Quote:
Originally Posted by Melissa2832
Hi everyone!
I had a couple of questions for Delta pilots:
1. What is a typical schedule like? (Days off/on)
2. Is it possible to have a family life? If I would end up at Delta (and was able to get DTW), my family would be living very close to me. Do you think it's possible to have a happy marriage with kids if we lived near our parents? Anyone have any advice on this?
3. Is it common to miss Christmases and Thanksgivings?
Thank you!
Melissa,
The most important thing about working at an airline as big as DAL including United and American is the "variety of options."
There really is nothing "typical" about anything.
My schedule for November is three 4-day trips working a total of 12 days. Others may work ten 1-day trips and not spend a single night in a hotel. An international pilot may work one single trip from 9-12 days straight while a reserve international Pilot may not be called at all and not fly once all month.
There is a huge difference between flying a wide-body internationally and flying a narrow-body domestically. There is also a huge, perhaps even bigger, between being junior in category and senior.
All of this variety equals options for any DAL Pilot. As long as there is movement you will have a lot of control of your quality of life. If you get hired at the beginning of a hiring boom and bid for quality of life you may never have to work a Christmas or Thanksgiving. If you get hired at the end of a cycle and/or bid for $$$$ and quick upgrades you may work every holiday for years in a row.
As to being happy, that probably depends more on you and your outlook on life then Delta. I work with plenty of people that are very happy and a very few that never seem to be happy - I seriously doubt an occupational change would greatly affect most of them one way or another.
Good Luck!
Scoop