Do pilots have days off?

Typical Commercial Pilot Schedule - Fixed Pattern Rosters This could be five days at work, followed by four days off and repeated. Or it could be six days on, five days off, five days on, and four days off etc. Short haul pilots are more likely to have these roster patterns.



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We average 11-14 days off per month and most pilots will fly several weekends and most holidays unless you are senior. This usually means four 4-day trips (for me) with 2-4 days off between trips. Some senior pilots can get weekends off and choose to only fly 60-70 hours with 16-17 days off.

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Like anyone else, pilots might take extended time off work for family, vacation, illness, or other personal reasons. The length of time allowed away from work depends on the contract between the pilot's union and the airline.

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A pilot's workweek can be varied. It all depends on how a pilot's rest period or days off fall. For example, a pilot might work five or six days one week, followed by only working one or two days the next week.

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This is to keep their life as 'normal' as possible and to help fit into the social conduct of the modern world of Monday-Friday working. However, every pilot within an airline can't be able to have every weekend off work, which means as a pilot, it's common to work over the weekend when flights are notoriously busy.

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In terms of actual days, some publications say most short-haul pilots will either travel home every day if possible or work for five days and then spend three or four days at home. Long-haul pilots are said to spend more time away from home, although they do get 10 to 15 days off per month to see their families.

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Usually, pilots will have some form of preference system that will allow them to 'bid' for what flights they want to do, whether they would like to spend time away on trips, and what days they would like their days off to fall on. As you can imagine, most pilots will bid for weekends off.

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Do pilots go home every night? Flight instructors and pilots who fly short-haul domestic flights are able to be home every night more or less; however, airline pilots who fly longer routes are unable to go home every night and can be away from home for up to two weeks at a time.

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What if an airline does not have enough flying for a pilot? Fortunately, most pilot employment contracts and CBAs include a monthly hour minimum. This minimum requires the company to pay its pilots for a minimum number of flight hours, regardless of whether those hours are flown.

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Flight instructors and pilots who fly short-haul domestic flights are able to be home every night more or less; however, airline pilots who fly longer routes are unable to go home every night and can be away from home for up to two weeks at a time.

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Because a pilot can only fly 1,000 hours per year, you often have as much as two weeks off every month, resulting in greater leisure time than most occupations. Most airlines offer free airfare via jumpseats. Airlines typically extend this perk to family members as well based on seniority and other factors.

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In the U.S., there are no FAA age limits for pilots except for commercial airline pilots employed by airlines certificated under 14 CFR Part 121. These airlines cannot employ pilots after they reach the age of 65. However, these pilots may stay on with a Part 121 carrier in some other role, such as flight engineer.

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The most labor-intensive schedule might place a pilot out of base for 12-15 nights in a month. An entire month's schedule for a line holder commonly includes four 4-day trips. Three of these nights are spent away from home, while the fourth day of the trip lands the crew member back in their domicile city.

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Do pilots pay for their own hotels? The airline handles and pays for accommodations for crewmembers when they are on a trip. Many pilots do not live where they are based and choose to commute.

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The most important part of any career is happiness and passion for what you do which is why one of the biggest advantages of being a pilot is the major job satisfaction that comes with it.

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Many pilots find the job to be very exciting, dynamic, and rewarding. There are numerous careers in the aviation industry that you can pursue following your schooling.

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Being an airline pilot isn't an average 9–5 job. When you're an airline pilot, life is divided between the air and the ground: A typical airline pilot schedule involves 75 hours of flying per month. They spend another 150 hours performing other tasks such as planning flights and checking weather conditions.

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An airline pilot can be an extremely stressful job due to the workload, responsibilities and safety of the thousands of passengers they transport around the world. Chronic levels of stress can negatively impact one's health, job performance and cognitive functioning.

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For scheduled carriers, either low cost or legacy, flight demand is more consistent throughout the year. As a result, pilots typically get assigned half their weeks of leave in the summer schedule, and the second half in the winter schedule.

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Many airlines provide crew rest areas on their aircraft, where pilots can sleep during long-haul flights. These areas are usually located in the tail, cargo area or above the cabin of the plane and are designed to be as quiet and comfortable as possible. Other crew members prefer to use business class seats to rest.

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The more seniority you gain in your position, the more flexibility and control you have over your flying schedule. When you're a senior pilot, you can choose your days off as well as the trips you want to fly, not to mention that you get even more days off than a junior pilot.

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