Originally Posted by
hummingbear
Historically at UAL we’ve treated RSV as a necessary evil to be bid away from at the first opportunity rather than a very effective money making game. Comparisons like this underscore that point. No RSV day off pickups at UAL. Closest thing we have is called a VDO which is like trading off days for RSV days. It can pay well but it’s at the company’s discretion & they really don’t like doing it so it’s pretty unreliable.
Some contractual improvements coming in August will make it a little easier for RSVs to bump up their pay, but in general to make a big paycheck on RSV you have to work a lot.
Something else United pilots didn't want or don't care for, and that is the ability to trade between line holders and reserves. Southwest pilots can trade between line holders and reserves. It helps junior commuters and those who live in base who may be senior but may want to stay home. One can pick up reserve blocks from open time as well regardless if you're a line holder or reserve. I've made a killing doing this during COVID and MAX grounding when people were picking up everything at straight.
Lots and lots of ways to play the game at Southwest and inflate your check - it's not just limited to high season and holiday flying or getting lucky to get paired up with a check airman.
Some senior people here have caught on to the concept and our RCO has some pretty senior people on reserve and with some changes to our contract, it just may make reserve more attractive because the company can no longer split up or export a trip if there are legal premium bidders in base.