This sums it up pretty well:
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About how many days a week will you be home as an entry level airline pilot? Regional and Major?
Chris,
There is no average. It depends on the airline, their operation and yes your seniority. The average pilot is gone half the month, some more, some less. I fly Interisland for Hawaiian and I’m home every night. I have friends at Atlas who are gone 18 days a month. I recommend you take a look at the schedules section and you can see our actual schedules. Chris is a jr Capt at United, Tory is a jr Capt at Horizon but both were senior FOs so you can get an idea of the range.
Adam
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Chris,
Hard to say. Depends on many factors. 15 days minimum. Maybe more depending on what you can hold. All driven by seniority.
Tory
Chris,
Take a look at my schedule section as it will give you a very good idea of what a junior schedule will look like as I am a junior captain. Basically, I get twelve days off per month, spread throughout the month.
Chris
And all of this affected by whether you choose to live in base or commute to work. I highly recommend living in base.
Chris, how junior/senior is NYC as a base for UA?
I see your base includes LGA as well.
If one trip begins at EWR and ends at LGA, how do you get back to where your car would be parked?
Ygor,
New York is both senior and junior, it really just all depends on the fleet, the position on the fleet, and even whether one is at the top or bottom of that position. In short, seniority is spread pretty equally across the system.
If a trip starts in EWR, it has to end there. Same with starting and ending in LGA. If for some reason it did not, the company would provide transportation between the two and the pilot would be compensated for his or her time.
Chris
Thanks Chris,
Once you get based somewhere, are you usually able to stay put (excluding base closures and other extenuating circumstances) , or can you get transferred against your will?
Ygor,
Generally, yes you should be able to stay put. That being said, airlines do sometimes close bases or downsize them. When I was new at Continental, management got into a tiff with the local union in Newark and forced 500 pilots to transfer to Houston against their will. This was a vindictive approach on management’s part and fortunately that mentality has left the new United.
So to answer your question, while pilots are rarely forced out of bases, it can happen.
Chris