Laurienz
I think there may be a bit of misunderstanding about the term "self rostering".
BA's LHR based fleets use Bidline. It is not an easy system to get your head round - the rules amount to a 1 1/2 inch manual. It does allow a fair degree of choice, but your resulting roster is always subject to your seniority.
The Pre-Ops department each month issue lines of work. The pilots then choose the line of work they want. Most people use PC based programs that sift the data to achieve their needs - whether they want weekends off, a particular day off, go to a particular place, no early starts, no 4 sector days, etc. This is where you may get an element of "self rostering" in that you have the ability to have some influence over your lifestyle.
But it is all subject to seniority. The most senior chap gets his first choice of line - ultimate lifestyle control. The second most senior gets his first choice unless the top dog took it. Down at the nether reaches of the seniority list the choices are less successful.
Having said that - if you are in the top 50% of the seniority list you stand a very good chance of getting a line to meet your requirements. Peoples needs are very different so it is not as if everybody is always after the same trip. This too has improved recently as our new pay deal removed a large amount of the variation in variable pay, so not every is chasing the "juicy trips"
Try the search function of Pprune - Bidline has been discussed a few times before.
Clear as mud!
T'Bug
