Airline Pilot (career) Datasheet PART II
This post details the daily routine and quality of life for airline pilots:
Nearly all airlines are unionized and all airlines use a union-style seniority list. Seniority is KING in aviation. It determines what aircraft you will fly, how many and which days you work, which routes you fly and when you take vacation. Longevity is the total amount of time at the airline and determines your pay rate. Generally speaking, big airplanes = higher pay and each airplane has rates for total length of service at the particular airline.
For more information on airline pay rates: Airline Pilot Central
Pilots in the lower 20% of seniority on their fleet typically sit reserve. Reserve is when you are at home and on call. For example, if a pilot calls in sick they call you and you have 2 hours to get to your base airport and cover the flight. The rest of the pilots are assigned what are known as 'lines' and have a set schedule one month in advance.
Lines vary greatly based on seniority. A pilot in the top 10% will typically work the days and routes he wants to work. He may go to work on a Monday morning, fly to Hawaii, spend 36 hours and fly home Wednesday. He does this once a week 3-4 times a month depending on his base in the US. His base salary will be made in only 10-13 days of actual work. Conversely, a junior 'line holder' will have little say as to what days and routes he works, and will have to work 16-18 days to earn the same amount of hours. His schedule might mean 4-5 flights a day with a layover in Minot, North Dakota. The pilot on reserve is on call 18-19 days per month and has very little opportunity for overtime, therefor earning significantly less money.
A day in the life:
Pilots show up 45min-1 hour before their first scheduled flight of the day. They use this time to catch up on manuals, check the weather and preflight the aircraft. Lots of paperwork. The flight deck team consists of a captain and first officer, and sometimes additional pilots for flights over eight hours. You may have between one and 20 flight attendants based on the aircraft. The captain will brief them on issues such as turbulence, security, flight time and any other issues affecting customer service or safety.
After release from the gate, the crew taxis and takes off. This, along with arrival and landing is the busiest time of flight. Cruise is generally pretty relaxing and pilots spend their time reading or chatting. A few times per year you will be assigned to training classes and exams where you will be required to perform to a certain standard. These can be stressful and difficult.
For those of you considering this career path, know it can be very difficult. Its a great job when you're in the air, but the rest of the time you have to deal with bankruptcies, layoffs and brutal management techniques. I personally have been laid off from two airlines and for three years lived off 18k/year. I make a respectable salary now but its really just due to good luck... I chose the right airline to go to. Managers at regional airlines are generally the most evil people you will ever meet. They don't care about the employees and will literally work you to death. They want you to quit, because they can higher a new guy at year one pay and pay themselves the difference in bonuses.
If you can deal with all this and know what you're getting into, its truly a great job. You'll meet the most fascinating people and see the world. It can be tough on family life, but if I know my audience on this forum that's not really an issue.
In closing I can offer one last piece of advice based off a funny story:
A flight takes off for a three hour flight. Its an Airbus with two pilots and four flight attendants. After takeoff, two of the flight attendants start discussing their boyfriends, who are pilots at the same airline. After a bit of discussion they notice striking similarities between the two men they are talking about. It then dawns on them that they are both seeing THE SAME pilot... who happens to be flying the plane!! (Imagine his thought-process when he must of had when he got his roster before the flight) A cat-fight ensues, which is broken up by passengers, forcing the pilots to divert the aircraft and have the flight attendants arrested and replaced. Hilarious story, right? Well, not if you were the above pilot. He gets his ass hauled in to the Chief Pilot, has to perform a carpet dance of epic proportions, and nearly gets shit-canned himself.
Moral of the Story: If you bang all the flight attendants you'll eventually get canned when one calls rape or sexual harrassment because most of em are batshit crazy. Don't shit where you eat. Make friends with pilots from other airlines, who also have flight attendants, and shit where he eats instead!!!!
This post details the daily routine and quality of life for airline pilots:
Nearly all airlines are unionized and all airlines use a union-style seniority list. Seniority is KING in aviation. It determines what aircraft you will fly, how many and which days you work, which routes you fly and when you take vacation. Longevity is the total amount of time at the airline and determines your pay rate. Generally speaking, big airplanes = higher pay and each airplane has rates for total length of service at the particular airline.
For more information on airline pay rates: Airline Pilot Central
Pilots in the lower 20% of seniority on their fleet typically sit reserve. Reserve is when you are at home and on call. For example, if a pilot calls in sick they call you and you have 2 hours to get to your base airport and cover the flight. The rest of the pilots are assigned what are known as 'lines' and have a set schedule one month in advance.
Lines vary greatly based on seniority. A pilot in the top 10% will typically work the days and routes he wants to work. He may go to work on a Monday morning, fly to Hawaii, spend 36 hours and fly home Wednesday. He does this once a week 3-4 times a month depending on his base in the US. His base salary will be made in only 10-13 days of actual work. Conversely, a junior 'line holder' will have little say as to what days and routes he works, and will have to work 16-18 days to earn the same amount of hours. His schedule might mean 4-5 flights a day with a layover in Minot, North Dakota. The pilot on reserve is on call 18-19 days per month and has very little opportunity for overtime, therefor earning significantly less money.
A day in the life:
Pilots show up 45min-1 hour before their first scheduled flight of the day. They use this time to catch up on manuals, check the weather and preflight the aircraft. Lots of paperwork. The flight deck team consists of a captain and first officer, and sometimes additional pilots for flights over eight hours. You may have between one and 20 flight attendants based on the aircraft. The captain will brief them on issues such as turbulence, security, flight time and any other issues affecting customer service or safety.
After release from the gate, the crew taxis and takes off. This, along with arrival and landing is the busiest time of flight. Cruise is generally pretty relaxing and pilots spend their time reading or chatting. A few times per year you will be assigned to training classes and exams where you will be required to perform to a certain standard. These can be stressful and difficult.
For those of you considering this career path, know it can be very difficult. Its a great job when you're in the air, but the rest of the time you have to deal with bankruptcies, layoffs and brutal management techniques. I personally have been laid off from two airlines and for three years lived off 18k/year. I make a respectable salary now but its really just due to good luck... I chose the right airline to go to. Managers at regional airlines are generally the most evil people you will ever meet. They don't care about the employees and will literally work you to death. They want you to quit, because they can higher a new guy at year one pay and pay themselves the difference in bonuses.
If you can deal with all this and know what you're getting into, its truly a great job. You'll meet the most fascinating people and see the world. It can be tough on family life, but if I know my audience on this forum that's not really an issue.
In closing I can offer one last piece of advice based off a funny story:
A flight takes off for a three hour flight. Its an Airbus with two pilots and four flight attendants. After takeoff, two of the flight attendants start discussing their boyfriends, who are pilots at the same airline. After a bit of discussion they notice striking similarities between the two men they are talking about. It then dawns on them that they are both seeing THE SAME pilot... who happens to be flying the plane!! (Imagine his thought-process when he must of had when he got his roster before the flight) A cat-fight ensues, which is broken up by passengers, forcing the pilots to divert the aircraft and have the flight attendants arrested and replaced. Hilarious story, right? Well, not if you were the above pilot. He gets his ass hauled in to the Chief Pilot, has to perform a carpet dance of epic proportions, and nearly gets shit-canned himself.
Moral of the Story: If you bang all the flight attendants you'll eventually get canned when one calls rape or sexual harrassment because most of em are batshit crazy. Don't shit where you eat. Make friends with pilots from other airlines, who also have flight attendants, and shit where he eats instead!!!!
“There is no global anthem, no global currency, no certificate of global citizenship. We pledge allegiance to one flag, and that flag is the American flag!” -DJT