Originally Posted by
e6bpilot
There's a lot of guys that have BTDT at SWA who don't ever want to go back to doing that. I started doing it in my late 20s and it was awesome. Then I went back and did it in my late 30s and early 40s and it was god awful. Flipping your clock and flying more than 3 time zones is way worse on your body than what we do. I hope I never have to do it again. I have seen the sun set and sun rise on the same flight more times than I can count.
Say what you will about our schedules, we don't fly traditional red eyes and if you really want to avoid a certain hour of the day, 90 percent of us can bid schedules that avoid it. There are the 10 percent locked into AM or PM reserve against their will, but the way things are going right now, that won't last long.
I do agree that they are really stretching the day out in the name of profits, but if you are really and truly fatigued, the solution is one phone call away. It's only business.
Just for the record, it isn't like we're crushing ourselves at UAL changing time zones like a ACMI pilot can. If you can manage the sleep it's not all that bad, especially the short layovers. If you're lucky you can hit only 3 3-day trips aka 6 legs a month and be done, at least from the midland bases. The EWR guys/gals don't have as efficient stuff going to western Europe as much and have a few more crossings. I hear theres a reason the junior line holders see more LHR than they care to admit.