January of 2012 was the month I got my first line and was off reserve! This meant I knew where I would be and when and it felt great to be able to walk away from my phone. Being on reserve essentially means being on call from 6am to 10pm and scheduling can call you anytime during that time and expect you to be at the airport within 2 hours. Sometimes they send you away for a 4 day trip, sometimes it's just an out and back and you're back home within a few hours.
The first schedule I had and try to have up to this date is called a highspeed line. I like to describe it as the third shift in the aviation world. I work the last flight out at night that usually departs around 9 or 10pm and bring it back first thing in the morning on the 5:30 or 6 am departure. We're considered on duty this entire time since we don't get legal rest overnight (usually 4 or 5 hrs of sleep) and once we arrive back at the DTW in the morning we are released from duty to get our required rest during the day. It's not for everyone, but it's the schedule I prefer for various reasons. Below is what a typical month would look like with a highspeed line. You can see for the most part you get weekends free and quite a bit of time off! As a flight attendant who has only been working a few months at this point, weekends off are rare and usually take years to get! This also gave me enough flexibility to find some time to sneak off on my very first trip with my parents using our newly acquired flight benefits.
