usernamehere

agreed. You’ll probably accidentally sign up for auto bid at some point. Be careful when signing up for alerts.

hoover

It's really not that hard. You can set it up before a known closing time and watch what happens to how it bids for you before you let it run overnight etc.

itsokimapilot

Bid premium on everything you’re wanting to fly. Rank them in domicile then out of domicile if you want to keep your domicile seniority. Don’t look at who else is bidding, it doesn’t really matter. Throw enough hooks out there and you will get something. Remember reading about guys bi7ching about pilots flying over vacation. You’re senior to every pilot on vacation.

Don’t use auto bids until you’re extremely comfortable with CWA. Really not worth the hassle. I’ve picked a couple trips up through auto bids, it’s doable but you’re more likely to screw it up than to be rewarded using it.

Don’t let anyone else tell you how to bid. Know what your time is worth, set a threshold ie 9tfp/day and stick to it.

0900 DOT is hard to get when you’re junior. Keep bidding and don’t sweat it. Some of the best trips come after 1700 DOT.

Smooth at FL450

and if you live in base, you gain a little relative senioroty over those who would need to commute in and no longer can during those late in the day bid windows.

usernamehere

Bid conflicts with monthly overlap to drop your AOLT (adjusted original line total?) down so things picked up from company count for second year pay. Double check payroll slide show handout on that one. (Go to your board, little airplane icon, I think it’s AOLT-FYFO or just AOLT).

For me I did everything I could to get that number low. Ideally you’re right at that number with first year paying trips and not over. That way if you fly a second year eligible trip over that number it pays second year. If you accidentally end up below that number. Be patient. You’ll probably get rerouted on a first year paying trip and then you’ll be above that number - if not pickup a turn or something from TTGA. (Like I said, double check payroll slides) good luck.

e6bpilot

This is gold. This was my strategy when I was junior (still is really).


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tm602

Not really related but not worthy of its own thread….
Entire class got OAK ETOPS. I got this as a non-seat locked award. Now, if a bid LAX ETOPS just to get out of Oakland, will that, if awarded, come with a seat lock?

908flyer

Just put LAX above OAK. If you put any ETOPS base above the bottom 3 FO choices, and it's awarded, you'll incur the seat lock.

tm602

That’s true for the initial bid, but being that LAX is an ETOPS base as well, I was told by “someone” that the lock is not incurred because my initial bid was a non-locked ETOPS base.

at6d

1. Quote:

   ETOPS Locks

   1. A pilot who successfully bids into an EBG will be locked in that award for a period of six (6) bid periods. The lock will apply so long as the ETOPS training consists of a multiday training event.
   2. The lock will be removed from a pilot involuntarily displaced from the EBG.
   3. A new hire will not be locked into an EBG in his vacancy award if they are his last vacancy preference(s).
   4. If there are EBGs in multiple domiciles, locked EBG pilots will be permitted to bid between the domiciles in the vacancy bid.
   5. At the Company’s discretion, ETOPS locks may be removed before their expiration date.

This is what the section in the contract has. Not sure how to interpret it—the above answer may be it—might want to give the SWAPA office a call to clarify.