January Vacancy Results
12-03-2022, 07:20 AM
#61
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Dec 2016
Posts: 524
I bid a lot of open time in a lot of different bases and it is generally the same policy applied throughout the system for the day, at least for the 0900 close. Some days it is premium before reserves, some it is max reserve then premium. I haven't seen a day where they mix it up by locality. If I am bidding open time, I almost always throw at least 3 bases worth of bids in the hopper to maximize my chances.
I am sure that it is a policy being applied by one supervisor, whoever is in charge of open time awards for the day. I just wonder if they have latitude to do what they want or if this is some sort of experiment by crew scheduling management to throw different things against the wall and see what sticks. There doesn't seem to be any real consistency to it at all, at least as of November. Prior to that they were almost always (with a few exceptions) awarding premium prior to reserves and then still utilizing reserves in the 80 to 90 percent range because they would run out of bidders. In Zap's example yesterday, there were a ton of reserves, great weather, and they assigned everything to premium. It is a weekend and there will be sick calls, but still....weird.
I am sure that it is a policy being applied by one supervisor, whoever is in charge of open time awards for the day. I just wonder if they have latitude to do what they want or if this is some sort of experiment by crew scheduling management to throw different things against the wall and see what sticks. There doesn't seem to be any real consistency to it at all, at least as of November. Prior to that they were almost always (with a few exceptions) awarding premium prior to reserves and then still utilizing reserves in the 80 to 90 percent range because they would run out of bidders. In Zap's example yesterday, there were a ton of reserves, great weather, and they assigned everything to premium. It is a weekend and there will be sick calls, but still....weird.
12-03-2022, 07:45 AM
#62
weekends off? Nope...
Joined APC: Apr 2014
Posts: 2,021
Being an in-base guy, I’m a bit ignorant to bidding out of base, so please forgive me. Do you plan out commute flights before you bid out of base? At my regional, you could call CS and do a bit of horse trading in that “hey if you can get me a PS to there, I can pick that up / etc.” doesn’t seem to be the case here. When I am lucky enough to get any open time as a new guy, it’s almost always last minute stuff.
12-03-2022, 09:41 AM
#63
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2013
Posts: 3,670
Being an in-base guy, I’m a bit ignorant to bidding out of base, so please forgive me. Do you plan out commute flights before you bid out of base? At my regional, you could call CS and do a bit of horse trading in that “hey if you can get me a PS to there, I can pick that up / etc.” doesn’t seem to be the case here. When I am lucky enough to get any open time as a new guy, it’s almost always last minute stuff.
Yes. Fortunately for me, I live 15 minutes from the airport in a city that has a lot of options to SWA cities on multiple carriers. I also frequently bid on trips that start with deadheads. I have spent a good bit of time going through my bids to ensure the commuting and hotel situation is going to work out. Any more, I know what is going to work and what isn't. I always double check the flights before hitting the send button, though.
12-03-2022, 07:29 PM
#64
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2015
Posts: 833
12-03-2022, 07:39 PM
#65
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Nov 2015
Posts: 1,153
Not sure if I'm alone in this but when I notice scheduling assigning trips to reserves instead of awarding to legal bidders, I quit bidding. Then occasionally we get an email begging us to pick up open time. Not. My. Problem.
12-04-2022, 03:01 AM
#66
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2014
Posts: 188
Ditto. I’m done bidding open time for the month. After the last few days of reserve utilization, I picked up a fat PUJ turn in TTGA because it’s a sure thing. Now I’m good through the holidays… especially when the weather turns and the operation inevitably falls apart.
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