With talks set to continue, can someone please explain why the FAs consider the usage of PBS a deal killer? There is, ofcourse, other things to hammer out but why don’t they want PBS? I had one ask me the other day if I liked it and I said yeah but it’s all I’ve known. Way better than paper bid packets from my old airline. They must have something really good now if they’re willing to deny a contract over PBS, right?

Right?

 

[QUOTE=MiracleMets;3988958]With talks set to continue, can someone please explain why the FAs consider the usage of PBS a deal killer? There is, ofcourse, other things to hammer out but why don’t they want PBS? I had one ask me the other day if I liked it and I said yeah but it’s all I’ve known. Way better than paper bid packets from my old airline. They must have something really good now if they’re willing to deny a contract over PBS, right?

Right?[/QUOTE

I've talked to a few of them and it almost sounds like most of them are solely tied to the fact they can bid lines that touch vacation and then they are dropped with pay. PBS kills that. I'm sure there's more to it of course.

 

As someone who has lived under PBS and line bidding I would say I haven't experienced any difference in quality of life. But it ultimately comes down to the Union's ability to control work rules and system perimeters, oversite and enforcement. (garbage in, garbage out).

I think a lot of their reluctance comes down to ignorance.

 

They are scared of what they don't know. I went from line bidding to PBS. Once I figured out PBS, knowing what your seniority will reasonably award you, PBS works great every month and I get the schedule I want.

What they really need over all of this is some semblance of unity and middle ground. The senior mammas are fighting the young influencers on what is valued in a contract, nothing will happen.

 

a lot of them don’t understand what it is and have been told bad information. I fly with some senior FAs out of one particular base and they all seem to think that PBS will affect their ability to trade.

Maybe they are right? If the FAs get everything they want in the monthly bid they won’t have to try and fix their schedule and there will be less trade options?

FAs a all about schedule flexibility and I would think PBS would allow them that.

 

That's my take as well. I was talking to one during a lav break and she was asking about PBS and if I like it. I said it's pretty good, and United is the first place in my career I've ever had it, so I've done both. Then she said, "but you can't trade, drop, or pick up with PBS!"

I asked her why she thought that, and she said that's basically what they've always been told. Ironically, I had traded into that very trip and told her as much. She seemed genuinely surprised. We didn't have much time to dig deep into it, but I said you need to negotiate good PBS work rules and she should feel free to ask us more about it to better understand it. Not that it'll necessarily work for them, but at least they'd be able to make a more informed decision about it.

As a side note, we were all in the van together the other night and they were taking about multiple bases already designated as white flag for later this week, and what trips they all wanted to pick up. I wanted to say something but figured it wasn't worth the trouble.

 

A reddit thread when the TA failed had a pilot and an FA discussing PBS. Not complete of course but worth a read a few replies down the thread.

https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedairli...ive_agreement/

 

Because PBS usually sucks. Few carriers get PBS right the first time. Look at how awful vacation is at UAL for the pilots because of PBS. 2 weeks of "vacation" as a UAL pilot might buy you the equivalent of what one week of vacation buys the FAs or what a Southwest or FedEx pilot gets, if you're above the G line. If you're below the G line, "vacation" for a UAL pilot is just some paid golden days and they'll cram a ton of reserve days in around it on both sides.

PBS is extremely concessionary unless you get a lot of good guard-rails with it, which rarely happens.

 

I was able to turn one week of vacation into 28 consecutive days off with PBS... I didn't lose pay or go below minimum credit, I got all the days off I wanted, the overnights I wanted, and I didn't have to take any concessions through PBS to get it. Just smart bidding and knowing the system. And I am not as senior as those senior mammas who could really make the system work for them.

 

The vote was 71% against. Didn’t the company previously say they weren’t going to ask for PBS?

How does their contract compare to American or Southwest?

My wife and I recently flew on UAL coming back from Europe and of course she spent time in the galley chatting up the FAs as she works for WN. The UAL FAs are very ****ed!

WN schedule flexibility (without PBS) and ability to make premium pay, trade, give away etc is a big asset (along with no work minimums to keep benefits).

Anyway, interesting to see pilots advocating PBS to their FAs during contract negotiations.