Keep the bid groups (from a guy with decent seniority)
But how about offering Bid Lines, in other words the company produces X number of rosters for X number of pilots and we bid each line in order of preference.
If there are 500 triple 7 F/O's, then the system produces 500 triple 7 F/O rosters and pilots bid for them in order of preference.
The benefits?
-a more equitable distribution of flying each month
-more effective use of manpower
-no more Manual insertions and fewer changes each month
-it is incredibly simple to bid
-easy for the company to design
-scrap ADOPT because it is not designed to optimize anything when a company misuses it
-seniority is more easily honored
-vacation time would actually mean something, in that the company couldn't simply load up the remainder of a vacation month
-rosters could be designed that followed a pattern, such as consistent direction of flight, or consistent report times etc.
-certain percentages of rosters could be designed to offer things such as stretches of days off, a sensible mix of ULR vs turns, or whatever the pilot group deemed most important
-easy to determine when you are not awarded what your seniority dictates, in other words no more roster manipulation
There is no doubt that Rosters at EK have become a huge negative issue and ADOPT in its present form, simply disguises the incompetence and corruption within the crewing department. Rosters and therefore lifestyles will continue to decline at EK until the mass exodus begins.