Why APBS?
APBS (Advanced Preferential Bidding System): the most advanced, flagship system for maximum crew satisfaction & operational efficiency.
This state-of-the-art solution optimizes schedules by balancing crew preferences and operational goals—ensuring both maximum crew satisfaction and airline efficiency. Unlike traditional bidding systems that employ short-cuts or heuristics, APBS uses global optimization to holistically evaluate all bids, generating and evaluating billions of legal schedule variations before selecting an optimal one.
For each crew member, APBS considers pre-assigned duties, leaves, and vacations, constructing a custom-made schedule around existing constraints that honors the preferences bid. In this way, it avoids many of the pitfalls associated with bid line systems, which require modifications for feasibility. This flexibility not only allows each crew member to bid for their specific pairing and line preferences, but it also improves efficiency at the global level by reducing the need for manual intervention or trip trading.
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APBS uniquely allows pilots to bid for both lines and reserves simultaneously, eliminating the need for pre-selection. This adaptability ensures that crew members receive the best possible schedules while airlines maintain their desired operational readiness. Planners have full control over reserve targets, minimum coverage thresholds, holiday priority, and daily staffing needs, ensuring operational robustness while respecting crew preferences to the extent possible.
To enhance transparency and trust, APBS includes a Reasons Report, which provides visibility into why particular pairings were not awarded. Crew members can understand whether a pairing was excluded due to legality constraints, seniority limitations, insufficient coverage, or other operational factors, gaining actionable insights to refine their bidding strategies.
A fully web-based interface enables crew members to submit preferences and adjust bids from anywhere, ensuring a seamless, transparent, and accessible bidding process. Designed for interoperability with most major crew management systems, APBS integrates into any airline’s workflow.
Summary of APBS
Balances Crew Quality of Life with Operational Needs – Crew members can place highly expressive bids, and planners can specify reserve targets, open time coverage, and holiday priorities.
True Global Optimization – Evaluates billions of possible schedules to find the best outcome, not limited by stacking or backtracking heuristics. AOS global optimization technology honors strict seniority without sacrificing the quality of junior pilot awards.
Web-Based & Accessible – Crew members can submit, modify, and track bids from any device, increasing usability and engagement.
Seamless Integration – Works with existing airline scheduling systems or via custom-built APIs to fit unique requirements.
APBS is the only preferential bidding system that offers this level of flexibility, fairness, and transparency at unprecedented scale, empowering airlines to meet efficiency goals without sacrificing crew members’ work-life balance.
It’s all about quality of life and finding a happy balance between work and friends and family.
Why ACOS?
ACOS (Automated Crew Optimization System): optimized pairing generation at scale.
This state-of-the-art solution optimizes schedules by balancing crew preferences and operational goals—ensuring both maximum crew satisfaction and airline efficiency. Unlike traditional bidding systems that employ short-cuts or heuristics, APBS uses global optimization to holistically evaluate all bids, generating and evaluating billions of legal schedule variations before selecting an optimal one.
With its advanced algorithms, ACOS solves domestic, international, and augmented crew problems efficiently—eliminating manual effort and ensuring operational robustness. Customization to fit proprietary workflows enables quick integration with airline scheduling systems.
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Summary of ACOS
Cost-Optimized Pairings – Reduces deadheads, layover costs, and overall crew expenses.
Regulatory Compliance – Ensures adherence to government, union, and company policies.
Seamless Integration – Works with existing airline scheduling platforms or via custom-made interfaces.
Rapid Adaptability – Quickly adjusts to last-minute scheduling changes.
Proven Reliability – Decades of industry use, continuously refined for modern airline challenges.
Why BOSS?
BOSS (Bid Line Optimization Software System): automated bid line generation.
AOS bid line optimization software utilizes a rule-driven, globally-optimized approach to constructing structured bid lines that balance crew preferences, cost efficiency, and operational needs.
Planners gain comprehensive control over line characteristics—adjusting cadence, pairing types, report times, and off-day distributions—while ensuring desired levels of pairing coverage.
BOSS offers an intuitive graphical line editor, allowing planners to manually adjust, swap, or fine-tune bid lines with real-time legality checks. Custom interoperability enables easy incorporation into downstream processes.
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Summary of BOSS
High-Quality Line Solutions – Optimizes options for work-life balance with an assortment of line properties covering all pairings.
Powerful Automation & Control – Users define rules, and BOSS automatically builds optimized bid lines.
Graphical Line Editor – Enables manual fine-tuning, swaps, and adjustments with real-time legality checks.
Customizable & Scalable – Works with existing pairing solutions or via custom-built integrations.
Flexible & Planner-Driven – Offers a balance of automation and human oversight.