Ten Days Out

Tomorrow is December first. For most of us it is a time of fun and family. For me, well, it won't be either. Thanks to my PBS award for December and my being unlucky with Skedplus I will not have a merry Christmas. Still, the hope of redeeming one's self is all the hope I need to continue and improve my bidding.

Flying in January tends to slack off after the second week. Everyone is back home or in school and there aren't as many travelers. That isn't a bad thing necessarily, but our flight frequency drops rather dramatically. February is even more dramatic and is usually the slowest month of the year.

We're ten days away from bidding and by God, I hope that I can really figure this out. I know a lot, but I still need to learn.

In the dirt

Since I haven't been able to get on skedplus in the past hour I thought I'd post a few pictures from my lack of success.

P.S. You know, I have always been into aviation. Even as a kid I could tell a F-15 vs an F-14 from 10 miles away naked eye. A couple years ago I befriended an army buddy of mine who had been working for BAE Systems designing on aircraft countermeasures for surface-to-air missiles, primarily the infrared type. The last time I talked to him they had completed a live fire test in White Sands and came away with a 100% effectiveness rating for their countermeasure. His team had coined the phrase 'in the dirt' for all the missiles they fired that failed to reach it's target thanks to their countermeasure.

With that in mind, Skedplus is in the dirt!

Good Hunting

We're all going to need a little luck tonight.

December '09 Bid's Reason Report Continued.

Greeting,

Sorry for being so negative recently. Murphy's Law never seems to go away and a person can only take so much before expressing frustration. I'll do my best to keep this blog on the straight and narrow PBS road. Are you ready to continue? Okay, let's roll.

Sunday morning I was relaxing at home and decided to give the PBS hotline a call for follow-up. My question was, "why was I awarded two layer six pairings when I bid the TTFATL feature?" Frank Bowling answered the phone and I was relieved to hear from him. I always enjoyed him being the RSR for DEN/COS and it was nice to finally talk to the guy. Frank explained to me that, in this case, the computer had to "optimize" our bids. The PBS computer is trying to award the trips it has available on coverage days and thus the computer looks at your entire bid and optimizes your award to match what the computer has to give out. Now in my situation, I bid for particular Christmas pairings in my layer 6. The computer gives priority to your pairing on dates. So, the computer was virtually trying to do me a favor since I bid the particular pairings and it was able to cover two coverage days with me.

So how could I have prevented this? Possibly more criteria layers and the removal of individual pairings on Christmas.

When I finished bidding I was thinking really hard about the worst case scenarios which, did help. The pairings I was awarded aren't horrible. However, I think if I would have used the "remove pairing on date" feature a little heavier on these coverage days the PBS computer would have optimized my award and not removed the pairing I was awarded in layer four for a pairing that the computer thought suited the situation better in layer six.

I also goofed a bit. I was awarded a local Christmas eve that was totally my fault. I put it in the wrong layer and as the computer looked at my layer 6, having not finished, it saw that I was bidding 'max credit' and threw me a 5 hour local to meet the maximum it could award me.

Clarification on line constraints: Line constraints usually occur when you bid line properties (I.E. Target Line Credit Range) that are outside of what the computer can award. This happens quite a bit and is one of the most difficult thing to avoid. That is one reason why looking at the bid info page is so critical to your bid.

Any questions? If not... let's get ready for SkedPlus!

Line Constraints

Eleven calls and one message later and still no response from the PBS hotline (801) 258-4541. Sure, the guys and gals behind the PBS desk are dealing with a lot of calls but it doesn't look like I'll get a response any time today. Earlier this morning I downloaded the entire PBS manual. I read over it and found a couple of things that I thought were interesting. I searched for "line constraints" and I found one item. Here it is:

"Replaced by lower layer pairings because of line constraints" – This pairing was

originally awarded but due to the way this crewmember had bid line properties, required

line values or coverage dates (C pairings), it was replaced by a pairing that existed in

a lower layer.

