CRS FAQs and Bidding Strategies Doc v0.3

7/28/2019 CRS FAQs and Bidding Strategies Doc v0.3

1/22

CRS Pilot FAQs/Bidding Strategies

FOREWORD

This document has been produced by line pilots involved with the Adopt CRS program. It has

been produced in response to Frequently Asked Questions arriving at the CRS Help email

site, the User Manual accessed from the Adopt CRS Home Page remains the primary

authority document. New joiners should see their respective Fleet Superintendents - Lesley or

Reshma, for a printed Getting Started package.

CONTENTS

There is some overlap in questions and answers. Common themes have been grouped under

the following headings

PHILOSOPHY

COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS

CREW INTERFACE/DEFINITIONS

PAIRINGS

BIDDING METHODS

SENIORITY

RECENCY

RULES

STRATEGIES

TEMPLATES

SUPPORT

PHILOSOPHY OF CRSThe design philosophy of Adopt CRS is quite different to the previous bid system used by

Emirates and most other airlines. It is not a priority based system or a sequentially awarded

system. It awards purely on the basis of a mathematical score and to that end a much more

pragmatic mathematical thought process is required.

The crew member assigns points to days off/pairings/layovers/reserve from 1 to 1000

DESIRE and effectively from -1 to -1000 AVOID (or HI,MED,LO). This is termed the

Weighting. Any trip not desired or avoided becomes a zero score or weighting.

The CRS program has one simple aim to achieve the maximum possible score for your

bid based on the points you award. The program must find this maximum score inside a set

of constraining parameters which include FTLs, Fatigue/Rest Constraints and Fleet ImposedRestrictions.

1


2/22

Total Score = Weighting (Points or HI/MED/LO) X Total Number of Occurrences

You decide the points, the computer looks at all the permutations and combinations still

available at your level of bidding seniority and builds your roster based on the maximum

score it can find. (It must be able to build legal rosters for all those below you before the

award is finalised.)

Every time aDesire is awarded it adds to the score, every time an Avoidis awarded it

subtracts from the score. The only measure of satisfaction is the score. The CRS program

assumes you will be most Satisfied with the biggest score it can find.

Mathematical Equivalence

Total Score = Weighting X Total Number of Occurrences.

To illustrate a point - say a crew memberequally liked SYD/AKL (6days/about 30hrs), LHR

(3 days/about 15 hours) and CAI Turn Around (1day/about 7.5hr). The WRONG way to bid

would be

1000 pts Desire Pairing (5412 -SYD/AKL) X

1000 pts Desire Pairing (LHR) X

1000 pts Desire Pairing (CAI Turn Around) X

The above bid would result most probably in a month of CAI turn arounds. The

weighting is the same, so the largest total score is achieved the largest number of

occurrences. If CRS awarded a SYD/AKL it would score 1000 points, but over the

same approximate period it could award two LHR scoring 2000 points, over the same

approximate period it could award six CAI turn arounds scoring 6000 points! CRS is

only looking for the biggest score.

Excluding company constraints, FTLs and fatigue issues the weightings required to give an

equal mathematical probability of these 3 trips being awarded would be

1000 pts Desire Pairing (5412-SYD/AKL)

500 pts Desire Pairing (LHR)

167 pts Desire Pairing (CAI Turn Around)

If SYD is preferred to LHR - the LHR points value or weighting would have to be

reduced to make it mathematically less probable than SYD. The more the LHR score

is reduced, the more SYD is likely to be awarded over LHR. Be mindful that CRS

does look at the whole month and a number of constraints, if it could find a solutionwith say two LHRs and four CAIs, which scored higher, then this would be awarded.

2


3/22

Important Note. If you bid using HI/MED/LO you cannot make different length

pairings equivalent. If you bid HI AKL/SYD and HI LHR you would be awarded

LHR in preference because it could for the same weighting have more occurrences

over any given period. A HI bid LHR and LGW and CDG and MAN would meanthey are equally as likely to be awarded as they have the same weighting and are of

similar length and have similar block hours.

COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS

What are the minimum system requirements for running CRS?

Web Client Specifications:

The Crew Interface has been tested to work with the following web browser versions:

Microsoft Windows

9x, 2000, XP

Macintosh

Microsoft Internet Explorer Version 4 and above Version 4 and above

Netscape Navigator Version 4.5 and above Version 4.5 and above

(except version 6)

Opera Version 6 and above Version 6 and above

Also, to run effectively in a browser, the Crew Interface requires that the browser has the

following options set

Accept cookies

Allows JavaScript to be run.

The minimum screen resolution is 800x600 pixels. The recommended screen resolution for

better display is 1024x768 or higher.

A minimum connection speed of 9600 bps is required. However the faster the connection will

be, the faster the Crew Interface application will execute

I cannot access the CRS interface from my home computer. Is there anything that I can

do?

CRS crew interface and conflicting freeware may be an issue.

What is the problem?

During the implementation of the CRS system there have been some instances of crew not

being able to access the CRS crew interface via the portal from home. The symptoms are that

3


4/22

when users try to click on CRS Bidding from the Web Applications page of the portal the

CRS login prompt page is not displayed. The browser remains on the Web Applications page.

What is the cause?

