12.08.20 – Important Information Related to January PBS Bidding

Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Important Information Related to January PBS Bidding

During PBS processing for the January 2021 awards, the holiday logic will be utilized for both Lineholders and Reserves when covering January 1st. What this means is that if January 1st becomes a CN day it will be weighted as more important than other CN days. Because this holiday is on the first day of the month, the results may look different than if the holiday was in the middle of the month. There are several factors that impact the award of trips at the beginning of the month. A Flight Attendant who is junior to you may have the 1st day off, not because the holiday logic failed, but because of the flying and/or Reserve days in the previous month.

Factors that could impact an award:

• Reserve to Reserve: Did the Flight Attendant have Reserve days at the end of the month? If the FA had six (6) Reserve days at the end of the month, she/he would be forced to have the first two (2) days of the subsequent month off for a legal pattern. Reserve PBS Bidding Logic Changes were implemented with the August 2020 bid month that affect how a Reserve will be awarded/assigned Reserve days at the end of a Reserve month. The logic changes may also affect the number of Reserve availability days in the beginning of a Reserve month following a Reserve month.
• Reserve to Lineholder: A Flight Attendant can bid and be awarded/assigned one (1) or two (2) day(s) of Reserve at the end of the month. This will allow the Flight Attendant more flexibility and offer a greater variety of Reserve patterns and greater flexibility when Reserve Coverage Needed (CN) Days come into play. With the new logic, a Flight Attendant can and be awarded more than three days of flying at the beginning of the Lineholder month.
• Lineholder to Reserve: Did the Lineholder have scheduled flying (at the time of PBS processing) the last four (4) or more days of the month? As a Reserve in January, she/he would not be legal to have the minimum three (3) days of Reserve starting January 1st, but would be forced to have the first two (2) days of the month off at minimum.
• Lineholder to Lineholder: Did the Lineholder have scheduled flying at the end of the month? As a Lineholder in January, she/he could be awarded/assigned a trip at the beginning of the month, but it would depend on the legalities of the previous month in conjunction with the legalities of available trips on those dates when PBS reaches her/his seniority.

If you would like to review bidding tips, please select a link below:

• PBS Guide
• Bidding 7 Layers as Lineholder and 7 Layers as a Reserve
• Reserve PBS Bidding Logic Changes
• Bidding Generic vs Specific
• Shuffle Explanation – Why Did My Pairings Shuffle?
• Prefer/Avoid Aircraft Bidding
• Reviewing Layer Tab Pairing Set

January 2021 PBS bidding will open on Thursday, December 10th at 1200 (CST).

In Solidarity,

Brian Walsh
APFA National Contract Chair
[email protected]

Marti McMillan
APFA National Scheduling Chair
[email protected]