So I took another look at my Reason Report. I was originally awarded a trip from my fourth layer and PBS replaced it with a trip from my sixth layer. I don't understand how my line properties effected this at all not to mention that PBS could have easily finished like I requested at my fifth layer but it didn't and then it even skipped my fifth layer in order to award me two trips on the coverage dates!

My morale has fallen like a carry-on bag from a conveyer belt and I officially have a bad attitude. I wonder if this is why 'Pearl' was so angry?

December '09 Bid's Award and Reason Report

(Caution: the opening paragraph includes negativity and disdain. Reader discretion is advised.)

Greetings fellow People Being Screwed (the sarcastic terminology for 'PBS'). I hope your lines are better than my own, but if you too find yourself with a ridiculous excuse for a line there is still hope. Skedplus just may get us through these dark and ominous times. Usually, I find it distasteful to complain, however there is little else to do. Still, in fulfilling the purpose of this blog, I will explain with all due respect to the company, why I was awarded these particular pairings and how I can improve for next month.

Okay! I am done with the negativity, let's get to business.

Here's my line:

At first look, my bidding severed its purpose of damage control. I wasn't awarded any layer sevens but my line isn't great by any stretch of the imagination.

0 trips from layer one.

0 trips from layer two.

1 trip from layer three.

1 trip from layer four.

2 trips from layer five.

2 trips from layer six.

My first two layers were ineffective. I could have easily condensed layers 2-4 and bid like I normally do with layers 4-7 consisting of criteria. My bidding 'TTFATL' in layer five appears to have not done any good since I was awarded two trips from my layer six, both pairings are "Christmas pairings" which I had bid for in my layer six for damage control.

Let's look at the Reason Report:

Line Constraints

You'll notice in layer four the infamous "... replace by lower layer pairings because of line constraints" and no, infamous isn't "in famous" as Chevy Chase would learn in 'The Three Amigos'.

Of course I am frustrated about this. If the PBS computer would have awarded me this trip instead of giving it to someone junior, I wouldn't be flying Christmas. I talked about Line Constraints on my third post on this blog and no doubt it is even more annoying now. After seeing this particular example I have gained a better understanding of what "Line Constraints" means. No, I haven't talked to anyone on the PBS hotline yet, but it is clear to see that I was not awarded a trip I bid for just so the computer could make me fly on both coverage days. You can see the coverage days on the Reason Report, the 25 and 26. That's why in my line award instead of being P6 under the R3672 you see C6. 'C' stand for coverage which Frank Bowling talked about in his Bid Info report this month. Truth of the matter is that, yes, I had bid for these two trips in my layer six but why the TTFATL failed completely has me stumped. I thought it would have enough pairings to build a line. It is even more baffling that the pairing that PBS removed from me was a pairing that flew on a coverage day (the 26th)!

I am beginning to think bidding criteria may be the best option for me. Especially when you see in my layer 5's reason report all the trips that I could have held. Wouldn't a combination of those have created a decent line?

More to come tomorrow after I talk with the PBS "forensics" unit. I hope they can show me the flaw here or at least a way to correct it for future bids. Before I sign off, I want to show you a few pictures that have me discouraged. A picture is worth a thousand words right?

Thanks for all you do.

December '09 Bid's Christmas tree

Early this morning I was in the COS crew lounge checking in and I realized that the bids closed this morning. Last night I had had just enough time to pack my bags for yet another trip and I didn't get a chance to go through my bid with a fine tooth comb. Either way, I feel confident with what I accomplished. I may not get Christmas off, but I won't have a carry-in over New Years Eve and I won't be awarded some junk 17 hour four-day trip.

Here's how my bid looks (pardon the cut and paste screenshots):

So, I did a few things that may become standard in the way I bid. The biggest thing is my use of the "try to finish at this layer" (TTFATL) feature. You'll see in my properties that I use TTFATL in my fifth layer along with the removal of my target line credit range and max credit de-selected. So I am trying to tell the software to built some sort of legal line for me before it goes to layer six. Layers six and seven have Christmas pairings on them. Layer six includes Christmas pairings that I would like to fly (if I have to) and layer 7 has the pairings I can live with flying. Also on layer seven I bid for the 25 off. This may cancel these pairing out but my understanding is that PBS will award pairings over days off, so by bidding this way I am hoping to have removed some pairings that I don't want without having to use the "remove pairing on date" feature.

