Someone on the other thread said at NJA its always reserve
NJA: if I understand correctly, get scheduled a tour, company pays for travel to/from home base, paid full while on tour, be it waiting in hotel for assignment or flying. Full pay.
121 Reserve: I won't compared with the at-least 50% of the crews who commute, stay in crash pads, wait to be called while wasting life away from family and friends waiting for a call that may never come, while on min. guarantee. That adults find it to be 'the normal' to live in crash-pads baffles me. At least the mainline and majors crews can afford to buy hotel rooms instead.
Not even comparing with airport reserve, that would be a joke.
So, one lives in base. Stays home waiting for his/her 2-hours call out. Definitely better QOL, being at home on couch binging on Netflix or flying r/c helo in the backyard and being with the kids who are not in school. But still owned by your company, bag pack, car ready, no going cycling during your reserve time, no going fishing, kayaking, etc, at home, on min guarantee. You want to go flying, you need full pay. It's not too bad but its not stress free and you don't know whether you're going or not, even if you've become a master at deciphering your PBS software.
I like certainty or whats happening with work, when am I going to work, when am I returning home and what is happening at work in the mean time, where am I sleeping tonight on tour?, I really wouldn't care since I am at work and paid.
Apples to oranges imo.