The cause of this is either a firewall or some other software blocking pop up windows. If afirewall is used then the settings need to be amended to allow pop windows whilst the crew

member bids. On most firewalls you can configure this individually so you do not have to

disable the whole firewall entirely.

The other software mentioned is usually freeware that has been automatically installed often

without the users knowledge. In order to enable access to the CRS crew interface this must

be de-installed. The following steps tell you how to do this for the most common freeware

that has been found which is called Starware. Their website includes screensavers, smileys

and ad blocking software called AdZapper. AdZapper has been highlighted in previous

communications as a problem when using CRS via the Internet.

How do I know if I have freeware installed?

As the freeware is often downloaded and configured automatically without the users

knowledge it may not be obvious that it exists. Things to look out for include an extra toolbar

or buttons in your Internet Explorer browser window just below the standard IE address bar

(the address bar is where you type in Internet addresses such as www.emirates.com.)

The Starware toolbar has a picture of a star to the extreme left and if you click on this it takes

you to a Starware web page.

Please remember - there are other types of toolbars and ad blockers such as those from

Google. Starware is used as an example as it is the most common one seen to date. The

following URL may help you detect whether you have a pop up blocker enabled (Please note

this is not an Emirates managed website).

http://www.popup-killer-review.com/rundetect.htm

How do I remove freeware?

Depending on the operating system you are using the exact steps may vary slightly so follow

the prompts for your particular system.

It is easy to remove the freeware by following these steps:

1. Click Start-Settings-Control Panel.

2. Click Add or Remove Programs.

3. Scroll down the list of programs until you come to Starware.

4. Click once on Starware and the line will expand to include a Change/Remove button.

5. Click on the Change/Remove button.

6. A dialogue box will open giving you the option to disable or completely remove the

program.

7. Check the box for completely remove and follow the instructions.

4
http://www.emirates.com/http://www.emirates.com/http://www.popup-killer-review.com/rundetect.htmhttp://www.popup-killer-review.com/rundetect.htmhttp://www.emirates.com/


5/22

8. You may have to re-start your PC for the change to be fully completed. If you are

prompted to do this ensure you close all open applications and windows before re-

starting.

9. Once you have re-started your PC log back on to the portal and access CRS via the

Web Applications page.

NB: It is not possible for Mercator to support your home PCs so if you are not sure about

removing software from your PC you should use the kiosk PCs available at CBC for bidding

purposes. However, if you have any questions about the steps above you can call Mercare

(213 3444) who will assist where possible.

CREW INTERFACE

CALENDARWill you be able to put recurring appointments in the calendar?

Not in the current version. There may be development of the calendar in a future release.

CHECK-IN

What is check-in time before departure?

Check-in is as in the FOM: 1h 00 prior to STD

What is Check Out Time?

Check Out Time is planned Engine Shutdown plus 30 min for both Pilots and Cabin Crew in

the CRS System

Why do I have to bid twice to avoid checking -in over midnight: 2200-2359 and 0000-

0610?

It is a software limitation.

If I bid avoid time off over midnight (say avoid check in from 2300 to 0400), what

happens on the interface, do the time boxes accept the bid and how does the systemprocess the bid? (Does the bid window alert you or default to say 2300-2359?)

There is text in the window explaining that your times must not cross midnight, but no "pop-

up" warning if it is done. The optimiser will see the bid as 0400-2300.

PAIRING LENGTH AND LAYOVER

What is the definition of pairing length (example: night turn-around leaves Monday

2230hrs and returns Tuesday 0630hrs, is it a one or two day pairing)?

If a pairing touches a calendar day, then that day is counted in the total number of days that

define the length of the pairing. In the case above, it will be considered a 2 day pairing.

5


6/22

CARRY OVER

For a pairing that crosses two months, which month will the pairing be counted, --the

actual or the carried into month?

Carry over trips are calculated as the following: all sectors that start on or before 2359 local

departure station time of the current month will be included. Sectors starting after midnightwill be in the following month calculation.

Will you be able to see into the next month, if it has been awarded at all?

CRS rosters for the current month; the only thing awarded for next month will be carry over

pairings starting on or before the last day of the month.

FLY WITH

In the future phases, will it be possible for a Pilot to "desire to fly with" Cabin Crew?

With the current architecture of CRS this will not be possible.

In a future implementation, when bidding for Sims, will the bid to avoid Fly With Capt

function apply? If so, will it apply to the Captain being checked, the TCE or both?

These issues will be determined at a later date. The requirements for future phases have not

been finalised.

Can Captains request to avoid flying with other Captains (example: simulator and

A340 double crews)?

No. The current implementation allows for Avoid/Desire Fly with Captain only on line

flying and only for F/Os. For the simulator this would be technically possible, but is a matter

of company policy, which would have to be discussed at a Training/Fleet level.

I bid 1000 pts desire to avoid Capt 123456 and have a concern about the

confidentiality of this bidbasically, I dont want the guy to know, will he?.

This information is available to Fleet Management as a management tool other pilots do not

have access.

I am an FO bidding from a very junior position. If I bid to fly with a Captain bidding

from a senior position, will this influence the flying that I am awarded?

No. CRS can only award you flying that has not been already assigned to senior bidding FOs.

