Originally Posted by highfarfast

OK, here's the worst case scenario math.

We're looking at 19 hours on leave vs 75 hours on reserve. So a difference of 56 hours. If you are on the lowest pay step in the company, that be $50.71. That 56 hour difference equates to $2,839.76. Assuming needing hotels and they cost $100 per night (they'd be cheaper), you could get 28 hotel rooms before the leave paid better. Wort case scenario, you need 20 hotel stays, 4 of which the company pays for so 16 hotels that you pay for. So, back to using $100 for the cost of a hotel room ($1600), you'd come out $1,239.76 ahead by skipping the leave and doing reserve. And this is a worst case scenario where you never are able to proffer out of first day AM raps and are never able to get assigned to an overnight. Of course, if you're on a higher pay step, this tilts even farther away from taking the leave. A CA on step 3 small jet pay would be $2,908.56 in the positive. A CA on step 5 big jet pay would be $3,590.08 in the positive.

But that's only money angle, some will say the difference isn't worth the time away from home/family but no one can calculate the value of that to an individual. And some will have other means of making money while on leave that may exceed what they'd get if they stuck out reserve. I'm not really arguing against those things. Just pointing out the money difference.