11.09.19 – PBS: Holiday Bidding Tips – Part 2

Saturday, November 9, 2019

What often happens, holiday months have multiple coverage dates imposed due to bidding behavior. In most months all CN days are considered equal, however, in holiday months some dates may be weighted with a higher priority so that a more senior Flight Attendant is not required to fly over a given holiday while a more junior Flight Attendant may have it off because of additional CN days. December 25^th is being treated as such for the December PBS run. PBS will attempt to use each Flight Attendant pairings to cover as many coverage dates possible. However, pairings awarded may not necessarily touch every single required coverage date because the system has to honor all legalities.

Example
Your seniority is 600 out of 1200 lineholders. During the award process, the required coverage dates at your seniority are December 25^th and 26^th. You bid December 24^th, 25^th, and 26^th as days off in all seven layers. You did not bid any specific pairings to touch any of those dates as a backup.

Because the 25^th and 26^th are required coverage dates for you, the system will select from the CN pairing pool and may award you a 4-day CN pairing originating on December 24^th. The pairing would satisfy both required coverage dates and maintain all legalities. Since the system was forced to go outside of your layers, your preference for December 24^th off was no longer considered (even though your only coverage dates were the 25^th and 26^th). To avoid this from happening, you may want to bid trips that touch the 25^th or 26^th in layer 7.

Holiday Bidding Strategy
Although coverage dates cannot be confirmed until after the award process is complete, holidays and weekends commonly become required coverage dates. Be realistic when determining whether or not your seniority may be required to cover a popular holiday and/or the dates surrounding it.

For example, if you are unsure if your seniority can hold January 1^st off, plan your bid accordingly. You may choose to use a strategy similar to the bid below.

Bid the date off in layers 1-4, along with your regular bid preferences for pairings you know you can hold. Layers 3 and 4 should be very relaxed because those are your last layers before removing the January 1^st bid. In the event you are required to cover January 1^st, omit the day off request in layer 5. This gives the system options to satisfy the coverage date and award you a trip that you desire.

In layer 5, bid highly preferred specific pairings that also touch January 1^st. Perhaps you have friends or family you would enjoy spending the holiday with who lives in a layover city. Look for pairings that layover in those cities on the 1^st and bid for them specifically.

Finally, in layer 7, bid generic pairings you normally like to fly. This is your backup if you are unable to hold January 1^st off or any of the specific pairings in layers 5 and 6. This gives the system some basic parameters for the type of trip you want, instead of having what is leftover awarded to you as a CN pairing.

Holiday Bidding for Reserves

During a holiday bid month, to ensure you have the best chance of receiving the desired holiday off, it is important to remember that all day off bids in a layer are considered equal. This is why it is important to only bid the most desired day off should be in your first layer. If PBS can award you the day off, it will. Keep in mind, if you request two days off in a layer and the system can only award one or the other, you may not be awarded the holiday off in order to be awarded the other requested day off. PBS does not prioritize days off within a layer.

Multiple Reserve Coverage Dates 
Often times, holiday months have multiple coverage dates imposed due to required staffing and bidding behavior. PBS will attempt to award a line working all of the applicable coverage dates. In the event a legal reserve line cannot be built that covers all coverage dates, designated holidays are the highest priority. A junior reserve will only be awarded a day off on a designated holiday if their planned absences create an illegal reserve line (e.g. SA days and/or training the six days prior to the designated holiday).

In Unity,

APFA JSIC
[email protected]

Alin Boswell
Julie Hedrick
Linda Haertling