I certainly bid more particular pairings than I have in the past. I dedicated the first four layers to pairings only. That may be a bit of a gamble for me, but after seeing my award for November I think I am senior enough to hold some of the longer pairings. I may not get them all, but all I need are a few.

Here's hoping we all get what we bid for!

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

Good Sunday morning!

I hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Here in the Colorful State I was lucky enough to have two days off during this snow storm that passed through. Talk about luck! It is a welcome change that I am able to write on the blog from home, while sipping 'joe from my favorite mug... for once. This is nice! Even though I have the day off, I am back at it tomorrow and our bids close in 48 hours now. So are you ready?

I have been playing with several strategies this month and although I have yet to fine-tuned my bid yet it is coming together nicely. Last month my strategy worked out really well. I ended up being award a trip on Turkey-Day but it is a very good trip. I also was awarded a trip on Black Friday, but it too works really well. So I'm bringing the same ideas to the December bid with a few slight changes.

When the 10th comes around each month it is sometimes hard to know exactly where to start. Some people start with printing out the pairing. Some just look at the pairing through filtering criteria on PBS. I haven't found a routine that works for me yet. This month I have done a combination of both. My pairings pages are riddled with notes and circles. It has helped me in the past to be able to cross reference my notes and apply it to PBS.

One of the things I did this month was to actually write out a strategy. I have reformed it quite a bit, but here is what I have so far:

Layer 1 - 4: Pairings

Layer 5: Criteria (2-4 day trips with average credit per duty period of 4:50)

Layer 6: Christmas Pairings I'm willing to fly

Layer 7: Criteria (1-4 day trips with average credit per duty period of 5:00)

In a nutshell, I am telling the PBS computer: If I don't get the pairings that I want, I want (good 2 - 4 day trips) I am willing to fly certain trips on Christmas. If I don't get any of those I am willing to add in some locals with my seventh layer, which I hope will complete the award.

I still have quite a bit of work to do. Usually I bid pairings in Layers 1-3 and criteria in 4-7. With removing one layer of criteria I am run the risk of being awarded a lesser paying trip over a better paying trip that I could be awarded. I think I'll have another cup of joe or two and then reevaluate what I am doing. I will probably be playing around with my bid even until the early hours of the 17th!

Good Luck!

Holiday bids, CN's vs PN's, Nesting

Frank Bowling had a really good post about these subjects on the PBS bid info and I thought I'd repost it here. Thanks Frank!

"I work the PBS Help Desk nearly every month and I usually work “forensics” — the period after the bids are published. This allows me to see the problems crewmembers are experiencing. With November awards, there were 3 common problems.

Today’s Reality

All three of the situations described below are more common today than ever. The reason is the reality of our current schedules. Our flying has been reduced. We have more crewmembers doing less flying. The “raw material” from our partners is such that the resulting pairings often cannot be as efficient or as desirable. Thus, the best pairings go more and more senior, leaving pairings for most of us that might not make a line as good as they once could have. This requires more flexibility to get a successful bid. I often hear, “I’ve bid this way for years,” but it’s now frequently necessary to bid differently because our pairings are different than they’ve ever been.

Get the Holidays Off (or NOT)

Most of us want holidays off. Of course, there is an airline to run and many of us will have to work. But, for the November bids I saw many people who were assigned to work when they didn’t have to be. The reason is that these bidders did not give PBS enough other choices.

Take for example the relatively senior bidder who wanted weekends off, but also wanted Thanksgiving week off. This left three weeks in which this bidder was available to work a full schedule. It’s always difficult to fit, say, 80 hours into 3 weeks, but with our current pairings it’s almost impossible. Thus, this bid processed all 7 layers, awarding the pairings that were available, but they never added up to a legal line. (Important reminder: PBS must award at least 75 hours for RJ pilots and 80 hours for FAs and Brasilia pilots. Dropping to 62.5 hours isn’t until SkedPlus+.) Having failed all 7 layers, PBS was then left to its own to complete the line, which it did using that big empty stretch over Thanksgiving.

