NAXOS

Module Details

ProDIGIQ's Flight Operations System (NAXOS) includes the Crew Bidding Module. The Crew Bidding module supports the creation and management of new lines, base, and vacation bids. The module allows airlines to set various parameters, such as seniority, certifications, job status, and training, to restrict crew access to specific bid lines. This ensures that crew can only bid on lines for which they are eligible.The module offers airlines the flexibility to add any parameters according to their business rules and operations. NAXOS' user-friendly interface enables crew to visualize schedules in Gantt format to effectively plan what bids they should submit. The Module includes a dashboard with bid statistics, such as submission percentage and status of bids. The Crew Bidding Module is fully integrated with all other NAXOS modules for seamless interconnectivity and transfer of data.

Additional Subject Information

Flight crew members' quality of life is highly dependent and interconnected with their schedule. All pilots and flight attendants have an idea of their ideal schedule. Airlines typically use one of the following two approaches for crew scheduling: Line Bidding or Preferential Bidding System (PBS).

In the Line Bidding approach, flight crew bid for preassembled lines which are awarded based on seniority. Airlines publish pre-built lines for crew to bid on. It does not take into account crew preference. This method can lead to conflicts, since the assigned line might interfere with a crew member's predermined activities, such as vacation. In the case of conflict, which occurs more often than not, pairings have to be reassigned. This process creates several inefficiencies and can be extremely costly for airlines.

In the PBS approach, flight crew are allowed to have input in their roster and essentially create a line specific to their individual needs. Crew members can express their preferences for days off, desired pairings, attributes of the pairings, and characteristics of the line. This method is becoming increasingly popular among airlines as it consolidates the bidding process and eliminates conflicts and duplication of efforts. PBS is a win-win approach for flight crew and airlines.

A robust flight operations software can aid with the successful implementation of PBS at an airline. The most crucial element of the software that airlines should pay attention to is the user interface. The user interface should be intuitive to facilitate a streamlined crew bidding experience. An intuitive portal ensures seamless collection of crew bids.