New Crew Rostering System at EK
 

The User Guide to the New CRS has this nugget tucked away in the eSwap section:

During a wash up recently, we were told that this Jepp system has been running parallel to current CRS for almost 18 months........:=:=:uhoh::uhoh:

looks like you can only bid for 5 things a month as you can only assign one item to a priority of highest, high, medium, low and lowest.

I noticed the "you can't create additional days off by swapping" gem..... happy days:ugh::ugh::ugh::ugh:

So it'll basically be impossible to swap a turn with a layover?!

As I read the note from our fearless leader…. absolutely NOTHING was in favor of the crew, only the company.

I can't read much into it as there is NO information of any use for us to decipher. Just a one-liner. But sure why should we care it's only our live style they want to wreck for NO good reason.
Perhaps someone who actually knows the new rules can inform the rest of us? Wasn't that the point of the email....... Yet another email failure:ugh:

And they want us to help by bidding during testing phase...yeah right, I am on it!

No extra days off?
 

Who does this and what is their problem exactly?

Q. So when you are in the top 2 bid groups and you Request a trip, will you know if its a possible 'certainty' before even the bidding period ends?

As for the "swapping for additional days off", I stand to be heavily corrected but I read it as them talking about the maximum limitation (15 days off) of days off that cannot be created by swapping.

I don't think the "no creating additional days off" is anything new. Seen it happen in the existing system too. It's when you do a swap including a, or next to a rest day, where after the swap rest is not required anymore, then the rest turns into an AD. At least that's what I think/hope...

I agree , think it's no more than the max number of days off ie 15.
Also changing to 7 bids groups.
No surprise it's not an improvement.
" global optimization" the new excuse !
Time to move on this is another reduction in T and C's

Good or bad, I can't really decide.
 

Well, as a "power bidder" who has been using the Ad-Opt system for over a decade, both here and at my old company, I should feel put-off and hard-done-by at the very limited amount of bid choices we are given. With my long experience with the old system, I should be the one ranting and raving about the injustice here. It appears they really are screwing us with this, or are they?

Strangely, I have a gut feeling that this new system will perform much better than the old one, if only by limiting the allowed inputs it will force all of us to focus on what we really want for the month, rather than "shotgunning" the system and hoping that something will stick.

I'm particularly hopeful about the Top and 2nd-Top "Request" system, and about the removal of training pre-assignments that always screwed up any training-month bid.

What remains to be seen is whether the actual performance of the system as implemented here at EK will match the intentions of its design.

What is certain is that, again based on my long experience with Ad-Opt, that the old system is completely broken here and so rarely produces acceptable results that whatever comes after it will be an interesting change.

Lazy buggers copied and pasted the Cabin crew letter for us
 

Nah, the lazy boffins in the bouncy castle just couldn't be bothered to make a FAQ for the PILOTS so they copied over the Cabin Crew FAQ on the pilot's portal, without even bothering to edit it, or even make it clear the origin of that document. We still have only 5 bid groups (for now). Management probably got some extra time at Costa after that big effort!

Now THAT's not a surprise.

My bid usually runs to 30 or 40 requests but satisfaction is low. I'd be quite happy with a system where I can ask for 5 things but stand a good chance of getting three of them. Time will tell if that is the case here or not.

That's what I'm talkin' bout! Hope it does work like that!

I think guys that as long as the eSwap stays as it is, with the 15 days off limitation on it and we can still swap L/O or T/A for days off when needed... this might not be as bad as we think.

Things like the SBUs are now assigned within the system, as opposed to manual imputs... so I am hoping that being all more automated and with less idiots putting their hands on it, we will see an improvement!

Let's hope at least...

You cannot create additional days off by swapping
 

Does anyone know for sure what this means before I start firing off emails to AS????

Going by the mixed opinions so far no one knows for sure what it means.

The document suffers from a lack of clarity because it wasn't proof-read. The first typo comes in the fourth paragraph followed by occasional jumbled sentences and misspellings throughout.

It's a wonder it hasn't had the usual 'Recalled by Sender' yet.

Will Tri/TREs be part of this new bidding system ?
 

Will Tri/TREs be part of this new bidding system ?

