On 16th August 2024, the two-step vacation bidding process for the year 2025 has started and pilots must use the new eCrew version to place their bids.
Due to better screen display and to avoid scaling problems, we recommend doing the bidding on a computer rather than on a tablet or smartphone.
To get the best possible result, it is important to keep a few basic things in mind:
- When placing your bids, be aware of your relative seniority and avoid putting your hopes on just a few preferential bids. Always have a plan B in mind and place additional alternative bids. You can place as many bids as you like, but only a maximum of 25 vacation days will be allocated in the first bidding round.
- Naturally, the demand for vacation days is highest during popular holiday periods, which may even affect pilots with a relatively high seniority.
- Our experience has shown that separate blocks of vacation and off days have been regularly used to cover rest requirements in the past.
- Do not rely on getting your A or B days attached to your vacation block at a later stage during the monthly off day bidding. There is no guarantee to get this request awarded and it depends furthermore on slot availability and planning restrictions. However, with the newly negotiated bidding options (split & wrap) in CWA 36.20, we expect a significant improvement in the success rate.
For a better understanding of the system, we would like to mention the following:
- Vacation planning is an automated process, and the outcome is significantly influenced by how each pilot enters their bids.
- The system does neither know nor understand the motivation behind your request, it simply attempts to allocate your requested vacation days to open slots.
- Requesting vacation blocks starting only on a specific day bears the risk that your request gets discarded. Only one day without an open slot is enough that the system cancels your request completely and moves on to the next one. The system will not trim and shift the days automatically, it requires your correct input when placing the bid.
- Using the “Min Grand” option enables you to give the system the required flexibility down to your lowest (minimum) day limit within a specific period.
You can download the ALPL Vacation Calendar 2025 and 2026 from the ALPL website for your perusal.
If you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in. touch with us via cvboard@alpl.lu.
