Skedplus'n

I hope you all received all that you wanted from PBS, but for those like me... At least there is always Skedplus! Good hunting everyone! Skedplus opens on the 24th at 8pm MDT.

Do you need some SkedPlus'n? I've got a big post on it: Here 

November '09 Bid's Reason Report Continued.

So let's compared how I bid to what I was awarded. From my "Strategy in Bidding / Christmas Tree" entry, I made a couple slight tweaks to my bid. I swapped a couple Layer 2's into Layer 1 and vice versa. I also brought my Layer 5 "min credit average" up. Looking back, I am very glad I did. My layer 7 was showing 51% which I was a little anxious about. Turns out I was award my entire line by Layer 5.

This was my "Prioritize Layers" screen which, for me, becomes my go-to page in determining how all the layers work together. This is a big problem for most crew members as they tend to make the layers rather aggressive and limited. A limited bid increases the likelihood of CN's and PN's.

Now let's compare my actual Award and Reason Report.

As you can See, I was awarded: 1 Layer1, 1 Layer2, 2 Layer3, 0 Layer4, 1 Layer5. My Strategy worked! And I am glad to see that while I had bid very restrictive through all my layers I did not get a CN or PN. In a month where we have a lot of flying (a B-D month) that would have probably happened to me. I bid pairings in Layer 1-3 and criteria in Layers 4-7. Criteria is where you can really get hosed as far as I am concerned. If you don't pay attention to the details you could be awarded a  trip you don't want without even knowing it. That's one of the reasons I "removed pairing on date" in layers 4 and 5.

That trip had a 33 hour layover in SAT. While I enjoy SAT and have friends there, I am here to work. When I come to work, I want to be paid. These 30+ hour layover trips really can bite you in the aft. By bidding for criteria, this trip would have been included in my Layer 4 and beyond. The computer reads this trip as having higher credit per the duty period. It had a credit of 21 hours, which really isn't all that bad, however, among the four-day trips, this was one of the lower paying trips. I would have been willing to fly this trip from my layer 6 and 7 as the rest of the trips in those layers were lower credit. Thankfully, by my "bidding avoiding" this trip I was awarded a higher paying trip instead in my fifth layer.

Also, I was able to get the day off I needed and the trips I wanted! I did sacrifice Black Friday and Thanksgiving. But I am not complaining with all the flying I have. I do however, have to skedplus a little bit to get my 115 hours since that is what I aim for.

Aim small miss small, aim big miss big.

November '09 Bid's Award and Reason Report

Miraculously the lines came out on the 18th before 5:00MDT!!! That is the first time I have ever seen them come out so fast!

Here's my line:

It isn't bad and I am rather happy with it. Although, it will take some Skedplus'in' before I have a month like this:

Currently, I am sipping my cup of joe in ORD Marriott. I had the overnight here last night and I was so exhausted that I feel asleep before 8:30pm... Central time! Last day of a four-day trip and life is good. I have one day off, Tuesday, and then a DEN ASE three-day. I am looking forward to the ASE flying, it is a very good break from the COS niche. Not to mention being home with the wife and kiddo for a day is something I no longer take for granted.

Whoever is responsible for posting the line awards was fast yesterday! He/She/They need(s) a pat on the back, from at least this bidder. I have a friend in FAT that had been waiting on her line until late. There seems to be no rhyme or reason behind when the lines are posted. I am not complaining especially for my line, but consistency is something that has been lacking.

Reason Report
The link to the reason report can be found on the line award page. It is only up for that month's award. I find this to be one of the better tools, if not the best, for improving your bid.

I was really blessed for this November bid. I had no pairings slip through my fingers by way of line constraints. Which, was one of the few times I have had that happen. Not to mention I was really expecting it due to the flying in COS being spread thin.

Look at my layer 2, at the bottom you will see "The above pairings conflict with the already awarded pairings." With the CRJ700 having two positions, FA and FF, for the same trip you can see I was awarded the FF position and I couldn't hold the FA as well (obviously). Now, some people prefer a certain position, I could care less. We flight attendants all do the same job. It isn't like a Captain vs First officer. My opinion is that unless SkyWest actually hires for, pays for, and trains a person for the additional responsibilities, all parties should be treated the same.

Now off of my soap box, I bid for trips (pairings) by pay. When I find a trip that I want, I cannot simply bid for and be done. I have to make sure I am bidding for both positions. In this case I wanted R3034. It is a 700 trip and so by bidding FA and FF (R3034 and R3634) I can increase my chances of being awarded this particular trip.

Most domiciles have a one number difference for the two positions. In COS, the 3000's are FA 700 trips and the 3600's are the FF 700 trips.

It is very interesting to see that, in this case, the computer had a choice between awarding me the FA position and the FF. It awarded me the FF. Not that that is a bad thing, but many of you will prefer a different position and it appears that if the computer has the choice between the two, it will award you the FF by default.

