Communication from your Joint PBS Committee
Scheduling Committee | Joint PBS Committee
PBS / NavBlue is Coming
Communication from Your Joint PBS Committee (JPC)
Fellow Pilots,
PBS/NavBlue is finally around the corner. Your JPC has been working hard building training materials for our first Mock Bid. As you’ll see in the calendar below, we will be conducting 4 mock bids — two in October and two in November — with the plan of going live on January 5th for the February bid period.
Training Materials
The training materials are a mix of documents and videos:
- NavBlue PBS for Allegiant Pilots — A thorough guide to help you understand how to create your bid via the SkyWise website.
Download PDF - NavBlue Bidding Quick Reference — A quick reference to help you remember what you’ve learned and place a bid.
Download PDF - NavBlue Administrator Guide — Official SkyWise manual detailing everything available in their software.
Download PDF - NavBlue Reasons Report — A collection of all possible reasons reports you could get after a bid and their meanings.
Download PDF - Video Tutorials — Video tutorials on how to use NavBlue. Currently one video is finished with more to follow.
Watch Video - Skywise NavBlue Bidders Guide — Official manual from Skywise NavBlue.
Download PDF
Known System Limitations
When we start bidding, some of you will notice that certain items in the bidder interface have options available that we will not have, and some options we should have but are absent. These issues are already identified and tickets to fix them have been submitted to SkyWise. Unfortunately, SkyWise only has a limited amount of space available for every carrier each quarter to make programming changes. Because of this, we don’t expect to see changes to our current configuration until Q1 2027.
Missing but high priority (updating Q1 2027): “Vacation Any” and “RLL” options.
Visible in NavBlue but not available to us: “Long-Call Reserve” and “RRL”.
Common Questions
“How come we can run a schedule solve in only 5 days when it’s a 2-week process in the CBA?”
It’s a mock bid. In a mock bid, the awarded schedules do not need to be published or exported into Merlot. Additionally, the bid data will already be loaded in the system from the CBI solve, saving much time. During Mock Bidding, the Union JPC will also be working alongside the Company during every solve, so results can be reviewed as they are produced rather than back and forth afterward.
Mock Solves vs. Real Solves
Before any real bid run can be published, it must meet every requirement of the PBS LOA for a Successful Bid Run Solution. Real PBS solves affect your life and therefore go through more rigorous standards. Mock bids are a test — their purpose is to see what results the system produces and to identify anything that needs to be corrected before implementation.
We’re Flexible
The CBA has a longer timeline to help us during this transition to a new scheduling software. During the next 6 months, the company and the union will be evaluating the entire process. Inefficiencies will be identified and changes will be made wherever possible. We have a very good working relationship with the company, and our goal — as well as management’s — is to shorten the bid timeline when and if possible.
Final Thoughts
During Mock Bidding
Your line is not affected.
Mock bids do not affect your actual schedule. The current CBI solver remains in use for your real monthly line until NavBlue is implemented. Don’t forget to bid in CBI!
We Need You!
In order for the mock bids to benefit the whole pilot group, it is imperative to have 100% participation! Please bid as if it were a real month — yes, all four times. When results are posted, review your Reasons Report and let us know about anything you don’t understand or looks like an error. Your feedback and participation is how we find problems before implementation.
We know there will likely be many questions. Please review all the training material we have provided. All of us on the Scheduling Committee are trained and available to answer questions. Soon our committee will also be added to APA Pilot Hotline as Option 3, which will send a text alert to every member and one of us will reach out to you as soon as possible.
For now, we can be reached at scheduling@apa2118.org.
Fraternally,
APA Teamsters Local 2118
Scheduling Committee / Joint PBS Committee