Here ya go....

Is it possible as a new hire to be 4 on and 3 off during reserve?

You won't necessarily be awarded it in that order (especially being junior,) but with schedule modification after bids release, it is possible.

Captain reserve is MUCH worse due to tighter staffing. Expect am reserve day one almost always with little or no long call.

We should never make excuses for JB reserve rules. I had a good run for the most part as an FO. But I won't upgrade into reserve as a CA because I know how bad it is.

Hired October, Been shooting for that for a while and still can't get it or even one weekend off. When I usually think I'm going to pull it off because I got long call, I get a phone call at 0001 to tell me that I'm on short call at 1400 and then not fly for 5 days.

I am getting 3-4 days off in between reserve blocks....but on reserve 6 of the 8 weekend days in July. Ymmv

For those of you posting about your reserve schedules, can you mention your base and aircraft? I ask because reserve varies so much depending on what aircraft you're on and where you're based. Last fall I had 2, maybe 3 days of long call total while on reserve for the 320 in JFK. A friend of mine 2 months senior to me in BOS on the 190 routinely had that many days of long call each week. Throw in last day releases and he spent more time at home than at a crashpad. Heck, 190 guys I hear were being sent back to MCO to keep current in the sim sometimes.

Our reserve system works great if you're staffed well in your base, on your aircraft, and in your seat. If not, you'll be enjoying plenty of short call.

The reserve system needs to be fixed. The ability to bid PM and AM shifts is a good start, but we need to do better than that. No one should have to sit 18 days of short call a month unless you want to. So keep some short call pilots, but any flying above minimum daily credit should be extra on top of the monthly minimum. Add the ability to bid for a purely long call reserve schedule, with our 14 hour call out and you'll be able to live many more places than our bases while enjoying the ability to sit reserve at home. Not all of us want to or are able to afford the cost of living within the 2 hour call radius.

Upgrade times would probably increase, but if reserve were better, more senior pilots would hopefully bid it, meaning better trips for line holders and more reliable reserve coverage so we can drop and swap trips more reliably.

I know we all want Delta rates plus a dollar. I'm more concerned with scope and work rules. There are many other areas that need improvement as well, I just hope we don't fixate on pay rates and earning a quick buck, while neglecting our QOL.

My class was April 1st start. The A320 guys at jfk are getting used WAYYYY more. I'm BOS E190. 9 days of reserve so far, flown 2 hours!

Was this for 320 JFK? If and when I get through training, I'd probably be commuting one leg to rsv from a Blue city, and the closest base for me would be JFK. Would 190 JFK be easier on my family than 320 JFK?

I was on reserve on the 190 down in MCO as an FO all of last year. I flew less than 100 hours the whole year. Got the "you're gonna dequal" e-mail three times, but I never had to go to the sim. Got close, though. Month of October, I flew FIFTY MINUTES. The limo to TPA was longer than the TPA-MCO ferry flight.

Now, I'm on reserve on the 320 in MCO as an FO. I'd probably still be under 60 hours at this point if it weren't for needing 100 hours after training. Take away red eyes, and I would have flown maybe 4 times this year. I did a red eye last weekend because I needed the day on Saturday free, so I bid for it and got it. Other than that, I haven't touched a plane this month. I'm on day 3 of RSV today, and I'm already toast. Released for tomorrow. I'd say it's about equal in both fleets in MCO for FOs with the greater likelihood of being called on the 320 by just a bit. Nice thing is we have a lot of FLiCA stalkers here. There was a trip on Sat I KNEW I was gonna get, but someone else apparently picked it up as it wasn't assigned to me or any other reserve.

Although, a quick PSA for everyone. DON'T forget to bid. I did that for July and thought "Eh, I'm junior and don't need specific days off that month. I'll wind up with reserve anyway." WRONG. 71 hour line with 13 days off. WAY worse than reserve. Gone half the month (I count 4 red eyes as being "gone" even though I'll be sleeping in my own bed during the day), and it credits less with fewer days off since I would have gotten PRL days on reserve. Worse, I had to pick up a red eye just to hit reserve credit. Lesson learned.....