November '09 Bid's Strategy in Bidding and The Christmas Tree

Here is my strategy: I want to work hard for high pay and have a few select days off to enjoy family. For me, working hard equals an average of 120 hours a month. While I will not be awarded that, I will at least set myself up to hold a few good paying trips.

As you can see my sideways "Christmas tree" is rather nice.

The Christmas tree shows us how many pairings you are bidding for and the percentage of total available pairings in each layer.

I bid pairings in layers 1 - 3 and criteria in layers 4 - 7. By bidding criteria on my last layers I can play the bidding game a little better given my low seniority. I use the layers as a best case vs. worst case scenario. Note that I am only including locals in my seventh layer. While I don't want to fly any locals, this becomes my safety net. It is easier to be awarded 1 of 200 locals than 1 of 70 four-day trips. 

Opening up my layer 7 to the 52.4% isn't exactly conservative since I am at the 59% in the package. It is actually dangerous since I am not even bidding my seniority ranking ratio, however, with the lines as "diluted" as they are (A month) I don't think I'll have a problem bidding around the 55% percentage of the package. Worse case scenario is that I am awarded a CN or PN to complete my line.

For me the 21 and the 27 are the days I want to bid off. I am attending a football game at the University of Arkansas on the 21st (Go Razorbacks!) and I am bidding to fly on Thanksgiving day. If I cannot hold a good trip on Thanksgiving day I at least want Black Friday off. So I have tailored my bid to express that.

One thing I have noticed that can destroy your bid is bidding days off. You virtually subtract 20 pairings from each day you bid off. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to learn that the more days you bid off, the higher your chances of being awarded a CN or PN. I am only bidding two days off total and one of those are only layer 4-7. I think I'll be okay.

I have notice one thing that can wreck your bid worse than days off are carry-in pairings. As you can see I have one. That alone removes about 14 different trips that I could have held. Imagine if I had a carry-in that went farther into the month! Carry-in pairings are also added into your total credit award for the month and can effect your next months awards dramatically. I learned that the hard way last month with I was only awarded 72 hours by the PBS computer but thanks to a carry-in pairing it made it "81 hours awarded". Not a good thing when your trying to fly as much as possible like I am. I had to "skedplus" my whole month and that is what I always hope to avoid but rarely can since I'm still junior.

I'll save you the pairing list... it is long.

By using a descending "min average credit per duty period" I can make increase my safety net against bad trips and CN's and PN's more effective with each layer.

Using my line properties I can remove a couple of the PBS computer's standard perimeters. Example, the PBS computer gives a standard two days off in between work blocks. So, I bring it down to one. I have my minimum days off is 7 so that the computer doesn't try to build me a line with 15 days off (IE four 4-day trips equals 16 days working which in November's bid would give me 13 days off). Bidding by criteria is relatively easy and in a large domicile or for junior folks, I'd recommend it. It may be the reason I have made so many mistakes lately, I may not have the seniority to support what I want.

I think this bid should work for me. It looks that way on paper at least. We'll see on the eighteenth or the nineteenth or the twentieth or the twenty-first.

Continue to November '09 Bid's Award and Reason Report

November '09 Bid's Nuts and Bolts Big Post.

If you have yet to start your bid you aren't alone. Although, with only two days left, if you don't at least have game plan yet, light a fire under it! So let's talk about strategy for a moment. Before I begin bidding, I need to answer a few questions to determine how I bid.

1. What type of trips do I want?
2. Do I want weekends off?
3. Do I care what overnights I am awarded?
4. How many hours do I want to work?
5. Am I senior enough to be awarded what I bid for?
6. What other preferences do I have?   

After answering those questions you will begin to see a basic outline of how your bid should look. Most of those questions are self explanatory so I won't go into detail. For me, I need to fly a lot. Pay is my priority. The highest credit on the longest trips ensure that I get paid efficiently.

Now, COS is a unique domicile. It is small. PBS is better designed for large domiciles (in my opinion) and this defect requires us to be pairing oriented. In other words, bidding by criteria is not as effective as bidding for individual trips in the case of small domicile. Example. Say you want trips that have a BUR overnight (see pictures below).

There are only 6 trips (including and FF) that overnight in BUR. Unless you are extremely junior, you would be better off adding these trips by the pairing number, rather than devoting an entire layer bidding for BUR trips. In small domiciles, it pays to look at and bid by the pairings. As I mentioned in a previous post we have 412 pairings (FA and FF) in COS. COS's bid package average is an "A" meaning we'll be awarded 78-82 hours on average. And the RSR bid info report is out! Here it is:

"DEN/COS RSR Report for November 2009

Sa wat dii krap Colorado Crews! That's Thai for hello. I just came back from nine days of vacation in Thailand and it was a lot of fun. Trip report according to my wife and I: the food was great, the weather was warm, and the massages were cheap! Flying business class on United and Delta made the long flights easier, but adjusting to changing that many time zones has been challenging. If you are interested in travel to Thailand, then send an email and I'll give you all the info I got.

Back to the report for NOV. I'm going to try a new format for the report. First a summary of the “big picture” for the company and then I'll break in down into separate sections for DEN and COS with highlights of the pairings. Let me know what is/is not useful and I'll keep trying to improve future reports.

