Originally Posted by
sandstorm
Well then, you are in the minority. Keep in mind though that this is a job and our careers, not your personal vacation or sightseeing trip. No one else in the industry works as much as we do. I sat on the jumpseat on UA a couple days ago and the senior FO was saying that he didn't want to bid to one of the widebody's (I forgot which fleet), because they do long 10 day trips (or used to). I thought is eyes were going to pop out when I told him a 10 day trip is on the short end for me.
If you like being gone for more than 17 days, that's up to you. However, any one of us that is gone that much deserves to be paid for it then. Me on the other hand.... I work to live, not live to work.
The general consensus in my class would indicate that you are the one in the minority. Out of 24, about 18 of us prefer to go out in one block, then have a big chunk of time off. Granted, we'd all rather work fewer days per month, but personally I'd rather work them all at once instead of a typical junior schedule at a legacy.
I don't live in a base for any airline I want to work for. That means commuting. That turns 4 day trips(or reserve) into 5 day trips. 2-3 days off and then repeat. Plus the stress of commuting. No thanks.
That being said....if our new contract doesn't measure up to what we deserve for the schedule and flying we do, I won't hesitate to go elsewhere...but I'm going to give it a go at Atlas and fight for what we deserve.
Respectfully,
A newbie 747 FO