Originally Posted by FTv3

If you search posts by me (to include FTv2 and FTFF) I’ve put out examples of these kinds of lines. Sorry, I don’t remember when/where. Consistent 4 on 3 off doesn’t exist here unless you are looking at turns (locals, out and backs). We have week on off that can turn into 5 on 9 off if you can get the ones that go to your hometown which also have double deadheads. Otw it’s more like 6 on 8 off with a favorable commute scheme. There are a few lines here that go M-F, 3 out of the 4 weeks in a pay period (1 week is completely off). Turn lines are like this and generally only work 3/4 weeks.

The base trips/base lines are what you are referring to as choppy. For these you are looking at UPS owning you for some combination of 14 (up to 16)/28 days. There is no weekly consistency or any pattern, just a bunch of pairings of different lengths thrown together in various combinations. For commuters these tend to be unfavorable as there are often only 24-48 hrs off between pairings which means you can easily be stuck in SDF with insufficient time to commute back and forth, depending on where you live, thus giving up days off. If you are persistent you can trade around, drop pairings, etc., and generally improve the line, occasionally even to something really good. Ymmv. But I’m not entirely sure if these lines always go junior. I’ve seen reserve go to the bottom more than a few times but note that there are options (with varying degrees of success) to get a RMUL or reserve move up line. Otherwise, reserve is always in some sort of commutable block, usually a 2 week on off format. VTOs tend to trickle down as well so once you get a bit of seniority these can be a handy escape away from the base trips. Your best bet is to get your hands on a bid package...