so far, 5 months of bidding this way has given me 5 10-day vacations without using any vacation time.)

Another option you could do is, in bid groups 1-10, just do what I posted above, but do NOT waive any of the line properties. Then in groups 11-20, just copy over groups 1-10, but add the four WAIVE lines at the front of each bid group.

It all depends on what's most important to you. I personally just wanted to take a bunch of international vacations over the US wintertime, so the resultant intensity of my work schedules when I wasn't on vacation, was fine with me. For summertime, though, I'll bid completely differently.

Good luck!

 

Wow, I’m really impressed by your detailed explanation and help. I truly appreciate it. I always thought AVOID and AWARD were the key, but I never imagined that WAIVE would actually be the higher priority factor. With this method, since it naturally includes redeyes, working on weekends, and 3-4 day trips—the kinds of trips most people try to avoid—it makes perfect sense that it increases the chances of getting the long stretch of days off that I’m aiming for. This insight is really eye-opening. Thanks again! Enjoy you stay in MEL!