Pilots' daily work hours often range from 10 to 14 hours, encompassing flight time, briefings, and taxiing, with the potential to stretch to 16 hours in unforeseen situations, major media reports indicate. On average, pilots spend about 20 hours per week in the air, with short-haul pilots frequently flying four to six back-to-back legs per day, while long-haul pilots may work 12 to 15 hours on a single flight. , can reduce allowable duty hours due to fatigue regulations.
Pilots are required to have at least 10 hours of rest, including eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, to mitigate fatigue risks. Captain Steve, a pilot for American Airlines, described his experience on reserve, noting he didn't work as much and was called a few times a month for trips. According to Captain Steve, when you're a regular line holder, you're going to fly four or five times, but on reserve, he got to spend more time with his kids.
Well it's like anything else if you travel, you have to balance being on the road and being home, the electronics help these days, you can FaceTime, communicate much more effectively and frequently than you did back then.
He acknowledged there were some inconveniences with being on call but made the sacrifice to be with his family. How common it is for pilots to work as reserves to improve work-life balance and what the typical pay differences are between reserve pilots and regular line holders remain unclear, as airlines manage scheduling to comply with rest requirements amid varying pilot experiences.
I did reserve on the airline and didn't work as much on reserve, I'd get called a few times a month, maybe for a trip where when you're regular line holder, you're going to fly four or five times.
Was it a big difference? Yeah, it was a huge difference because I got to spend more time with my kids and I still got paid as an airline pilot to be on call.
There were some inconveniences with being on call as well but I made that sacrifice to be with my family so there is a way to work it up, where there's a will, there's a way.