lesson learned for all on RSV... don't answer the phone until after midnight on your last day off. If you answer earlier your fault if you get hosed.

Its easy. You get enough seniority to where you can hold a line and then you realize you can hold the next highest paying seat, but you'll be on reserve, so you bid it hoping to get a line soon. Then when you can hold a line, you immediately bid up to the next highest paying seat, even though you will be on reserve again.

Its sort of like that meme going around Facebook that says "I want six-pack abs, but I also want tacos."

Congratulations. You and svergin have been able to enjoy a somewhat charmed life here at UA.

I've been bumped, quite "against my will" on three different occasions here at UA. And all three times I ended up on reserve during a period when no other bids were available because the airline was shrinking. When you get bumped and shrinkage puts you on bottom, there's nowhere else to go. On top of that, on two other occasions (as a new hire and then again when returning from furlough) I had but one option, either enjoy my time on reserve, or not fly for United. I took the only obvious choice that I had. My experience is not unique.

b52 and sverin seem to get this . OM, warmer, warmer. it still is not about whether rsv is by choice or not. of course sometimes it's forced on folks. it's about how much better the voters want to make sitting reserve at the expense of those holding a line.
three thoughts:
if the union and co make reserve too much better, (even more) senior folk will bid rsv and juniors will get on the forum and continue to whine - about their shoddy lines. trust me. rsv is almost that good now. i fly with a lot of ppl who bid rsv on purpose, fly 1/2 what i fly, and get a full paycheck every month.
two. maybe what the forum complainers really want is to do away with seniority-based bidding and just spread reserve around equally (like the stews have done in the past) if so, at least just say so. my gad, at least Bernie talked of spreading it around straight to our faces.
and three. going on a forum and complaining about the reserve system is whining. that's definitional

ok. OM u can restate that rsv isnt always a choice and Dave u can restate that it would cost almost nothing to have the co make reserve better. but if i don't respond (again) just see many previous posts 🙄

Five glorious forced surpluses for me. I never got furloughed but I got close and spent a long time in the bottom of the list. There are certain seniority groups at this airline who got to eat some major manure sandwiches for a good amount of time. And apparently some people didn't realize what was going on with the unwashed masses below them.

Collective bargaining. When times are good, and we have record profits, I certainly do not expect to give up something every time we get something we want at the negotiating table. Why in the world would we give stuff for improvements in reserve, in good times?

Granted, things may change before we open, but for now, I don't want to give up anything. I gave enough during bankruptcy as did we all. In fact, we still have a ways to go to get back to what we had. Concessions? No way. Yes, I want my cake and eat it too.

Yup... some surplused right into the unemployment line... twice to boot.