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Originally Posted by faceof5  So what's the quality of life like for the typical regional pilot? |
That depends on the person, the regional and a bunch of other factors. Me? I'm commuting to a relief line from Salt Lake to Newark. It was bad commuting to reserve, that's for sure. Now I actually go to work and work instead of sitting around the crashpad. But then again, if I was based in Salt Lake with a company, I'd bid reserve and try to not go to work.
But even with how much it sucks commuting to reserve, I think it's better than living in a place that you hate. Some people can move anywhere they want and be happy as a clam. I've found I'm not that kind of person, and I'd rather live where I want and commute to work than spend my entire life in a place I hate. I've done that twice now and I'm not interested in doing it again.
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How are people's relationships?
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Again, it depends on the above factors and then just how people deal with the time apart. With this career, you'll spend time away from home if you want to work at an airline. Some folks deal with that fine, and some people don't. Me and my fiance do alright for the most part, though we've found if I'm gone more than about 4-5 days it starts to become kinda rough. Some folks, on the other hand, do fine with being away from home 18 days straight.
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Time to pursue interests/hobbies?
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I ski a lot on my time off, but it helps my fiance is a ski instructor and I live 20 minutes from 4 major resorts in Salt Lake, and 45 minutes away from another 4.
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You guys actually use your flight benfits or don't even want to travel after flying for a few days?
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I travel for a living, getting in an airplane when I get done with work is usually the last thing I want to do. With that being said, I think we're planning on trying to get to Europe in April.
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How many days does a regional pilots work a week?
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That depends on what you can hold and then what you want. Some guys want day trips, some guys like 2 day trips, some guys like 3 day trips, some guys like 4 day trips. My schedule looks something like this:
1 day off
4 day trip
3 days off
4 day trip
6 days off
4 day trip
4 days off
That's a pretty good schedule for me with all things being considered with how junior I am at my company. We'll see how things shake out over the next few months.