9.01.18 – (LAA) – JSIC Update – Mock Bidding is Here, Mock Bidding is Here, Mock Bidding is Here

Mock Bidding is Here, Mock Bidding is Here, Mock Bidding is Here – LAA

Starting in September, all non-PBS bases will begin mock bidding (except DFW and MIA, which will begin in January 2019) for not only PBS but also Training Bidding System (TBS) and Lineholder/Reserve Designation (LRD). Below is important information related to these systems.

Training Bidding System (TBS)

TBS is a new way of scheduling training and is a significant departure from the current practice. Flight attendants will bid for training beginning with PBS. Awards will be made in seniority order. Training will be scheduled (with applicable deadhead flights) prior to bidding for your monthly schedule. If you are scheduled for CQ in October, or in your grace month or would like to bid early (e.g. November is your CQ month) then you can mock bid in TBS. TBS mock bidding will open the 1st calendar day at 1200 DFW time and close the 6th calendar day at 1200 DFW time.

Lineholder/Reserve Designation (LRD)

This is a new process related to JCBA PBS. In PBS a Flight Attendant must know their status prior to bidding in PBS. The LRD will be used to identify if you are a Lineholder or a Reserve and how you can bid onto or off of Reserve in any given month. It is important to note that if you are identified as being on Reserve for a given month and remain on Reserve it will count as your Reserve month regardless of the number of vacation days you have in that month. If you have Lineholder or tentative status in LRD and bid onto Reserve, it will count as your Reserve month unless you have more than 3 days of vacation in that month (Sec. 12.A.3). We have a PowerPoint Presentation on the APFA website with more information about the LRD process.

Preferential Bidding System (PBS) Mock Bidding

You’ll have two opportunities each month to practice PBS bidding in September – November, and one in December. We highly recommend taking advantage of this to familiarize yourself with this new system. The first round of mock bidding in PBS will open on the 10th calendar day of each month at 1200 DFW time and will close on the 15th calendar day of each month at 1200 DFW time. The second monthly round of mock bidding will open on the 19th and close on the 24th. The question that many are asking is if it’s required that every flight attendant participate in mock bidding. The answer is no, it is an individual decision for each Flight Attendant. If you do not bid in mock bidding there is a pre-programmed (default) mock bid already loaded into the system. This could impact your awards in the mock bidding system and they will likely differ from when the system goes live.

Reserve Bidding in the New PBS

Gone are the days of pre-built reserve patterns. Flight attendants will be able to build their owns line of days off in PBS. With that said, there are many bidding strategies for you to achieve the days off you would like to have.

Each Flight Attendant will have 7 layers to bid for reserve days off. While you can bid all days off in the first layer it will view all days as being equal.

If you are bidding Reserve days off and have dates that are more important to you, it is recommended to bid for those days in the first layer. For example, you know that you need a specific weekend off, bid for that in the first layer, which is telling PBS these are the most important. If you are able to hold those days off, PBS will begin to build your series of days off, according to the rules in the JCBA (Section 10.D.18), using your bids in subsequent layers.

Helpful Hints for PBS Mock Bidding

By this point the majority of Flight Attendant in these bases have attended PBS classroom training. Below are some reminders covered in your PBS class.

The layer tab is the best place to check your work and review your pairing pools by layer (and your bid as a whole). Always check your pairing pools. As layers progress in your PBS bids you should make sure that you are adding pairings into your pool of available trips. The View Pairing Set button shows details for every pairing you bid.

If you have not added any pairing into your pool then you have wasted a layer of bidding. In the example below, the Flight Attendant did add pairings in several of their layers but two of the layers added zero pairing.

*Remember all items in a pairing pool are considered EQUAL. Bidding generically AND specifically, in the same layer, is not recommended.

When bidding for a specific trip (I want pairing 12345 on the 5th) and adding generic properties in the same layer (e.g. work block size) they may compete with each other and can potentially impact your award. Again, it is recommended that if you are bidding specific pairings that you only do that in one layer and if bidding generic properties in a different layer.

You can find more details and information about PBS at APFA.org under JCBA, or on Crew Change.

Please watch for more hotlines with PBS helpful hints.

In Unity,

APFA JSIC
[email protected]

Alin Boswell
Julie Hedrick
Linda Haertling
Vicki Balistreri