Prior to Carmen the roster was essentially hand-built.
Carmen has been in Virgin for about 3 years now, and is only now beginning to settle down. Many of the problems in the early days were due to operator inexperience and unfamiliarity with the system, and filters that were too coarse for their intended purpose. Thanks to the efforts of a few good men and women, the system is continually being updated and refined and, in general, is now producing a reasonably fair roster. That said, there's a long way to go before everyone will be either satisfied or convinced that they are not personally being victimised when a roster doesn't go their way, and much of our ground programme and leave is not yet included in Carmen's long-term planning, which makes things awkward at times. It will get there, but it's been a rocky path with much bad feeling on both sides.
If your roster people are reasonably flexible and open minded, they could try and contact Virgin's rostering department to discuss the issues at a technical level. I believe one of our pilots - an ex-Union rep - is very highly qualified on the system and may be able to advise (at commercial rates, no doubt!).
Scroggs