I would add that there are ways to get off work such as an unpaid LOA but the company is not a fan of this. A few years ago we had a pilot on probation, that due to young children, he had to take time off multiple times. At the end of his probation, the company decided to either let him go or continue his probation another year. Right or wrong, that first year on probationary they are watching you and if they feel you are not a good fit, will terminate you. So much so that the union advises that the PIC should call in fatigue only and never let a SIC make the call if on probation. As we have very rigid schedules and because you are a new hire with no PTO days at first, it is very hard to get time off.
The positive with a PTO bank is that it is now very easy to take PTO as most pilots want to work holidays because of the pay. I just did a PTO over the 4th of July weekend. The company opened up PTO as it was easier to do this then to have pilots call in sick.
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