Bidding 101

MikeNovemberMike

MikeNovemberMike

I came, I saw, I went to bed....
I’m entering the 121 arena from 135. I have no idea what bidding is, but understand that if done strategically, you can ensure a good QOL or make bank. Can you gents share your wisdom and tactics with a freshman airline guy?
 
IFRlol said:
I’m entering the 121 arena from 135. I have no idea what bidding is, but understand that if done strategically, you can ensure a good QOL or make bank. Can you gents share your wisdom and tactics with a freshman airline guy?
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Can you tell us what bidding system you're using? I'm new to this myself but have been getting a crash course in using NAVBLUE's PBS system. Happy to share what I know - and maybe learn some things here, too.

You might also check out YouTube - for example, they sent us to watch a bunch of videos that Delta produced for PBS bidding that were more or less applicable to us.
 
Depends on what your goals are. Do you want to make bank at all costs, sacrificing QoL for the cheddar or would you like some QoL if it means giving up on making cheddar? There are pilots that overextend themselves and need to make a certain income to pay for the toys and life's mistakes. Whereas plenty of others that work the minimum allowed to maximize QoL via time off for other activities.

As @killbilly said, what system makes a difference. Even varies from company to company based on the CBA.
 
ASpilot2be said:
Always ask help from the PBS committee, but here is my general strategy as a junior person.

Ask for what you want. Don't tell it what you don't want. If using Navblue PBS, avoid statements are dangerous.
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I listened to you and now I have reserve A until July. Send help haha ;) jk, thats my seniority and the fact i was an idiot and left a PHX base bid in and went to the absolute bottom.


To the OP; Im in a similar boat, ill let you know as soon as I figure it out. But most common advice i get is PBSgurus (just google them), or similar service to whatever you use. Pay, they build it for you a million times better than we could. Capt i share the pad with said he “thought (he) was a guru”, he built a bid with 20-30 lines…the consultant made it with over 100 and his schedule is amazing.
 
Boots2Wings said:
I listened to you and now I have reserve A until July. Send help haha ;) jk, thats my seniority and the fact i was an idiot and left a PHX base bid in and went to the absolute bottom.


To the OP; Im in a similar boat, ill let you know as soon as I figure it out. But most common advice i get is PBSgurus (just google them), or similar service to whatever you use. Pay, they build it for you a million times better than we could. Capt i share the pad with said he “thought (he) was a guru”, he built a bid with 20-30 lines…the consultant made it with over 100 and his schedule is amazing.
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Bottom of the list? You're gonna have a bad time! :biggrin:
 
Maurus said:
Here is what I will say. You will make mistakes.


Nah. you just need to know how to use them properly.
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True. But you can get a lot of the same things you want without shrinking the pool of pairings. Avoids can work, but I generally never used them.
 
Depends on what you are trying to accomplish…. Always bid what you want and learn your contract to figure out loop holes to gain what you want. For example, leverage your start and finish times as well….
 
ASpilot2be said:
Always ask help from the PBS committee, but here is my general strategy as a junior person.

Ask for what you want. Don't tell it what you don't want. If using Navblue PBS, avoid statements are dangerous.
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BobDDuck said:
This is very true. Also the order of operations matter.
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Oh man, that is the exact opposite of the Flica PBS we used to have. You would avoid all the crap you didn't want. Ugh. Everyone I know likes NavBlue but I have a feeling it's going to do a 180 to my Flica brain.
 
In case you are line bidding, this is my advice during year 1: line 1-[the last one]. I've seen people try and game it, get picky and get no line, or "downbid" to open flying lines but end up back on reserve instead. I'll caveat that with the fact that I do prioritize the lines that I could hold within reason, and then all the others in numerical order. Somehow I think even this is probably wasted time. End result would probably be no better quality if I just bid line 1-450 in order. I'm sure the calculus changes dramatically a few years in. I also think that other places have more nuance, such as my UPS bud described. But he's smart and cares enough to really play the game.
 
///AMG said:
In case you are line bidding, this is my advice during year 1: line 1-[the last one]. I've seen people try and game it, get picky and get no line, or "downbid" to open flying lines but end up back on reserve instead. I'll caveat that with the fact that I do prioritize the lines that I could hold within reason, and then all the others in numerical order. Somehow I think even this is probably wasted time. End result would probably be no better quality if I just bid line 1-450 in order. I'm sure the calculus changes dramatically a few years in. I also think that other places have more nuance, such as my UPS bud described. But he's smart and cares enough to really play the game.
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If I'm not mistaken you are talking about paper lines. PBS is a totally different game.
 
BobDDuck said:
If I'm not mistaken you are talking about paper lines. PBS is a totally different game.
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I'm probably lacking SA as to where OP is at, but I didn't see that he responded to the question about what system they use? I took that to mean PBS or line bidding......maybe that just means different types of PBS? Our line bidding is paper, but e paper :) (also I am excited for us to get PBS in the next unknowable amount of months/yrs)
 
///AMG said:
I'm probably lacking SA as to where OP is at, but I didn't see that he responded to the question about what system they use? I took that to mean PBS or line bidding......maybe that just means different types of PBS? Our line bidding is paper, but e paper :)
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Does anybody other than Eskimo do line bidding still?
 
BobDDuck said:
Does anybody other than Eskimo do line bidding still?
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UPS does, don't know if there is anyone else though.......so by that reasoning, you sir are probably right. I wonder if we will ever get "route" (pronounced "root") bidding, so that I can finally answer that question to friends and family simply
 
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