If the weekends are that important, then keep bidding the reserve. Because more than likely as a bottom relief line holder it's going to be working weekends. Wait till you are a little closer to the top of the pile of relief line holders. You are more likely to get what you want. Key word being likely.

Relief requets are just that, requests. There is nothing in the contract that says they have to honor anything you ask for or use any kind of senority based method for who gets what.

Sometimes a "senior" relief line holder can do better than a junior hard line holder. The only benefit of the hardline is the ILIW. But good lluck shiftintg your days off around. You might be able to get a few, but not rearrange your enitire line. In the relief requests box, just keep it simple. Something like "4 day trips, weekends off" or day trips, 2 days back to back, ect.

One guy told me that when he was the number 1 or number 2 relief line holder, he would look in the open time and just request which trips he wanted to fly. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.