Dear Flight Attendants,
A problem has been identified with the May pairings that is affecting bidding. Consequently, bids have been locked in Navtech’s Preferential Bidding System (PBS) and the Joint PBS Committee is working quickly to resolve the issue. Bidding will reopen as soon as possible and the bidding deadline will be extended.
What is known so far is that unbeknownst to Crew Planning and the Joint PBS Committee, several new aircraft codes were loaded into the system: 8EX, 9WX and 9EX. The Joint PBS Committee began investigating the codes as soon as they were discovered. They have found out that these codes are related to aircraft that have been reconfigured with extra seats (the ‘X’)—nine seats on the -900 and six seats on the -800—and the new scimitar shaped winglets (the ‘W’).
Because many Flight Attendants bid by aircraft type, not addressing the issue would most likely significantly impact bid awards. Stand by for further updates!
In solidarity,
Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn and Sandra Morrow; and
Your AFA PBS Committee—Stephen Poynter and Rebecca Asbell