Pilot's time off?

Question

Do you feel that the time off as an airline pilot is more quality than the time you would get after work at a 9-5 office job (which is never 9-5) ???

Answer 1

Depending on what airline you work for and your senority, Diffrent pilots have diffrent scheduals. Alot of senior pilots do work 9-5's.

Answer 2

I spent 5 years as a regional airline pilot (4 as captain) and now I fly corporate. No time flying for a major. I have to give you a mixed answer because it very much depends on your schedule. As a new FO with the airline I had a horrible schedule, and the same happened as a new Captain. The junior guys get what's left after everyone else who is senior  has bid.  I also had to commute (jumpseat) to get to work, and that can eat a lot of your time off, so as a junior guy, the answer is no, I didn't get any quality time off and it was worse than a regular job. As a 4th year captain, I'd have to say it was better, but not great; again because of the commute time involved. Even with a 4- on, 4-off schedule, at least two half-days were eaten up in commuting (sometimes more), so it averaged about the same as a normal weekend with a 9-5 job, which I had spent 7 years doing before becoming a professional pilot. Now, as a corporate pilot, I'm home a lot more, but the down side is being on call 24/7 with a 12-hour call-up time. When I do get the call, I could be on the road for 1 day or 10; I usually never know much in advance. That means I have to stick pretty close to home all the time except for the two weeks annual vacation and the occasional holiday I get.  Since I consider being able to travel part of having "quaity time" off, this isn't an ideal job either, although I do get a lot more family time at home, which is very important at this stage of my life.

Answer 3

Didn't you already ask this question?  Were the answers not adequate?