Therefore, it would be unlikely, in this example, that you would be able to secure flying with

the desired Captain because you would be unlikely to hold desirable flying (which the

Captain likely has as a senior bidder). However, should you be a senior bidding FO and

desire flying with a junior bidding Captain, you would likely be awarded a significant amount

of flying with him. Also, it is important to consider that this bid scores by the hour not by the

occurrence.

6


7/22

CREDIT

What is the difference between credit and block (i.e.: bid for credit and bid for block)?

Block is flight time and credit is a planning value used for non-fly activities. There is not a

significance difference as at EK as most non-fly activities (credit but no block) are pre-

assigned and, therefore, your CRS bid has no influence over them. Block, not credit, is usedfor productivity pay calculations.

RESERVE

I have heard that we may go back to pre-assigned reserveis that true?

The entire process of reserve assignment and coverage and is under review.

TIME OFF

Is there an option to bid "days off commencing and ending at a specifictime" (example: Time off, 0800hrs Friday to 1600hrs Sunday)?

This is not possible at this time but has been proposed as a future enhancement.

Will the CRS system alert you to a specific bid outside a company, FTL or fatigue

parameter (Say a specific Osaka followed 18 hours later by a second specific Osaka)?

NO. The system has no concept of your requests relating to any rules until the optimiser is

run. You can request "anything but CRS will not assign it if you are not legal.

How many days off can I expect to be awarded before and after vacation?

As indicated in the FOM, the day following vacation will be rostered as a day off. How many

other days off that could be awarded will depend on your bidding seniority and the amount of

flying that must be covered.

I do not want the FOM mandated day off after my vacation, can I decline it in CRS?

No.

I bid for weekends off and have not been having much success in my bottom two

bidding months. Can this be improved?

Possibly - If you bid for weekends off, CRS will only score if every minute of the weekend

(Thursday and Friday) is without duty. And if CRS cant give you every minute of Thursday

and Friday off, the bid is discarded and no attempt is made to give you part of the weekend

off. In this case, it may be desirable to request Thursdays and Fridays off as individual days

off. This way CRS will award both days off, if possible; if not, it will award one of the days

off, if that is possible.

7


8/22

OTHER

Is it possible to bid to Desire/Avoid Equipment (A330, A340-300, A340-500)?

Not at the present time. Although, this could presently be accomplished using pairing number

desire/avoid.

How will the equipment be identified in a mixed fleet bid?

Equipment type is included in the pairing reports located under Reports on the CRS bidding

interface.

Who will have access to the system to see what has been bid for?

The bidder, crew planners and fleet management.

Should I use manual or automatic bidding?

Strengths of Automatic: Simple and easy to use. Historically it appears to be less prone to

user errors. User can bid in confidence that no HI bid will be influenced by a MED or LO

bid.

Weaknesses of Automatic: No control over the bids within a category (High, Medium and

Low). That is the user cannot bid for trips that are significantly different in number of hours

and days within the weighting ( HI Desire SYD together with HI desire CAI turn arounds

would probably result in only CAI turn arounds). Difficult to analyse after the award

Strengths of Manual: Greater control - more precise bidding and subtle preferences

achievable.

Weaknesses of Manual: More prone to user bidding error. The only aim is to find the

maximum score unexpected outcomes when the influence of weightings not fully

understood.

Generally, Automatic may be recommended for those who have a simple bid, those

unfamiliar with CRS and those who have a limited amount of time to bid. Otherwise, Manual

would likely be the better option.

I would like to construct a bid of only avoids, is this reasonable?

Yes, CRS will attempt to construct your schedule from neutral pairings. Neutral pairings are

those, that when awarded to you, produce no negative or positive score. These pairings will

not increase nor decrease the total score of your roster, no matter how many of them are

awarded. If CRS must assign undesired work in your schedule, it will award as little as

possible. Overall, your roster will tend to have fewer pairings and less credit time than if you

bid using desire.

8


9/22

I am on the Airbus and would like to bid for layovers that are traditionally on the 777.

Can I bid for these flights?

Yes. If the equipment substitution takes place early enough, it will be allocated by CRS. It is

not possible to select layover destinations not served by your aircraft in the monthly bid.

However, this can be done in the standing bid and then imported into your monthly bid. Thestanding bid should be imported into your monthly bid before you make entries into your

monthly bid because the importing of the standing bid will write over monthly bid entries.

Where did I go wrong with my bid: 100 points desire TAFB > 15:00? I wanted to avoid

turnarounds?

TAFB scores by the hour, not, as most bids do, by the occurrence. In other words, at 100

points per hour, CRS would be highly biased to give you any flying that keeps you away

from base longer. In fact, if CRS would keep you away from base an extra 20 hours (20x

100=2000) that would have more points than say a LHR layover that you may have bid forwith 1000 points. In effect, that bid line instructs CRS to keep you away from base as much

as possible-- and at 100 points/hour it will likely overwhelm all your other bids.

Consider careful use of TAFB as it is difficult to judge its potency. If you decide to use it,

you could limit potentially adverse affects by using it as an avoid.

Assuming you wanted to avoid turns then you could use "50 points Avoid TAFB less than 10

hours". A more predictable alternative would be avoiding specific pairing numbers.

