Originally Posted by
858flyer
APC Members,
I am looking for insights and experiences of airline pilots who also have a family. I know the airline business is 365/24/7, so holidays, birthdays, special events etc. will be moved or missed, especially as a junior pilot. I am considering a career switch to flying for the airlines, and family life is probably one of my biggest concerns aside from job security.
I am 29, have a bachelor's degree in Marine Engineering and have been working in a cubicle for the past 7 years. It has allowed me to buy a house in San Diego, save a lot of money and be home almost every night, however, I am completely apathetic about what I do at work. I started taking flying lessons for fun and I am currently working on XC's, so PPL isn't that far away. I have heard from a number of sources that regionals are hiring again and I am wondering if it's worth the investment to make the switch. I know the first years are going to be tough financially, however my wife is a well paid ICU RN and I have enough saved to get myself through most of the ratings. I would continue to work and fly on the side through a Part 61 school.
My biggest concern would be that once I land a job with a regional airline, I would be gone all the time. How many days in a row should I expect to be gone as a new FO with a regional? Does it get any better with seniority? Is it possible to have a family life and work as a Regional/Major airline? Ultimately, I wonder if it's worth trading time with family to have a job that I enjoy.
You can expect to be gone from home for up to six days at a time when on reserve. 2 to 5 days or so as line holder depending on the month. Starting out you will work most weekends, all the holidays. My airline has a minimum of 11 days off a month for reserves. As a line holder I normally see 13 to 16 days off a month. but the rest you can plan on being gone, and if you have to commute you can plan of having to commute on days off much of the month.
Vacations are bid by seniority so expect several years of jan thru mar vacations.
Airlines don't care who you are, you are a number in the computer. they don't care whos birthday it is who's kid has a soccer game, who has an anniversary etc. You are paid to move airplanes when they need them moved. Nothing else.
You will fly all night some months and all day others. You will be sleeping when the family is awake, or home when the family is gone to school and work a lot.
Now having said all that if you have the right woman it can be a great career. In over 2 decades of airline flying my wife and I have seen ups and downs but she understands. Many cannot deal with it and divorce rates for airline pilots are pretty high. If your wife gets upset if you are late from work one night or if you have to work on a day that you thought you had off...don't bother with the airline career, it will only end up bad for your marriage.
Your wife needs to be the type that can call a plumber or an air conditioning repair man or get a car towed by herself, because after all these years one thing I can tell you is that you are always 12 states away anytime something breaks at home....never fails. Kid is puking his guts up....you on opposite coast, kid breaks arm...you are in a hotel etc etc. You can expect to have to commute also. I had to commute for roughly 10 years all total. Not all in one streak, but you can expect to get forcibly pushed from base to base at times. Commuting is the single biggest stress in the industry to me. During AME visits my blood pressure has consistently run higher during the commuter periods than it does when I am not commuting.
If the family can handle all that and make it through the early lean years it can be great, good money, good time off as long as it does not have to be holidays etc. You hardly ever see your boss. I have been in the same base for about 10 years and my chief pilot recognizes my face as one of his pilots but he would not be able to put a name with it without looking at my I.D. But then again there are over 1000 pilots in this one domicile. Regionals can be decent but you really don't get to the good stuff till you make it to a major.
One really nice thing is this, airline pilot is probably the only well paid job out there that you do not take home with you. When you climb off the jet you are done. Home is home. No paperwork, no getting numbers together for tomorrows meeting etc. Home work events are limited to getting a fresh medical every six months and the occasional studying for your recurrent training or for a new airplane.