Sure works fine oh the depressed one.
Wrong choice of words regarding bidding for trips. Sorry, you can request a trip every month. Aussie 330 guys if you wanna go to Brisbane, or Canadian 747 wanna go to YVR once a month chances are good you will get it. It's not a bid system, but just purely a request which the scheduler may or may not give you. Just live with the fact that for your time on duty they own you and that's that.
And that hot off the press stuff, just goes to prove that any cretin (including myself) can write bs and nobody will refute the claim. That is, bull**** becomes fact. It is a rumour network after all and pilots love rumours.