PAIRINGS

Will the company be publishing pairing changes (there is a space for this on the ADOPT

interface)?

We have the ability to publish these changes and some form of updates should be in-place by

September 2005.

BIDDING METHODS

Is it possible to have a standing bid in automatic mode and, at the same time, have a

monthly bid in manual mode?

Yes.

SENIORITY

What would occur when a direct entry Captain is inserted into a bid group for

Captains, then a week later a 3 year company pilot just having completed his upgrade

check is promoted to Captain? How will the seniority list be applied regarding their

relative positions within the bid group?

The 3 year pilot who has just been upgraded will take his normal position on the bid group

after promotion. In other words, company seniority takes preference over the upgrade date.

9


10/22

ROSTERS

Will the rosters be coming out sooner now that CRS has been operational for a few

months?

No. One of the main reasons for getting a new system is to allow the incorporation of more

schedule changes proposed by commercial planning

Will the total score and the occurrences be visible on the rosters?

This information is available but not currently released due to manning constraints. However,

should you have an inquiry relating to your bid the report can be obtained through

[email protected]

RECENCY

Will the calendar show any recency requirements ( expiring CAT C -Saana, ETOPSetc) and in which phase?

Items related to recency are scheduled for future implementation.

Will CRS use the historical values for flights (actual flight times or schedule times)

when calculating the maximum Flight Time Limits?

CRS takes historical data from SBS Maestro so you will have a mix of actual and planned.

This data is what is available at time of roster build i.e. if we build rosters on the 17th of the

month the history will be a snapshot from that time. Actuals from 1st-17th...Planned from

18th- 31st.

FLIGHT TIME LIMITATIONS & FATIGUE

Does CRS have a fatigue management model?

Yes. The first month of use was for the block month of April 05. It is expected that many

refinements will occur of the next few months.

Will there be any pilot input on the fatigue limits that will be selectable from the CRS

interface?

Not at this time.

OTHER

How is it possible to inadvertently be awarded a roster of predominately turnarounds?

In an effort to avoid long pairings some users have bid, for example: Desire pairings less

than 5 days. Using desire indicates to CRS that you want to maximize the number of these

occurrences, in this example, 4 day, 3 day, 2 day and 1 day pairings. CRS could award more

1 day pairings than 4 day, 3 day, or 2 day parings. By awarding more 1 day trips the overall

score will be higher. CRS is a mathematical program and it equates score with satisfaction. Ifyour desired outcome was to avoid pairings longer than 4 days then you could have bid,

10
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


11/22

Avoid pairings greater than 4 days. and you would avoid the potentially undesired outcome

of being assigned multiple turnarounds. This is because pairings of less than 5 days would be

consider neutral and, as a result, the tendency of CRS to award 1 day trips removed.

The same logic works for check-in and check-out time. If you bid to desire, CRS will

attempt, again, to maximize the number of occurrences and a roster of 1 day trips will be apredictable result. Using an Avoid instead of desire will remove the tendency of CRS to

award multiple 1 day pairings.

In summary, concerning pairing length (greater than or equal to) and check-in/check-out

time, using an avoid is recommended.

Following the logic of the above answer, would it be correct to say that if I bid Avoid

pairings greater than 4 days, that if CRS had to assign me a pairing greater than 4

days, that it would tend to assign 1 x ten day pairing over 2 x five day pairings?

Yes, that is correct. However, this is not practically significant within the context of the

current Emirates schedule. Again, concerning pairing length (greater than or equal to) and

check-in/check-out time, using an avoid is recommended.

Will there really be no open time planned by the system?

The system has the ability to manage open time. A company determined amount of open time

is selectable, including no open time. The current policy of the company is to have all

planned flying covered at time of publication.

If I bid for a trip with 1000 points and a pilot bidding senior to me bids for the same

trip with 10 points, will my use of greater points help me be awarded the trip before the

senior bidder?

No. The points are only relative to your own bids and will have no influence over a senior

bidders roster. If you had only one request in your bid, it would make no difference to the

outcome if you assigned 1 point or 1000 points to that bid.

What is a blocking window? How can I find out what the parameters are each

month?

The blocking window is the separation between the minimum and maximum credit hours.

CRS will roster each pilot within this window (75 to 85 hours, for example), which is set

based on many factors including the amount of flying to be covered and the difficulty of the

solution. Management does not declare the actual blocking window because it is regularly

changed to optimize the solution.

I was bidding from a very senior position and had only 4 bids:

1000 points desire layover CDG1000 points avoid reserve

11


12/22

700 points avoid 1 day pairings

700 points avoid 2 day pairings

I was happy with the awarding of 4 CDG layovers. However, as I was bidding as the

number 3 Boeing FO, I was surprised that I was awarded 5 turnarounds. Surely, I

could avoid turnarounds at this bidding seniority?

This was a direct result of the bidding restriction of maximum 4 pairings that include a

layover. This is one of the restrictions that are listed on CRS Bid Assistant. In this case, since

CRS assigned you 4 layovers, all that remained were turnarounds and reserve. You had a

stronger avoid on reserve, so turnarounds were awarded.

