If anybody has been wondering where my schedules have been recently, I have been off work since mid-september due to an ankle surgery that ended up being a lot more complex than me or my doctor thought it was going to be. I have been told to expect to return to work sometime between January and March. When I do return, I will have to take a check ride first because it will have been so long since I last flew. I will resume posting my schedules as soon as I am back in the air.
Well first off, get better! When stuff like this happens, I assume you have some sort of short term disability? FMLA? Or something? Do most airlines provide benefits for things like this? Either short/long term disability? Life insurance for the serious cases.
At my airline, LTD kicks in at 90 days off work. Because this was a recurring issue for me and I had 63 days off work last year for an earlier surgery on the same ankle, I only had to put in 27 days for Long Term Disability to kick in. Your sick time is supposed to be used to cover the three months until LTD starts.
It is a complicated formula, but basically we receive $8,000 per month tax free while on LTD. So, it is a pay cut, but at least it is something.
I believe that some sort of LTD plan and of course life insurance options are standard across the industry,