Originally Posted by
Snapdragon
reserve coverage does not have a 50% safe harbor in place. Very senior reserve can be bitten by coverage. ESN is everyone’s friend for back up line bids forced by weird coverage months. As Scoop stated, holiday months tend to bring them out more.
EXACTLY. PBS Bidding Rule #1. Never...never...assume anything. Never "assume" that if you are senior enough to get certain days off as a Regular lineholder, then it must "naturally ensue" that you could also get those same days off as a reserve--it isn't so! ALWAYS assume that you cannot get the days off you want, both as a regular and reserve bidder, and ALWAYS have a "Prefer Off xxx Else Start Next Bid Group" preference, followed by appropriate bid groups.
I wanted Thanksgiving day off this year (Nov 23). I also wanted a reserve schedule. I tried four different reserve bid groups, and none of them worked because every reserve pilot at my seniority had Trip Coverage on Nov 23. So I was "forced" into a regular line that
did have Thanksgiving off! (I did get Trip Coveraged on the 24th, but that is okay).
"Hope for the best but plan for the worst" in terms of days off, especially in holiday months, should be embedded in our "bidding DNA."