How do pilots manage family life?

With careful planning and communication between the pilot and their family, they can make sure that everyone's needs are met. Pilots often work on a rotating schedule which allows them to spend quality time with their families when they're not flying.



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Additionally, many airlines offer generous vacation packages so pilots can take extended trips with their families or enjoy some much needed rest at home. With the right balance of work and play, being an airline pilot doesn't have to mean sacrificing your family life!

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The bottom line is you spend as much time with your family as you choose to. Sure being a pilot takes you away from home for a certain number of nights per month. But, when you are done flying, you are done working. No homework.

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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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This benefit varies from airline to airline. Family members may fly free when space is available or at discounted rates. Flying stand-by is a common benefit, but it can be challenging when there is a group. Some airlines provide “buddy passes” to pilots to share with friends and families.

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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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In general, long-haul pilots get extended time off between work days in exchange for working longer shifts, whereas short-haul pilots could be home every night but have fewer days off.

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Some people may enjoy the feeling of being in control of an airplane and getting to see the world from above. They may also like the sense of adventure that comes with being a pilot, as they often don't know where they're going on their next scheduled flight.

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New mothers are often left to discover themselves how to smoothly transition back to work after having a child. When this new mother is also a commercial pilot, it becomes even more difficult to balance a new motherhood with the long times away from home and unsociable work schedules.

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According to labor statistics, newer commercial pilots usually get at least 12 days off each month, while the average airline pilot gets around 15 days off. A more experienced pilot, an airline transport pilot (Captain), can have up to 20 days off, the maximum number.

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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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Yes, the airlines know they have married couples in their cockpits and they're okay with it.

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Family members may fly free when space is available or at discounted rates. Flying stand-by is a common benefit, but it can be challenging when there is a group. Some airlines provide “buddy passes” to pilots to share with friends and families.

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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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While there certainly are fewer women training to be pilots, women also face gender-unique social pressures, double standards and systemic barriers that deter their entrance into aviation. Women have been interested in aviation since Wilbur and Orville gave up bicycles for airplanes at the turn of the 20th century.

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Pilots generally only work with one other pilot at a time, so they tend to hang out together on the over nights. While we do not fly with the same pilots frequently, many do make friends in the industry. I have a couple people on my “Find my Friends” app and it is surprising just how often we end up in the same cities.

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