Days off is a poor metric to use at Emirates. Every time I see this question I look at a bunch of friend's rosters and am never able to come up with an average. Why?, because in any given month a guy might have vacation, reserve, etc. The other major problem is definition. What is the definition of a "day off". At Emirates there are also "rest days" and "ULR standby". There are basically two types of rest days. One is where you have a flight that starts at approximately 0200 the next day. The day prior is a "rest day". Another is where you return to Dubai anytime after 11:30pm in the evening. The next day is a "rest day". Some are better than others, but usually you'd be home no later than 2am. ULR standby days are a day of reserve where you can only be used for another ultra long haul pairing. 99 percent of the time it's just a day off in Dubai before your scheduled ULR pairing the next day.

So when looking at a roster I might see only two "days off" in a row, but what might be there is a rest day prior and a rest day after. Not really 4 days off, but definitely more than 2. Get the point?

When you talk about "check airman", we use the term instructor or TRI/TRE. I'm a TRE and it's true my days off are usually less than a line pilot. However, I am home in my own bed for about all but 3-5 nights per month. My normal schedule these days is ten sim duties per month and five days of flying. That sounds like 15 days off per month, but remember the rest days reduce it to 12-13.

The better question to ask any friends at EK is, "how many days/nights are you at home per month?". Or, "how many duty periods do you have in an average month?".

Oh, and remember the different fleets vary greatly for the above two questions.



Typhoonpilot