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.