At Air Canada Jazz we had a bit of a surplus of pilots a few months back. The company offered "special LOAs" and reduced flying blocks (you get blocked at 35-40hrs, as opposed to 75-77) to alleviate any furloughs. Lots of people took advantage of them. Some junior pilots (6-8 months in the company) took the SLOA and went back-packing through europe, stayed at home with the newborn, etc. The reduced flying blocks was great for pilots with part-time jobs or businesses or pilots with rich spouses who dont want to work. So far this has been working well and pilots of all seniority levels have been taking advantage of it.