DTW 900 FO
I'm middle of the pack on reserve. I've been able to hold weekends off this month. As a commuter I prefer longer work periods which allow more consecutive days off.
As stated previously, reserves (and the most junior lines) are given min days off of 11. My original schedule for Feb was basically M-F with Saturday/Sunday off with a couple weekends having 3 days off.
We're allowed to drop reserve days depending on real-time staffing. So if an open trip is picked up or a new hire hits the line early our numbers change. I've managed to drop 3-4 days a month. January I had a 4 on/4 off schedule that gave me 18-19 nights at home (including an overnight at home). For February I've managed to drop a few days so I've got 3/4 day weekends.
The downside is that a drop will count against your min guarantee. For January I credited 66 hours and February will be something similar. I'd rather have the time off frankly.
Actually I've been able to drop so easily to improve my schedule that the junior lines look pretty unattractive to me as a commuter. They usually start way early and end late with only 2/3 days off between which results in several days off burned with commuting. I'm contemplating of staying on reserve a couple months extra until I can hold better lines (about 5-10 lines more senior). Depends on how well I can drop during the summer.