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.
Yes, the airlines know they have married couples in their cockpits and they're okay with it. I'm sure there are a handful flying together at each of the majors. No one else wastes time thinking about it. There is no glass ceiling; pilot pay is transparent and based solely on seniority.
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.
Travel Opportunities
Additionally, pilots and their family members enjoy free travel perks, which means that they have the opportunity to travel for pleasure as well as for business. Many commercial pilots, in fact, get free or reduced travel, even after retirement.
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.
Once a pilot is working for an airline, their life is sure to include significant time away from family and friends. This includes holidays, which can be some of an airline's busiest times for transporting passengers, which translates into a higher demand for pilots to operate those flights.
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.
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.
Male aircraft pilots and flight engineers are most likely to marry female elementary- and middle-school teachers or male human-resource workers.
In short, it´s not about choosing between having a family vs being a pilot, you can have both, but it´s not a normal 9 to 5 job and you´ll have to be prepared for that, both you and your family.
Nearly 75% of some pilot groups have been divorced at least once. Some have been divorced even two or three times.
As the partner of a Pilot you need to be flexible to fit your life around their schedule. You need to be ok with not always having a routine. Understand this is absolutely not a regular job. Your partner won't know their schedule from one month to the next, sometimes not even from one week to the next.
The pilot can sleep for no more than 40 minutes, and must wake up at least half an hour before the descent for landing. They get the first 15 minutes after the nap to fully awaken, during which they can't resume actually flying the plane, unless they need to help deal with an emergency.
Long-haul pilots may make only a single flight in a day while regional pilots may take off and land eight or more times. Helicopter pilots may make more than 20 takeoffs and landings in a day. There really is not a typical day because of the 24-hour, seven-days-a-week, 365-days-a-year nature of aviation.
Airline pilots fly an average of 75 hours per month and work an additional 150 hours per month performing other duties, such as checking weather conditions and preparing flight plans. Pilots have variable work schedules that may include some days of work followed by some days off.
Women have been involved in aviation from the beginnings of both lighter-than air travel and as airplanes, helicopters and space travel were developed. Women pilots are called "aviatrices".
Just as with flight attendants, the pilot divorce rate is high at 30.5%. Divorce is so common among pilots that there's a term for it in the industry: Aviation Induced Divorce Syndrome.
No doubt flying through many different time zones, in the dry air environment of an aircraft cabin at a cabin altitude of 8,000 feet, puts the body under more stress than it would be on the ground. This stress causes the tellers to shorten, which is the cause of pilots living less than the most people.
2. We don't see our families too often. In a 30-day month, the average airline pilot will only work 12-15 days. But when you consider that most pilots commute to work from out of state, a normal four-day trip actually takes six days to complete.
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. Generally, if pilots need to travel and stay away from home when they are not on a trip, they are responsible for their own accommodations.
Airline pilots don't necessarily get paid a “salary”. Instead, pilots are paid per flight hour. Meaning a pilot is only paid while their airplane is running. As of May 2021, the median annual earnings for airline pilots was $202,180.
Typically, a buddy pass comes in the form of a credit that is adjusted every time the employee books a flight for a friend or family member. An employee may get up to 10 buddy passes per year that expire annually.
The short answer to this question is yes, oftentimes pilots do get free flights as a perk of their job that they get to use just like any other passenger.