What benefit do you personally get from calling out sick before the flight? None, maybe besides feeling like you're being a good guy helping out the operation. The desire for that feeling will wear off quickly.

What negative do you get from calling out sick before the flight? You're putting it on record that you're sick and then going and flying an airplane. The company isn't going to beat you up over it because they're getting what they want - the flight completed. But if something goes wrong, even if it has nothing to do with being sick... like say you bust a crossing restriction and end up talking to the FAA about it... you can bet the farm that you're going to wish you never mentioned being sick. That crossing restriction issue is going to be a slight afterthought compared to what the FAA might do to you for flying while impaired by illness.


Call out sick when you are sick. Don't say anything about being sick when you're good enough to still fly. Do yourself a favor and watch out for yourself first, you're the only one who will. Doing the company favors isn't going to get you anywhere. Delays, calling out reserves, crewmember changes, scheduled changes, and sick calls are a part of running an airline.

Your job is to be fit for duty when you fly and remove yourself from duty when you're not. The same goes for fatigue calls. Never say "I'm going to be too fatigued to fly the second half of my day" when you still plan on operating flights between now and then.