Originally Posted by Spicy McHaggis

I don't work for either SWA or AA/US, but I do fly widebody international trips for another airline. I have to say for me while I love flying airplanes, at this point in the game it's about how much you can make for how little you have to work to make it. With the efficiency of international long haul flying, it's hard to be the pay and QOL on something like the 777.

I was curious about how many days I've worked this year so far (ending with the October bid period). Now, this includes sick calls and sitting a couple of the months on reserve where I never flew (another benefit of the widebody flying, there is no open time.. reserves don't get used very much). To say living in domicile makes reserve easy to swallow is understatement. The sick calls would probably add another 12 days or so to the following total.

Through Oct I've worked 82 days. Averaged 8.2 days a month of work. Anywhere from 76hrs of pay on reserve to well above that as a line holder.

Now is this normal? Maybe not, but it is a real world example of what it's can be like flying international long haul. For the foreseeable future it's an option that doesn't exist at one of the airlines in question.

I'm just glad I get to have as much time at home with my family, raising two toddlers. Busting ass in the 737 where the show times are early and the end times are late wouldn't give me the time off that I have yanking gear in the widebody.