After reading it again, I still think its talking about the 15 days off in a month limitation that cannot be added to by swapping. It's poorly written and as usual has us all guessing. But dare I use the word common sense; eswap would be virtually useless if it does come down to meaning the later.

Well, being pessimistic (as is always best and is usually the case) I reckon it means that you cannot increase the number of days you have been assigned at roster release by swapping. So when you ask for your 5 in a row and they give you 2 off, BAH, 2 off you can't swap without playing around so much you give up.

Now stop trying to get days off in order to leave Dubai to spend their money somewhere else*!

*Disney dollars are non transferable and cannot be used outside the park.

You mean like "At Crew Arrivals from 04 - 08 June during office hours."

It states clearly on the new CRS User guide: pg 12 (V7.1)

"You cannot create additional days off by swapping"

But this is the same as the current eSwap rules. My understanding is no swap rules change. Read that whole paragraph.

Most guys try to move days, get a rest day at either end of the four days off etc.

This has not changed.

Open to correction.

f.

I swap a lot. Pretty much my whole roster every month.
This month I managed extra 3 days off (not rest days) by giving up my nice, easy flights for stuff nobody wants due to personal circumstances.

TI74

So we only have five bids?

Use one of those 5 to bid for another 5 bids.....

Here is what the system is capable of:


Jeppesen Crew Rostering


The company chose the most restrictive version of it.


Allow more than 5 bids and the system becomes useful to the pilot group.

Why bother doing it this month to give them the pleasure of seeing how much they can screw us in the system when it goes live. Just do the normal bid and be done with it.

J

Another nail in the coffin of moral.

'The most restrictive version', why am I not surprised...

Next time I see TCAS or one of his minions I'm going to ask why they feel it's necessary to drive out what little pride, enthusiasm and enjoyment there is left in this company. Not just the pilots, but everybody who works for this shambles...

I'll give this new system a chance, but I'm struggling to see past the fact we only have five bids! 7 in the top two groups.

Ok one improvement, if you bid correctly and you're senior enough you'll definitely get one or two of your first choices. But what about the rest of the roster!? You'll have to make very generic bids to stand a chance of getting anything else you want. And if you don't the system can give you any old rubbish.

I generally use hundreds of lines in the current bid system. For me this is a big downgrade.

I'll be delighted to be proved wrong.

Hidden in the small print is the fact that only one bid will be awarded of the five you are allowed. So if I bid for a JFK and five days off before leave as priorities 1 and 2 the system will only award one of those, then ignore all the other choices.:yuk:

So, effectively you will only get one thing that you have asked for each month. At most.

I'm sure there are low cost carriers that have better bidding systems than this.

I have a feeling they did not spend all that money to make it better for the pilots.

BigGeordie

I might have missed it, but that doesn't seem to be quite correct - in your top two bid months, only one of your REQUESTS will be granted, at all other times the system will attempt to award you all five of your PREFERENCES...

Of course, it doesn't matter because it won't work.

Can anybody tell me: if my 'Lowest' priority preference is the same as the 'Highest' priority bid of the guy one seniority place below me, will I get it being senior or will he get it because he requested it at a higher priority?

One of a thousand questions...

I noticed a trend the last 17 years and I have never seen anything getting better, so why should the bid system get better? when I joined we had a great system, but that was 98

Guys, it will most definitely NOT be an improvement. 110 hours here we go....

As per EK email. You can not create a new day off. Previous rest day, for example, becomes an AD day.

Wonderful!!:=:=

170to5,


I have asked many questions and have read about it thoroughly. The way it works as I understand it is, the solver takes each person individually. It simply goes to the first person in seniority and tries to assign anything it can for all of his/her bids (ie. highest to lowest). Once it is done it moves on to the next person in seniority.


Again, I THINK!

 Up to five Requests can be submitted - in priority order, 1 to 5.
 One Request can be awarded.

Lifted from the "explanation" PDF file. So, yes, more than one preference can be awarded but only one request.

So in your top two bid groups expect to get at most one thing you asked for. The rest of the time, no chance.

From the PREFERENCES it does NOT use seniority. It will resolve rosters to fit the required flying into skeds.

My guess- to allow certain people/groups better bidding. But then I'm a pessimist when it comes to EK.

Only one request guys, is black and white. Regarding the preferences, it says that the seniority within the group is not taken in count. Not really sure what that means...