Not putting words in your mouth, but would it then be correct to say that the history of reserve at Delta has always been that it is a "junior issue", something little capital was expanded on?[/quote]


I would not say that. First reserve is not a junior issue. Reserve pilots run from almost the top of the list to the bottom. You can be on reserve at almost any stage in your career. As I mentioned lots of capital has been extended over the years on the reserve system. Compare 19 days on call with a 2 hour report 24 hours a day and you can see the improvements. Under the 01 contract pilots could manage to hardly ever work by knowing the tricks of the system. The new system is designed to do one thing and that is get each reserve pilot as close to 70 hours as possible. As you mention pilots could hide under the old system. Not very efficient from a company standpoint but great if your a pilot.
The best quality of life I have enjoyed at the airline was living in base on reserve. Most of my career I have commuted so it was not a option. The majority of complaints I hear about the reserve system come from pilots who choose to commute on reserve. Not to long ago there was a pilot in the lounge screaming about how bad the reserve system was. As he was talking I pulled his schedule. Over the 7 months I could look back and see his schedule he had average working only 8 days a month. When I pointed that out he said, yea but I have another business and don't have time to work that many days for Delta. To translate that it means he wants you to subsidize his other business and he still wants a full paycheck from Delta.