The solution, of course, is to relax the off-day requests a bit more, at least in the lower layers. This bidder was senior enough to get Thanksgiving Day off, but getting 80 hours in just 3 weeks with weekends off simply wasn’t possible. Being willing to work a few more days would have given PBS all it needed to complete the line.

PN vs. CN

“PBS gave me a pairing I didn’t bid for” is a common complaint. On your PBS bid award, look below each pairing and you’ll find a two-character code. It begins with a P or a C and then is followed by a number or an N.
If that second character is a number, it simply shows you from which layer that pairing came. If it says “P4” for instance, this pairing came from your layer 4. That’s easy. If, however, it says

“PN” or “CN” below the pairing number, that pairing didn’t come from any of your 7 layers, but came from the next layer, PBS’s layer, or layer “N.” The reason is that your 7 layers simply did not provide enough pairings to complete your line and PBS “fell off the end” of your 7 layers and had to find something to fill in the blanks to complete your line. In layer N you’ve lost all control of your bid and PBS does what works best for the global solution. You don’t want that!

(Also, at the bottom of your bid award, to the left of the total credit, there is an “L” and a number. That’s the layer in which your line properties permitted the bid to solve. It is common to get an award of higher-layer pairings that can’t be satisfactorily arranged until a lower layer — P1, P2 and P3 pairings, for example, but with an L6 line solution.)

Before PBS processes each bid, it looks ahead at the calendar distribution of the pairings it has left, and compares that with the calendar distribution of the available work days of the remaining crewmembers. If there is a “hot spot” where the number of pairings working on a given day equals or exceeds the number of remaining crewmembers available to work that day, PBS knows it has to start assigning those pairings working that day or it will end up with a lot of uncovered flying. These are “coverage dates” that are shown at the top of your reason report. It labels pairings working those days as “C” pairings indicating that they work on those “coverage” dates. If you bid for a pairing in your layer 3 that happens to be a C pairing, it will be labeled “C3” and it’s simply what you wanted. No problem.

However, if PBS identified coverage dates for you, you’ll be required to work on those dates wherever possible, regardless of the rest of your bid. Thus, if you’ve bid for a particular day off in all 7 layers that turns out to be a coverage date, your bid will fail all 7 layers searching for a coverage pairing that isn’t there. The resulting pairing will be labeled “CN” showing that it’s a coverage pairing from layer N. Your line award will also show “LN” indicating that it didn’t solve within your 7 layers.

As most of us have learned the pairings that PBS finds from layer N are usually pairings that we least want. However, even in this example you do have some control. I recommend to anyone who has ever had a CN pairing that by layer 7 you relax your off-day requests so that if PBS is required to work you on a particular day that you really didn’t want to work, you can at least have some say over the type of pairing that will be given to you on that day. I also urge bidders to consider using “Try to finish at this layer” to permit PBS to do some shuffling — again, under your control — if it must to get you to work on that coverage date.

Nesting — Starting a Pairing the Same Day a Previous Pairing Ends

PBS requires 9 hours in base between pairings; overnight or same day, it’s 9 hours. This was a point of negotiation between SAPA, SIA and the company in laying out the PBS rules and the compromise was 9 hours. Thus, it is possible to “nest” pairings, having a pairing end in the morning and beginning another pairing later in the same day. This is what makes nested continuous duty overnights (“stand-ups”) possible.

As recently as even just a few months ago, most of our pairings simply didn’t end early enough in the day, and most of our pairings didn’t start late enough in the day to make this inadvertently possible. However, with our pairings today, it’s becoming more common to see PBS award pairings that end in the morning and award another pairing that starts 9 or more hours later that same day. For many of us this can be a very difficult schedule. (Note that if you think it is unsafe given your individual circumstances, it is your responsibility to tell your chief and to get it changed. Do not work if you are unfit for duty.)