Practically, if you are bidding from a very senior position and desire flying to Europe, you are

faced with 2 choices: 1) 4 European layovers and turnarounds, or 2) 3 European layovers and

a more productive layover pairing outside Europe. This is because, assuming the blocking

window is around 75-85 hours, 4 flights to Europe would not be enough flying, only about 60

hours.

What is the difference between flight number and pairing number?

The flight number is self-evident. The pairing number identifies flights within the CRS

bidding context. The pairing number often matches the flight number. However, should a

variation of the pairing exist it may not.

The CRS pairing naming convention:

XXX-- dominant pairing

8XXX-- exceptions

5XXX-- augment pairing

9XXX-- pairing commencing with a deadhead

It is important to check the actual pairings (located under Pairing Reports within the CRS

interface) to ensure that the correct pairing is being requested. This is particularly important

for destinations like Rome where the pairing number has many variations.

I have been rostered for a Doha turn-around and it shows as 3:30 credit. With the new

pay structure shouldnt it be actual flight time? At the planning stage the only time

"block" is considered is for the FTL calculations. For the purpose of equalizing work and

ground duties in a roster month, CRS uses "Credit" to build rosters. There is no notion of

productivity pay in the CRS system.

The minimum credit a pilot can receive for any trip is 3h30. Once the flight is flown the

actual flight times will be used for the block time, which is used for productivity pay

calculations.

12


13/22

RULES

These are continually under review by Fleet Management. They may change from month to

month. The Bid Assist function on the Portal gives a good indication of current constraints

and rules being imposed. The Analyser function on the bottom of the Adopt CRS page you

bid on will give more detailed results as to how many hours before/after pairings are requiredas rest, what equipment is planned, etc.

Rules Summary

To fully understand the impact of Rules (Constraints) which have been programmed in the

Crew Rostering System (CRS), it is important to understand the Base Rules that are common

to all groups followed by categorized (i.e. Pilot or Cabin) rules. In the following tables the

constraints will be itemized as:

A. Common Base Rules GCAAB. Common Base Rules Company

C. Category Rules GCAA

D. Category Rules Company

It should be noted: this summary will not detail how the rules are applied or include the

interpretive notes of all rules. For this, the Emirates FTL Scheme can be used as a reference.

All Company rules are subject to change.

Common Base Rules GCAA Common Base Rules Company

Maximum number ofconsecutive days at work = 7 Station restriction for various reasons some creware restricted from particular stations (i.e. for visa,

recency, training issues)

Minimum number ofdays off= minimum of 8 days

averaged over 3 months.

Minimum turnaround between East -> West trips =

75 hours

A.3. Must have 2 consecutive days offin the last 14 days. Minimum rest in DXB = 13 hours

A.4. Maximum 3 consecutive: Late finish, Night duty or

early start (if acclimatized)

Maximum number ofdays off for last day of the

month is 72% to enable rostering of flight departingbefore 0600 on first day of following month.

A.5. Maximum 4 in 7 consecutive days: Late finish,Night duty or early start (if acclimatized)

Rest Before and After trips various amounts ofrest have been added to particular trips based on

Planner experience to avoid fatiguing roster building

Night Duties: Maximum 2 or 3 if previous duty is

finished before 2359 or 2100 respectively. (if

acclimatized)

Maximum one BNE trip rostered in one roster period

Vacation is followed by minimum 30 hrs rest

a. Bid window equalization based on Credit between

10-20 hrs* (depending on fleet)

Maximum number ofNight Turnarounds = 4

13


14/22

PILOTRules GCAA PILOTS Rules CompanyMinimum 12 hours rest in DXB or the equivalent

rest to the previous duty if greater than 12 hours. Ifduty is over 18 hours the rest must include a local

night.

Pilot Safety List when identified as such, the

two crews will never be rostered together insame cockpit.

Duty hour Limitation Maximums: Fatigue Factor Ongoing

55 hours in 7 consecutive days .Maximum 1 long MEL

95 hours in 14 consecutive days Newly Trained crew identified as newly

trained will not be rostered together.

190 hours in 28 consecutive days Maximum Trips with Layovers = 4Evaluating and alternative Region restriction

Maximum 100 flying (block) hours in 28

consecutive days

Maximum turn-around trips > 7hrs block = 3

Augmented block hours will accumulate accordingto factorisation

Maximum ULRtrips = 2

Fatigue Model

The current fatigue parameters that are implemented have been established by Medicalservices, Crew Planning and Pilot input. The purpose is to avoid combining trips that, even

though are legal under the FTL, the company feels are putting pilots in a fatiguing situation.

The current model targets the turnaround trips. A general overview of the model is fairly

predictable. This model is adding fatigue points to trips and removing fatigue points for rest.

Night rest is better than day rest and night flying is accumulating more fatigue points than

day flying. A short turn-around is not as fatiguing as a longer turnaround. Layover trips will

generally be followed by 48 hours off depending on the type (day/night) rest the pilot gets.

This model is in its infancy and is being evaluated and adjusted on-going.

Flight Time Limitations

(Hyperlink Reserved)

BIDDING STRATEGIES used by CREW

Days Off following Leave

An example of someone, any bid group, who has leave for the first 10 days of the month andwants maximum days off following

14


15/22

1000 pts Desire Off String Aug 11 Aug 17

1000 pts Desire Off Aug 11



940 pts Desire Off Aug 14, etc.

