Not sure what equipment your buddy is on, but that's not normal on the Airways side*. Of course, we have PBS coming so who the heck knows how it'll all shake out. To your point though - our pay rates are absolutely masking some pretty crappy work rules. Hopefully you guys can find some middle ground.

*I just picked a random base/equipment pair: the March lines for DCA 320 guys average 16.5 days off and 78 hours. I'm a 190 guy in PHL, and our March average is 15.9 days off and 80 hours.