Tucker,
That is a difficult question to answer because many of the regionals only fly one or maybe two types of airplanes, while UAL flies six different types and each type has its own fluctuations for reserve. If you are speaking of the junior airplanes at UAL, like the 737 and the A320 I would say that reserve can be quite a bit longer here versus at a regional. The majors just dont have the turnover rate that the regionals do.
Chris
That makes sense! Thank you!
Hi. Thanks for this thread. If youāre a Hawaiian pilot the only option is to live in Hawaii? My boyfriend just got a job at Skywest as an FO but eventually wants to go to Hawaiian. Iām just really scared about me having to raise a kid alone if we have one. I hear heāll be gone 66% of the month. I feel like Iām going to uplift my life to live where he gets based. I truly love him but Iām afraid of being alone and leaving behind my great paying job, friends and family. The people who could be t there to help me raise a kid when heās away. I feel like Iām letting him down even feeling this way. Does anyone have advice?
Sarah,
Pilots can live anywhere in the world. They are responsible for getting themselves to/from their base for their trips.
My advice to you is to have a conversation with your boyfriend and discuss each of your wants and needs. You both need to be honest and true to yourselves.
I always tell people that date pilots that the best thing that you can do is donāt forget to live your own life. I know itās tempting to get caught up in the hypothetical, but you need to remember that you are your own person. One person shouldnāt always be the one trying to appease the other.
The hope is that the two of you can find mutual ground, but you need to prepare yourself if you donāt. Neither of you should have to suffer. If itās meant to be itās meant to be.
Tory
Sarah,
I fly for Hawaiian so perhaps I can give some insight. Hawaiian only has one base and thatās Honolulu. We do have many pilots who commute from the mainland, but that comes with a huge caveat. When heās first hired, in all likelihood heāll be assigned to the 717 interisland and that comes with a 2yr seat lock. If thatās the case it will be very difficult for him to commute due to the schedule until he gains some seniority. On the plus side heāll be home much more often if you move to Hawaii. Once he transitions to one of the Airbusā commuting will become easier. The real problem is since Hawaii is at least a 5hr flight from anywhere on the mainland in most cases heāll have to leave a day early to get to work and often not be able to come home till the day after he flies.
Iām not going to lie. Until he builds some seniority itās going to be tough.
Adam
Sarah,
We are not counselors here, but I will tell you this. Regardless of which airline your boyfriend works for, he will be gone a significant amount of the time. Pilot spouses are a special type, they need to be able to handle being alone for a good portion each month. Some people can handle this, others cannot. It sounds like you cannot, which is fine and no mark against you, it just is. If you do not think you can handle being a pilot wife, I would strongly consider you to think about things before committing to marriage.
Chris
Sarah,
Good for you for coming to this forum to try and seek advice on your situation. Its not easy to put your fears or insecurities out there. Iāll tell you this, an aviation career is unlike most jobs in the fact that it effects both people in the relationship. Its not a ā9-5, home every night X job.ā For it to work, the pilot knows what they are sacrificing in order to have true job satisfaction. However, his/her partner must always chose that person is worth the lifestyleā¦ If the idea of being home by yourself, 3-4 nights a week seems like something you donāt want, you may not want to be in a relationship with a pilot. For those that find the lifestyle challenging yet still chose to be with that pilot, I hear many that live near family and friends so they have a support system to rely on when their spouse is on a trip. With all that being said, it sounds like there is a pretty big gap between your desires and your boyfriends. I think a good heart to heart is in order.
-Hannah
I actually am ok with it if we decide not to have kids or if we have a kid heād agree to commute (but last time we he brought up commuting it was very negative) so I could have the support of my friend and family while he is away. He seems to react poorly to talking about these things but he did agree for us to see a couples counselor so that hopefully we both can feel safe when talking about the future and come up with options that will make us happy. I was fully ready for him to work 2 months on and 2 off at his contracting job as long as I could live by family. I just need support even if it isnāt always his.
Thatās good to hear that you are willing to alter your lifestyle for the career he desires.
Commuting isnāt ideal so I can understand he wasnāt thrilled with the idea. However, for a successful relationship compromises have to be made from both sides. From a pilot in a relationship myself, I donāt think what youāre asking is unreasonable.
-Hannah