Originally Posted by
Flymeaway
You guys kind of missed the point of that sentence I think. But regardless, to the OPs original post, line awards for March just came out. With about 2.5 years as an FO in COS I got a 77 hr line with 18 days off. I bid for less than I normally do though, because March’s bid package was unusually low on locals and 2-days. With another 2 day to bring it up to 87 hours (target average this month) it would have been 16 days off. I generally fly mostly locals with some 2 days and maybe one 3 day a month. 14-16 days off so about as many days off as days at work. 3-6 nights sleeping in a hotel, but that doesn’t include nights I get home after the kids are in bed. I was at about 1.5-2 years seniority before I could hold a significant number of locals, but I still can’t hold nothing but locals if that’s a deal breaker for you. Of course, whether any of this is predictive of what will happen 2 years from now is anyone’s guess. Again I hope that helps.
Thanks for all the info. It's great when someone reads and answers questions instead of just telling you whatever they want!
I've been a duty-standing SAR pilot for 12 years now, will probably do it another 4-5 years before retiring. It's rewarding, yes, but doesn't excite me like it used to. I'm also ready for something safer: it seems like good pilots fly helicopters in to the ground nearly every month, and I have several friends who are good pilots that have passed away flying. EMS is definitely a good option, and would be a great fit if I can get a base in a location I'd like to live, but from a safety perspective I'm not excited about flying a helicopter single pilot. Gulf of Mexico flying is also considered, but that's even more boring than an airline gig, and with commute days I'd be looking at 16 away / 12 home forever.