Well first of all Atlas is 17 days. Everything else depends on your base and where home is. Your first year is going to be miserable on the 747. Getting to ANC is a pain. Most of the time at the end of your schedule you can just get back on your plane and at least be in the lower 48 tax free. When you bid out of ANC to another base it's easier, again depending on where you live. Most ORD flights leave in the evening so I'm normally on a sunrise flight to ORD. Most of return flights come in during the afternoon so I just go over to the terminal and am home 6-8 hours after the brake was set.

Everyone complains about Gateway but you don't have to use it. Having jumpseated for years, knowing I have a ride is great. And the tax on a company hotel is still less than the crew rate on a dive hotel.

Obviously everyone's situation is different.