Hometime

I am thinking of getting my commercial pilot license and one the topics of discussion with the family is that they won’t see me much anymore.
My question is are pilots gone from home all the time?
How much time can I expect to be away from home?

I believe that all the mentors’ schedules are posted under the Q&A tab.

Willis,

True, but when you’re home, you’re home. Airline pilots are away from home about half of the month. Depending on the airline’s routes and the pilot’s seniority time away from home can be 1-4 days, sometimes more for training.

We have a Schedules section. Feel free to show our schedules to your family. We each fly for very different airlines. Thus, our schedules are very different. It should give you a comprehensive idea of what to expect.
https://airlinepilot.life/c/schedules

Tory

Willis,

It really depends on many factors primarily your seniority and the aircraft and airline operation. I have friends who fly cargo for Atlas who are gone up to 18 days a month in a row, I fly interisland for Hawaiian and I’m home every night. You’ll find being away half the month is the norm but again that can vary. Definitely at the beginning when you’re building time, seniority and experience at a Regional you won’t have much control over your schedule and yes you’ll probably be gone more than you want but it can get better again depending on your goals.

Adam

Willis,

On average, I would say that I am home 12-14 days per month. But those are true days off with no work commitments. It is hard to find another job that offers that.

Chris