DO NOT build multiple strings, ie: 1000 pts string Aug 11-17, 1000 pts string 11-16, 1000

pts 11-15, etc. The string doesnt score after it is broken. If you bid this way and if you got

the 11th off you would score say 7000 pts. The 11th becomes disproportionate to the rest of

your bids and if you are in a low bid group you may be awarded say a SYD/AKL departing

on the 12th because the 11th scored 7000pts and was available as a compulsory rest day prior

to pairing 5412. A 1000pts Avoid AKL would be inconsequential.

DO NOT build multiple reverse strings. You may end up with a pairing or reserve in the

middle of the period, the days after awarded work becoming irrelevant to your aim.

Suggest a String backed up by individual days, if you run the analyser you will see at the end

of the pairing list the most negative pairings. These pairings will be negative because of your

individual day bids and this is exactly how the computer looks at the pairings when building

your roster. If you are awarded work in this period it would more likely be awarded at the end

rather than the beginning.

Be realistic and ensure you bid yourself into the hours window. CRS gives you a nominal 2.5

hrs credit per day of leave and looks back at hours history probably making you well rested.

The credit window for the 777 is typically 75-85 and for the 330/340 80-95 hrs. The hours

will fluctuate with resource vs. work ratios. If you have 10 days leave you get a credit of 25

hrs, in the remaining 20 days you will be blocked by CRS into that window, perhaps 60

hours.

Ifyour only aim is to maximise days off, ensure all your other pairing bids are in the range

say 400 to 5 pts or MED/LO. This will ensure CRS when looking at rest, FTLs and fatigue,

awards the maximum days it can.

Important Note: If you try to be specific with high hour pairing bids such as SYD/BKK or

JFK be aware that although high hours they have rest before and after and are considered

fatiguing, this may reduce the number of consecutive days off you are awarded

Avoiding Turn Around Flights

On the 777 and the 340 it is possible in higher bid groups to avoid turn around flights. As it

stands with the maximum of 4 turn around pairings per month imposed (Fleet matter which is

under review not a requirement of Adopt/CRS), the 330 only crews cannot avoid all turn

arounds. (4 European pairings = 55 hrs + 25 hrs turn arounds required to meet credit window)

As a future Adopt enhancement avoiding turn arounds may become an option in the same

way as desiring any layover, in the interim avoiding them is a little obscure. The following

may assist

100 pts (or LO) Avoid Regulatory Region Middle East/Asia

This avoids most turn-arounds in the system. Dubai has now been removed fromsystem definition of the Middle East.

15


16/22

100 pts Avoid Pairing Length < 2 Days

This avoids most turn-arounds equally but the definition of a 2 day pairing is one

which crosses midnight. This still leaves several turn around pairings which cross

midnight - MCT, DOH, BOM, MAA, DEL, etc.

Another method is to look at the generic qualities of what you dont like about specific turnarounds. If you dont like the ones which cross midnight you may bid to Avoid Check In

time, say

100 pts Avoid Check In 2000 -2359

100 pts Avoid Check In 0000 -0400

This of course will be applied equally to all pairings and layovers. If you desire to do

say specific pairing 404 you would need to increase the points allocated to counter the

100 pts deduction for sign on time. The same applies for bidding to avoid check out

time.

Beware Avoid TAFB < 24 hrs

This scores negatively for each hour of each trip over the entire month less than 24

hrs. In the top bid group it is inconsequential and would avoid turn arounds. However,

if you are lower in the seniority and are going to end up with some turn arounds it

could mean you get awarded say 2 MAA instead of a CAI, BEY and KWI, because

for the same block hours you are away from base 5 minutes less.

Note: RESERVE has zero TAFB, zero block and zero fatigue at roster publication. If you bid

Avoid TAFB you would be awarded Reserve in preference to any pairing less than 24 hrs.

Why do I see rosters of 21 days of Turn Arounds posted on the notice board for swaps?

There are several traps. The program is simply trying to find the max score in accordancewith your bid wishes, so you have to apply computer logic

DO NOT BID 100 pts Desire Pairings < 4 days, etc.

CRS will score every time a Desire is awarded, in the above case a 3 day trip would

score 100 pts, a 2 day plus a one day would score 200 pts and 3 one day trips would

score 300 pts. But it is even worse than that because Adopt looks at the entire month,

the maximum points award will be achieved with maximum 1 day pairings, ie 21

short turn arounds x 100 pts.

DO NOT BID 100 pts Desire Check In 0700 1200

CRS will score positively every time you get checked in this period. If it checked you

in 4 times for 4 layovers it would score 400 points. If it checked you in 21 times for

Simulator duty it would score 2100 points! Again a minimum day off scenario.

For both above examples, an Avoid bid would have been much better. 100 pts Avoid

Pairing > 3 days, only scores negatively if awarded, so CRS will try and minimise the

number of pairings longer than 3 days, but wont influence your specific bids.

Limiting the number of specific Layovers awarded.

