We might fly something besides a 737 but it wont have Marley on the tail....And it wont say Alaskan on it anywhere....

 

I agree about the time off/money equation. That's why I fly international. The long legs cram more flight time (and pay) into fewer days away from home and you spend less time sitting around the airport waiting, not being paid.

I don't particularly enjoy sitting in a tube for 17+ hours per leg, but that one 17 hour leg would take 3 days of flying domestic. The other leg was 14:30. That's 31:30 flight pay, in two legs, I slept for half of that, and only 58 hours away from base.

Oh, and when they fed us for the third time on that 17 hour leg, I wasn't even hungry. I only ate the French toast because I know there are children starving in MD88's all over America! .

As Sailing said, I raised my fork and 'toasted',

"Here's to YOU Mr. Mad Dog Driver!".

 

And they gave you the "One Finger Salute" as you taxied in while they were outbound on leg 5 of day 4 of a 5 day on the way to an 11 hour layover in OMA.

 

Probably! But hey, somebody has to do it. I did that 4,5,6 leg a day stuff for 20 years, on the 727, MD88 and 757, that's why I bid international.

My two F/O's on the last trip were both former 767 International Captains, but once their category got merged with the domestic flying, all they could hold were the domestic trips, so they bailed out for being senior copilot's on the 777 instead.

 

SF, a couple of points:
- Are you asserting that you are NOT crazy?
- Sure there is ... Enjoying a home cooked meal drinking a toast with your, I mean my, wife!

 

That's great that long haul flying doesn't bother you too much and I mean it without any sarcasm. Some people (if any) can handle multiple time zone changes and eventually, it leads to accelerated aging. Regardless of how efficient the ACM is on your aircraft, breathing 17 hours of recycled air is not good for anyone. I flew long haul in my 20's and I was a zombie for days after a trip. Days off didn't much matter; it was more like days recuperating. Perhaps, you are different. To each his own, I guess.
I'll fly my entry level narrow body 737 until I retire. I'm fine with that. I lost my ego long ago so I'm happy with my lot in life. btw, I rarely fly more than 2 legs a day.

 

Go back and reread the first sentence of my second paragraph.

Nobody I've flown with (and I've been doing 4 pilot 15-18hr. trips for 12 years, as both MD11 F/O and 777 Capt.) "likes" flying those long legs. What they Like is all the time off it generates, because it is the most efficient way to fill up your month, more days off at home, to sail, I mean recover.

I waste very little time sitting around airports waiting on a late airplane, like I did on Domestic. The flip side is, I get very few landings, one a month, if that, and that's what we all like to do the most, right?

I feel pretty good after I come home from a trip, but only because we have a very nice rest facility on the 777, away from the cabin, where you can actually get some real sleep. It's dark, it's quiet, and it's horizontal.

When I was on the 767 ER going to Europe, trying to sleep in the cabin, with the bright lights on, next to a passenger who would hit my seat buttons instead of his, or snore, or poke me in the ribs with his elbow, and the F/A's would bump into me with the carts, and drop dishes, and make PA's, I too felt like crap for a day or two after every trip. I wasn't getting anywhere near the rest I get now.

 

I dont get it, everyone that has flown domestic regional (ie 737 flying and then flown International to Europe or Asia, has said the same thing. " international is by far better than domestic in an over packed under powered 737" hell domestic in a 757 is like international to a 737. I just dont put any faith in guys flying regional 737's that say International is not their thing when they have absolutley no clue. But i get it. When there is no scope at the bottom and only hostile AMR and DL that will keep 737 pilots, just that for a very longtime, one has to look at life with optimism. I dont blame any AS pilot for seeing things they way they do.

 

Be that as it may.....none of this rhetoric actually makes your schlong any larger.

 

I don't get it either. No dog in this fight but I find it funny that unless you've flown internationally with DL or whoever, people's opinion of international flying is unwarranted. Just let it lie that not everyone has a desire to do such things. I've flown thousands of hours over the pond and don't miss it whatsoever. So yes, I have a "clue" on what it's all about. Does that make my opinion on the matter any more valid? Of course not. I'm pleased that some prefer to do things that plenty view as unfavorable. To each is their own. Why people are so hell bent to convince people that THEIR choice of flying is better than someone else's is beyond me. Carry on..