A suggestion has been made to create an “Avoid nested pairings” line property, but until/unless that enhancement can be implemented, there is a way you can bid to minimize the likelihood of getting nested pairings. The first way is to simply limit the work block size (number of consecutive work days) and the pairing length so that you can only work one pairing in a work block. For instance, bidding 4 day pairings and 4 day work blocks will prevent any nesting (or even any back-to-back pairings of any type). Obviously, this doesn’t work if you want to work shorter pairings back-to-back.

If you often do want back-to-back pairings, you can still prevent nesting by the careful use of release and report times. Choosing the pairing property “Release between 11:00 and 19:00” for instance, may prevent any pairings that end early enough in the day that nesting is possible. Similarly, bidding something like “Report between 08:00 and 17:00” might prevent nesting. In general, you’d only need to bid one of these properties. You needn’t bid both report and release times unless it’s necessary to cover your unique pairing choices. Obviously, to be effective, you need to look at your individual pairing choices to make sure that the release and show times that remain are acceptable to you while still preventing the nesting after 9 hours in base."

December '09 Bid's Nuts and Bolts

As you can see on the bid info page, COS is now has a "C" package and is guaranteeing 54 lines, shooting for 57 and will have 10 reserve lines. As compared to last month when we had an "A" package with 49 lines guaranteed, shooting for 58, and 9 reserve line. 

This month we have: (for flight attendants)

• 474 Total trips
• 282 Locals
• 52 Two-day trips
• 55 Three-day trips
• 85 Four-day trips

190 of the pairings are on the CJR200 and 284 of the pairings are on the CRJ700out of those only a few '200 locals are on the Delta side and only one four-day trip flows through Delta.

Compare all that to November when we had:

• 412 Total trips
• 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.

Easy to see the increase to locals and to the three-day trips. Plus the subtraction of two-day and four-day trips.

Like I have mentioned in earlier posts, December is something of a wild card month. While that will prove true for everyone bidding to have Christmas and New Years Eve off, if you're junior, I suggest you include trips you would want to fly over Christmas in your lower layers to stay safe from receiving a bad PN'ed or CN'ed trip.

December '09 Bid

Good Morning on this November 9th 2009 at 8:25 Mountain Daylight Time. Now only 23 hours left until the December bid opens.

Usually by now you can get into PBS and look at the pairings using the "view pairing set" function as seen here. I checked it this morning and the PBS Gods at SGU haven't reset the computers to shows the December pairings. They should have it reset by tonight and when that comes around I'll start talking about the December adjustments.

If you are a new to the blog, welcome! Feel free to toss around some of your ideas and strategies with me and correct me where I am wrong! Even though I am tailoring my journals to my individual bid and COS, there should be something here for everybody. Either way, December is historically a rough month. Good luck everyone! We're gonna need it!

T Minus 168 hours.

Welcome to November.

I hope all of your November bids worked out well or at least I hope skedplus saved you like it does me. We are now one week away from the December bid and it isn't a bad idea to start thinking about what you want for next month. December is one of the busiest month for air travel not to mention our own lives. This holiday season won't prove any different from years past with lots of flying to go around. I can imagine our reserves will be stretched thin and worked to death as is usually the case.

For many of our peers Christmas day is the day everyone wants off. Few are able to bid around it and even less are awarded vacation for it. If you want any hope at having it off, sending in your request now is a must. I am going to be working it this year. Last year I was fortunate enough to have the week off, by way of requesting vacation. I am the type of guy that likes to get my hands dirty and I am actually excited about working Christmas this year. I am also saving up all my vacation hours for the Spring when I want to take an actual vacation with my family.

On a separate subject, I want you all to know that I am horrified at how our negotiations have been going. The SkyWest FA's "contract" is up for renewal and SIA has been negotiating a new contract for us. It has obviously become an unorganized mess as SIA's President announced that we will be given a three choice package vote soon. It is so sad to see that SIA doesn't accurately see what many of us want. This is yet another example of how our representation needs help and I hope to help and urge you to do so as well. I can already imagine my vote leaning towards a "no vote." And yes, that is one of the three options.

I'll post more about that later when I actually see what is going on. Which, to this point has been little-to-nothing.