What is the strain on family life when you are a commercial pilot?

Question

i am soon studying to be a commercial pilot, i have wanted to do this for years. but wat is the strain on family life, how often r u home to spend time with the wife and kids?

Answer 1

Very few airlines have schedules with day trips so you're home every night.

I get 3 out of 7 days a week at home.  I also work for a lousy airline with wasteful schedule practices.

Answer 2

When I was in the airlines, I averaged being home about 14 days a month, even when I was senior at the "good" airlines.  When I was junior, about 12.  This was because I commuted to work (i.e. I had to fly on a commercial flight to get to my base).  I was usually not home for more than 3 days at a time.  I typically worked 4-5 day trips, as I was a commuter.   Tack on an extra day on at least one end for commuting time, as my trips frequently started at 5am.  I also was never home on weekends and holidays.  If I was lucky, I'd get Thanksgiving off, but Christmas?  Forget about it.  Again, If I was lucky, I'd have 1 or 2 saturdays off a month.  Luckily, my wife has a job where she works on weekends.

There was a time, when I was a senior FO, that I was home every night and only worked tuesday - thursday.  That lifestyle lasted about 3 months.  Eventually that base was closed, and all those having that great life had to start commuting.

It can lead to a huge strain on family life, depending on your spouse.  I don't have kids, but my friends spouse's felt like they were single parents.  Your spouse has to be very independent.  Trust me, everything in your house is going to break when you are gone.

If family life is important to you, I strongly recommend that you have a backup career.  Still go for it, if you love to fly, but have something else to fall back on.  For me, home and famiily life grew to be much more important than me flying a jet.  That's why I left the career.

Answer 3

This is a subjective question. It really has more to do with you and your family more than anything. If you and your family can handle long periods apart and irregular scheduling, you will be fine. This holds true for any job that requires travel. Some people relish the time away, claiming that time together is better appreciated. Others feel that it is in fact too much to bear. There are so many factors that could influence the amount of time you will be away that it is impossible to determine a baseline. Some pilots and airlines fly very diffirent schedules. It is a well known fact that the industry can be difficult on families. I would encourage you to really look hard into your career options as a pilot. The airlines are not the only route and there are many other jobs for pilots that can be just as lucrative and less demanding on your family. Research, set goals and involve your family as much as possible in decisions and you will be just fine. Good luck!

Answer 4

honestly

it all depends on the airline you fly for

because if you fly for a company like southwest

you can have a flight or two a day and still be home for dinner

but on the other hand

if you fly for a company like emirates, you can be gone for as much as a week. maybe more

you might also try to go for fedex or another cargo company

because i know a guy that flies a Cessna Caravan for Fedex and he only works about 5 hours a day

So he is able to spend more time with his kids than a normal parent would.

Good luck with the studies.

May you earn your wings.

Answer 5

Rob G. has pretty much given an accurate picture of what you can expect. I will add that I have known more divorced pilots paying high alimony than just about any other group of professionals. If you have a strong and trusting relationship with your spouse, then no worries, but it isn't an easy lifestyle for many families.