Originally Posted by
hellorod
Been hoping someone asks someone along these línes... I want to add to the question.
On reserve how much flexibility do you have on your schedule?
Can you bid when your reserve blocks are?
Are there morning, mid day or night RAPs? Can you choose preference?
Can you do less than blocks of 6 days on?
Can you get more than 4 days off in row?
Can you pick up open time?
The answer to most of these questions with PBS bidding is yes you can bid for those.
No you cannot pick up open time on Reserve or Off days, only premium trips and only if scheduling offers them to you.
Are you straight reserve till you get a line or do you get consolidation lines every couple of months?
Depending on the time of the month you finish OE, you will get 1-1.5 months as a line holder (build up line). This is less about consolidation and more because you are not eligible to bid with the other first officers until OE is done. During that time you can add drop swap etc as a full line holder, but once you are eligible to bid you will almost assuredly be back on reserve.
There is no consolidation line “every couple months”