OP DES,
There are 2 types of compact rosters:
1. Compact = tries to allow at least 5 consecutive days off in the month.
2. Super Compact = tries to allow for 8 consecutive days off in the month.
It helps those who are commuting or want to travel between trips.
More to what Kane Toed has said. On the bus I get normally 4 AUS trips per month. This happens almost every month. January 07 I have 5 trips, 3 AUS and 2 Dubai, plus emergency procedures renewal. Once you are CCQ'd on to the A330 you will work more often than when you first started.
Bidding for trips is in seniority order, except for a few rostering practice issues. For example. For the last 9 months, I have bid for FRA (Frankfurt) as my 1st pref. I have never received it. Friends of mine who do compact/super compact rosters get the FRA trips all the time. The reason is that they build the roster for the compact roster people first, then everyone else after that.
This is one of the areas that upsets a lot of based guys (either HKG or elsewhere), as they feel they get worse rosters. So bidding is not entirely based on seniority.
Other than that the airbus flying is fantastic and the crews are great to work with.