Reserve and standby stories: the call that ruined the plan, and the call that made the year
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#1 My username is on the tin. Three years of reserve at a New York base and I have collected the stories, mine and other people's, and they fall into two piles: the call that ruined something, and the call that turned out to be the best trip of the year. Post yours, both kinds, because new crew only hear about the first pile.
Ruined
My sister's engagement dinner. Called at 4pm for a 7pm departure to Lisbon. I was in the restaurant car park. I went to Lisbon. My sister has forgiven me. Her fiancé still brings it up.
A friend's version: called on Christmas Eve at 11pm for a 6am. She had a house full of family and a turkey defrosting. The turkey was cooked by her brother and was, reportedly, fine.
Made the year
Called at 6am on a Tuesday with no plans and given a four day São Paulo trip that I would never have held on a line. Best layover of my career, a crew I still talk to, and I would have been at home doing laundry.
A colleague's: called for a one day turn that got extended into a three day Paris because of a crew shortage. She took it as a sign and now bids Paris.
The rules I have learned
Never plan anything that cannot be cancelled by text. Keep the bag packed with the good stuff in it. Treat every uncalled day as a gift, not a wasted one. And keep a list of the good calls, because on the day the bad one comes you need to remember the São Paulo.
Your stories, both piles.
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#2 Same username problem, same base type. Ruined: my own birthday, called at noon for a red eye. Made the year: a Honolulu trip on a February Tuesday that I still think about. The list of good calls is a real thing and I keep it in my notes app.
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#3 Ruined: a dentist appointment I had waited two months for. That sounds small until you have waited two months. Made the year: a Rome with a 48 hour layover in May, called at 5am, when I was going to spend the day cleaning.
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#4 Wizz standby is a different flavour: called at 4am for a 6am Manchester. Ruined nothing because I had learned to plan nothing. Made the year: never, honestly, our standby calls are all Manchester and Luton. But the uncalled days in summer were a gift.
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#5 Not on standby yet, in training, and the 'nothing that cannot be cancelled by text' rule is going in the notes for month one.
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#6 @connordub it will save you a friendship, minimum.
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#7 Eight years and I bid reserve some months now, on purpose, for the good pile. The São Paulo story is every reserve crew member's story. The best trips of my career were the ones I did not choose.