Big Picture: Two schedule changes by United and Delta on different days, so every week will be different. LAX, SFO, SLC, SBA got more flying than the month before. PSP, FAT, ATL, MKE, ORD got less flying than the previous month. It looks like a lot of the new/different 700 flying is due to the retirement of the 737 by United. Make sure to look at the pairings to see the monthly changes!

DEN: There is a reduction in the block hours and consequently less lines. Less FOs flying was the big change. Again there are 5 days. Everyone who got the 5 day trips must like them, because I didn't receive anything from anyone about them! While I did get emails from crews who didn't like the fact 5 days even existed, again no one sent anything after the bids came out. FAs have more reserves next month, but line holders should relatively have the same amount of credit. Trip mix is good (I think).

COS: There was a slight increase in flying for COS pilots. More locals in the 700. Capts and FOs will be busy again with one less reserve. FAs will have a dilution in flying with more on reserve. Trip mix is good (again, my opinion).

ALL FAs: Again, make sure you get help on your PBS Bid from the help desk 801-258-4541 (Ext 4541 in company network) and if you have concerns, send them to SIA CENTRAL and Larena Beal #5969.

Notice I did not mention anything about ASE. I appreciate the emails I get from ASE crews, but I am the RSR for the pilots in DEN/COS . If you have questions/concerns about the ASE lines, you should get in contact with Mark Cameron #13529 . While I'm more than happy to help answer questions for anyone who takes the time to email, I do represent the pilots of DEN/COS. Also, some of you crew members may be under the impression that I create the pairings or I have some say in what overnights DEN and COS receive. I can't take the credit/blame for the pairings. An RSR only advises the CREW PLANNERS of the types of trips (parings) they build that did/did not work well or generalize feedback from the crews about the pairings. Trust me, I would if I could have every overnight be in SAN, but I wasn't able to hold the SAN overnights in OCT...

Again, if you don't like the pairings or if you do (Thanks Quentin!) let me know! Send me an email (SWOL or scottmaclean@mail.com). Its the only way to help me help you...

Have a great week and good luck bidding,

Scott Maclean. BTW Chargers over Broncos by 7. I'll be there to either laugh or cry..."


Here are the Nuts and Bolts:

For November we have:

213 Locals

62 Two-day trips

37 Three-day trips

100 Four-day trips

200 trips are on the CRJ-200 and 212 are on the CRJ-700.

Stats include both FA and FF positions.

The longest layover is 33 hours 41' minutes. That trip is R3060 & 3660. The layover is in SAT which isn't bad but not what I am wanting. The shortest layover is 8:37 hours. That trip is R3042 & 3642.

Continue to the next post:

November '09 Bid's Strategy in Bidding and The Christmas Tree

Line Constraints

The PBS Bid Info just came out. Although the SAPA DEN/COS RSR hasn't released his report yet. By the way, I am very glad he does each month. His name is Scott Maclean, the current SAPA RSR. It is important to know that we as FAs have one RSR for the entire company, she is the only one for the entire system and she certainly doesn't have the time to explain what is going on in your domicile. If you read this Scott, or any RSRs, thank you for taking the time. It has meant a lot to me.

Back to business. As you can see, the FAs in COS are down to an "A" package average. This is huge for us. It pretty much guarantees more lines built but a lot of trips you should be awarded that will pass by you "Due to line constraints."

When we started getting the "Reason Report" in PBS I started seeing this more and more. For me, this is the number two reason I don't get the trip I want. The number one reason being is the trip was awarded to someone senior. I don't have a problem with the trip going to someone senior. That's all fair to me, but why on Earth would I not be awarded a trip I bid for? The answer comes back to the package average we see here as with the flying being thin, more trips need to be dispersed so you don't have 30 reserves (in example).

Example: The PBS computer has awarded 4 trips for 76 hours so far. If there is a trip that I could be awarded but (in November's case) it puts me over 82 hours, it is likely to give that trip to someone junior and give me a lesser value trip to get 82. This example assumes I am bidding an "Target Line Credit Range" Greater that 82-90.

That is my understanding and explains why even senior folks have good trips slip through there fingers.

November '09 Bid's Nuts and Bolts

Let's get to work!

Today is Saturday October 10th, 2009 and bidding has just opened for the November bid. If you're a new FA, bidding runs each month from the 10th 9am - 17th 9am. In COS a few common flying changes have happened that will effect our bids, it is important to note them.

Initial SkyWest PBS Journal Post

Welcome to the SkyWest PBS Journal.

I am creating this journal to improve my bidding and to assist other SkyWest Airlines crew members in their PBS Bids. There really hasn't been anything of this sort on either the SAPA or SIA forums so I'll give it a whirl here.

A couple bits of information about me, my name is Ron. I am a COS FA and I have been with SkyWest since June 2006. I have been a line holder since January '07, although recently I have come very close to being on back on reserve. Let's hope that that never happens again.