Delta used to (maybe still does) offer part-time work, but not to pilots. Almost all ground employees were initially hired as "temporary/part-time", getting low wages and no benefits. They worked a little or a lot, depending on the company's needs. Some liked it, but most longed to become full- timers. A limited number of senior F/As could go on "auxiliary" status, flying about half the normal schedule, and I think they kept their benefits, but no one was initially hired to be an auxiliary. I think the "fixed costs" of training, medical coverage, and pensions (if applicable), would deter airlines from hiring pilots as part-timers unless they were willing to accept minimum wage and sit permanent short-call reserve. Then you have the seniority issue, even at non-union carriers. Full-timers would resent having a part-timer snatch up a good trip that they wanted for themselves. It could become a "B-scale" in spades, with "hobbyists" who don't need the money driving wages down to the level which, as a family man, you rightly abhor.