A pilot and a flight attendant

Hey guys, this is Alex…I’m the guy that posted the topic “switching career at 39” few weeks ago and you all gave me lots of good tips. Thank you so much! I have few updates and couple of new questions. First of all I’m really excited because I’m about to start my flight review in the next few days, I’ve been study hard lately and went over everything, now it’s time for me to get back to the flight controls and get my flying skill back. Yay! I got my CFI and CFII few years ago and I’m a lil rusty right now…I plan to spend maybe 30 to 40 hrs or whatever it takes to get me back current, safe and able to instruct again. Good luck to me lol.
Now my soon to be wife (I’m getting married next month…awesome! This is the year of my life lol) would like to be a flight attendant and I would like to ask you guys for any tip in regard her being a flight attendant and me becoming an airline pilot. I heard that pilots sometimes marry flight attendants, but I wonder if it’s possible to get to a point in our career where we can somehow match at least some of our days off. I know that initially pilot and FA are on reserve and everything is based on seniority. If I’m not mistaken pilots have very little control over their schedule even after the reserve time, but dont FA have more control of their schedule once they are out of reserve? My plan is to work as a CFI for probably a year an half to gain my 1500 hrs and she can go ahead and become a FA and start to gain seniority. Then once I’m qualified I would apply to the same regional airline where she’s at for a pilot position and hopefully get the job and hopefully have the same base that she has… a lot of hopes right?
We also don’t have any kids and we are willing to move anywhere across the country to pursue our goals. We are already selling our house and downsize etc. at the moment.
Now, let’s say we are not working for the same airline, but we have the same base…would that be still possible to match some of our days off sometimes?Sorry if this is a silly question…the reason why I’m asking this 5is because ideally we would love to live and be base in Miami (although I would even take my butt in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming if that was the only chance I had to be a pilot lol) and I saw American Airlines, Envoy and Republic all have bases there yay! So a picture that I really like would be her working for AA and me for Envoy…gain some seniority and then have the same base in Miami…would that be realistic? Or we would never have the same days off working for two different airlines?
PS. Speaking of wedding, congratulations to pilot Tory on your engagement, you guys are a very beautiful couple, I love your engagement plan yay! I proposed last year in a very pilot style too lol…took my fiancee skydivig and landed on the beach where I had set up beautiful banner and all bunch of stuff! It was epic!

Alex,

There’s a whole lotta “ifs” and “hopes” in your post. First you have to build your time, then you need to get hired at a Regional, then perhaps your new wife needs to get hired at either a Regional or a Major etc. etc. etc. That all said I honestly don’t understand your question? You could be a garbage man and your wife the US Ambassador to Zamunda and yes it would still be possible for you both to have the same days off. As for sharing a base if you both apply to the same airlines or airlines that share a base then sure it’s possible.

As far as FAs having more control over their schedules that’s simply not the case. Pilot’s have a mandatory retirement at 65, FAs do not. That means there are a whole lot of FAs in their 70s who won’t go away anytime soon. A 20yr pilot will generally have pretty good seniority but I know 20yr FAs who are still on Reserve.

Bottomline it’s all a roll of the dice. All you two can do is try the best you can and see what happens. That said I’m willing to bet alot of money that regardless of what you both end up doing you could possibly have the same days off.

Adam

Alex,

Thank you for the kind words. Congrats to you and yours as well!

If your fiancé wants to become a flight attendant then she should become a flight attendant. If you guys want to have the same days off, she doesn’t have to become a flight attendant. Becoming a FA to have the same days off seems irrational to me. But if she genuinely wants to be a FA then that’s her prerogative.

Idk about other airlines but the FAs at my airline are not on the same work rules as the pilots. Because of this, we are swapping FA throughout the day. It’s rare to be with the same set of FAs for more than 2 flights back to back. The FAs can also work longer hours and for more days at a time. Because of the differences in a FA’s and pilot’s schedule, I couldn’t tell you how likely it would be for a pilot and FA to fly together or have the same days off. That’s a huge “what if?” The answer could be immediately or never. That’s why I’m saying if she wants to be a FA, regardless of her days off, then she should. But to do it as part of some master plan to spend more time together, to me, sounds like a long shot.

Tory

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Thank you for your answer and the advices. I’m sorry if my questions were a bit confusing… I agree with you Adam that in our plan there are a lots of “ifs” and “hopes” and for sure we are going to face some challenges and there are so many variables that are not predictable.
I agree with you Tory that it’s her prerogative to be a flight attendant and I’m excited and happy for her when she’s happy regardless of what career she chooses. We are not doing this just to have the same days off, that would be insane lol
… actually with our current job we see each other every day, none of us is traveling right now, but we are about to do big changes and we need to be patient until we are able to establish our new career.
We both have the desire to pursue our goals and I guess I’m just a lil concern with the fact of being able to maintain a good relation and be able to see each other and spend time together. That’s all.

Alex,

I’m sorry but again it’s just funny to me you’re worried about the days off. I know quite a few pilots who are married to FAs and the real challenge is getting schedules where they can fly together. Now that takes some creativity, good bidding strategies and most often one person bidding below their seniority taking worse trips and a worse schedule than they could actually hold. That my friend is love! :wink:

Adam

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Do what you think is best, Alex. It’s your life. Just be aware that just because your fiancé is a flight attendant doesn’t mean that you’re going to see each other any more or less than if she wasn’t.

There may be times when you guys see each other more and then it could change. Either of you could change bases or aircraft. You could upgrade and that will change your seniority. One of you could decide that you would like to try to fly for a major or a completely different airline. Would you turn down the opportunity if you were happy with your schedules? You get my point?

Tory

Hey guys, thanks a lot for the answer…You brought up a good point Adam…I wasn’t thinking about the fact of being able to fly together sometimes, yeah that’s really cool, I love it!
Yeah, I see that we need to be flexible (and we are) and everything will be an adventure…cool.
I get your point too Tory…maybe we get to a great schedule and then things change for one of those reasons (upgrade, change airplane and so on), but hey it’s life…you never know what’s gonna happen next…for the good or the bad. I’m ready to start this journey now, thank you for your help and good luck to me and my fiancee… wife in a month! Yay!

Alex,

I find that at my airline it is very difficult for pilot and FA couples to fly together. The schedules are just so different and we almost never stay in the same hotels, if even the same city. The best way to maximize time with your wife would be to live where you are based and for one of you to have a job where they are home every night.

Chris

Hello,

A piece of advise from a flight attendant. Being hired by the same airline, same base, flying same schedules would be winning the lottery. At my airline, FA’s and Pilots have completely separate bidding systems. Being a flight attendant gets you great benefits, and also a huge understanding of the type of life style this job entails. And it opens up the world. Your spouse would definitely grow more understanding and patient due to similar experiences. But more importantly it’s something she should want for her own reasons. Both of you will make sacrifices and this industry makes daily “normal” life challenging

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