I want to go to MNL once, HKG once and CGK once. Unlike the SBS system there is no wayof directly limiting a Desire Layover bid to just one occurrence. CRS is mathematical and

16


17/22

looks at any and all combinations to achieve a max score. It does however offer you several

attempts at achieving a good mix of flying. You can bid for the same destination several

times with different scores, for example

1000 pts Desire Pairing 334 from Aug 2 to Aug 5

1000 pts Desire Pairing 386 from Aug 12 to Aug151000 pts Desire Pairing 344 from Aug 22 to Aug 25

500 pts Desire Station Layover MNL > 12 hrs from Aug 1- Aug 10

500 pts Desire Station Layover HKG > 12 hrs from Aug 11 Aug 20

500 pts Desire Station Layover CGK > 12 hrs from Aug 21 Aug 30

100 pts Desire Station Layover MNL

100 pts Desire Station Layover HKG

100 pts Desire Station Layover CGK

50 pts Desire Regulatory Region Europe

10 pts Avoid Reserve

The above gives you several opportunities to get one of each pairing. The 1000 pts

date ranges are small enough that two of the same pairing could not get awarded in

that small date range. If you miss on the big points, the 500 pts date ranges could see

you awarded two MNLs or two HKGs in a 10 day period, the mathematical

probability combined with FTLs, rest however is more likely to result in one in each

period. If you were unlucky and say no CGK pairings were available in the period

Aug 21 Aug 30, then the 100 pts bid gives you a go any time during the month.

If you bid for a similar thing each month the 500 pts 10 pts bids could be your

Standing Bid and each month you would only have to add the 1000-600 pts or HI

bids for days off and specific pairings on dates or date ranges.

Avoiding Reserve

The entire reserve issue is under review. The number of reserve days vary from fleet

to fleet, a rough ball park figure is 12 pilots on reserve throughout each day on the

777. (around 8%) If you say each pilot in the lower bid groups does an average of 5,

take out TCIs and TCEs with allocated rosters and project it on the roster, the reserve

goes up a long way from the bottom. With CRS most or all of the flying is covered at

the time of publication.

If you are in a low bid group, it is likely that you will get some reserve. The reserve is

treated in a similar manner to a pairing but scores negatively for each day awarded.

When you run the analyser you will see positive scores for pairings desired for and

negative scores for pairings avoided and in the middle a lot of neutral pairings. CRS

would award a neutral pairing in preference to a LO Avoid Reserve or 10 pt Avoid

Reserve if it is at all possible. CRS has to build every crew member a legal roster

bounded by a lot of constraints, at the bottom you are likely to get some reserve.

DO NOT BID 1000 pts (or HIGH) Avoid Reserve when in lower bid groups.

17


18/22

Reserve gets awarded with minimum of 2 days, this is already negative 2000. You

may have had a number of desire bids that could be awarded, perhaps a Desire Long

11 day MEL , BKK/SYD or European Layover. The Desire limited at 1000 pts or

High will be overwhelmed by the award of more than 1 day of reserve. CRS may

have been able to award a Long 11 day MEL but the trade off building everyone else

a legal roster in the credit window may have been MEL followed by 4 days ofreserve, but this is now plus 1000 points for MEL minus 4000 points reserve nett

minus 3000 points. To CRS it would be better to dump the MEL and award non

bidded for turn arounds with only 2 days of reserve nett minus 2000, a better result.

As a general rule, use LOW Avoid Reserve or make your Avoid Reserve Bid pro rata

as small as each day of your lowest Desire Pairing Bid. Less than 100 pts.

DO NOT BID large points or High Avoid Pairings < 6 Days - if you are trying to do long

trips. Just bid for the Specific Pairing you want because if none are available you are

effectively trying to avoid all remaining pairings what is left after all pairings are avoided ?

Reserve!

The optimiser will also use reserve as a way to optimally roster the Global Solution.

When a crew is close to the FTL, Fatigue limits, a reserve assignment will not add to

block or fatigue.

Using Generic Properties of Each Pairing

CRS tags an enormous number of properties associated with each pairing, region, length,

check in, rest, etc. It is possible to use these effectively to tailor your bidding, for example,

100 pts Desire Layover MUC

50 pts Desire Regulatory Region Europe

75 pts Avoid Check Out 0500 0900

The effect would be that MUC departing around 0830 arriving back in DXB around

2330 would be worth 150 (100 + 50) points, the MUC departing around 1430 arriving

back around 0630 would be worth 75 points (100 + 50 75), European destinations

such as FCO, FRA, ZRH arriving back around 2330 worth 50 points, European

destinations arriving back around 0630 minus 25 points ( effective avoid pairings.)

Slight variation of these points can have a significant effect in the roster produced

depending on which pairings drift from desired to neutral or avoided.

100 pts Regulatory Region Europe

100 pts Avoid Chech Out 0500 0900

Similar effect, 2330 arrivals worth 100 pts and 0630 arrival pairings neutral.

The Avoid is applied to all pairings for the month in the time range, so care should betaken to consider effects on each Desired pairing. It is always recommended to run the

18


19/22

Analyser, the function located at the bottom of the bid page, to see the cumulative

effects of the scoring.

TEMPLATES

Bidding strategies will vary and be dependent on a number of factors including experience

and confidence with CRS, relative bidding seniority and individual objectives. If you are like

most crew and bid for the similar things each month it is worth taking the time to build a

detailed Standing Bid and import this as your template bid into each monthly bid.

New Joiner/Never Bid Before

Suggest for the fist time user to use the Automatic Bidding option. For example of

someone mid bid group, UK/London bias - if not available Europe, 2 very important dates,

have children - likes weekends off

High Desire Date Aug 4th off

High Desire Date Aug 5th off

Med Desire Station Layover LHR

Med Desire Station Layover LGW

Med Desire Weekends Off

Lo Desire Regulatory Region Europe

Lo Desire Day Off Fri

Lo Avoid Reserve

Standing Bid

The standing bid can save a lot of time each month when compiling your monthly bid and

also provides a good back up if for some reason you forget to bid, in which case it will be

used for your roster construction. If you keep the bid relatively low in points, you will not

need to modify it and can just add higher point specific requests in the monthly bid. For

example

200 pts Avoid Pairing Length > 4 days

100 pts Desire Layover VIE > 12 hours

100 pts Desire Regulatory Region EUROPE

100 pts Avoid MAN

100 pts Desire Regulatory Region MEDIT

100 pts Avoid Check Out from 0200 to 0900

50 pts Desire Off Fri

25 pts Desire Off Thu

10 pts Avoid Regulatory Region MIDDLE EAST/ASIA

10 pts Avoid Regulatory Region AFRICA

19


20/22

10 pts Avoid RESERVE

5 pts Desire Crew 123456

This bid indicates the crew member is not interested in long trips, his favoured

destination is Vienna (+100+100pts) and prefers it twice as much as any European

destination arriving back around midnight. The avoid check out time makes the 0630

arrivals from Europe neutral and also more importantly for that crew member avoids

most of the pm turn around flights he prefers not to do. The scores for Fri/Thu Off are

small enough not to impact on specific days off requested in the monthly bid but do

affect the points scored over the weekend on European trips. The avoids for Middle

East and Africa will avoid turn arounds not covered by 0200-0900 as well as LOS etc.

If you desire to fly with someone, keep the points small as it scores each hour spent

together.

Monthly Bid

The first step each month should be to import your standing bid. The aim is then to add to it

so the points totals are around 1000 (or HI ) for specific days off, 1000 (or HI) for pairings on

specific dates or date ranges, 300 to 500 (or MED ) for pairings during the month, and around

5 to 100 (or LO ) for your block fillers, avoids, etc which the standing bid will for the major

component. The first example is detailed bid near the top of bidding seniority, the latter for

lower bid groups.

1000 pts Desire Off Aug 1 Aug 5






1000 pts Desire Layover VIE Aug 6 Aug 8

1000 pts Desire Pairing 49 from Aug 12 - Aug 14

1000 pts Desire Pairing 001 from Aug 18 - Aug 191000 pts Desire Station Layover LHR Aug 18 Aug 19

1000 pts Desire Pairing 87 from Aug 24 to Aug 27

500 pts Desire Station Layover VIE from Aug 6- Aug 13

500 pts Desire Pairing 49 from Aug 14 Aug 21

500 pts Desire Station Layover ZRH > 12 hrs from Aug 22 Aug 30

100 pts Desire station Layover CDG

100 pts Desire station Layover FCO


20


21/22



100 pts Avoid MAN









20 pts Specific Pairing 903



The crew member has now added to the standing bid. The string of days off bid is

backed up by each individual day (NOT another string). There is a maximum award

of 4 overnights, the 1000 point bids are trying to build the roster pretty close to the

exact dates wanted. If the crew member had an event to attend on the 18/19 th in

London the double bid is cumulative and 001 would show as a 2100 pt pairing in the

analyser. The 500 point date ranges are a second chance at getting one of each of thepreferred destinations, the standing bid provides the 3rd tier over the entire month. The

100 point CDG and FCO add to the standing bid effectively making them preferred

European destinations in the event no VIE, MUC or ZRHs were available. The 20 pt

pairings at the end ( effectively 10 pt because in the middle east) are block fillers

because the 4 layovers will not make the credit window and some turn arounds or

reserve will be required.

1000 pts Desire Pairing 001 from Aug 18 - Aug 19

1000 pts Desire Station Layover LHR Aug 18 Aug 19500 pts Desire Off Aug 1




300 pts Desire station Layover VIE

300 pts Desire station Layover MUC

300 pts Desire station Layover ZRH

200 pts Desire station Layover CDG

21


22/22

200 pts Desire station Layover FCO

100 pts Desire station Layover CMN

100 pts Desire Station Layover MNL

100 pts Desire Station Layover BKK




100 pts Avoid MAN














In this lower bid l leaving 001/LHR at the max points indicates most preferred bid. The string

of days off is dropped and the points for days halved to have less influence on the block

awarded - in the unlikely event 001 was still available lower down you dont want the

computer to figure out a solution where you loose 001 by being awarded 2 days instead. Got

to be in it to win it - unlikely to get VIE or MUC out of top bid group but if there available

any time during the month they are desired. CMN,MNL,BKK were a few layovers outside

Europe often awarded to lower seniority bids. At the end a more comprehensive list of turnaround flights that the crew member doesnt mind doing.

SUPPORT

How can I contact the support team?

E-mail: [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

Date post:	03-Apr-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	usernam1976
View:	215 times
Download:	0 times

CRS FAQs and Bidding Strategies Doc v0.3

Documents