Originally Posted by
737_Operator
My girlfriend makes the point that often our days off do not align but at least I am home each night from work so we still see each other. If I was working LH, she may be working on my few days off between trips, and then I'd be off again so we would rarely see each other. How does this tend to play out in reality?
The reality is that being junior on any fleet is a massive sacrifice to personal life. I’d say that long haul is more akin to if you get a run of lates at the LCC. You might be in your own bed every night but getting into it at 2-3am isn’t exactly quality time with your partner.
If you go long haul expect to work a trip that has you away over most of if not more than the entire weekend. The plus side to that is that if your partner’s work is somewhat flexible then it’s easy to take them on trips with you and much nicer being away somewhere for a couple days rather than on BA SH where you’ll still give up your weekends but for 12 hrs in a hotel in Newcastle instead of 48 hrs in Antigua. The downside is that it’s such a personal thing with how well your body can deal with jet lag and staying up all night and you’ll only know once you try it. BA are only hiring into the 777 for 2025, so expect a lot of trips to be 2-crew with no onboard rest whilst you’re junior. I’m a write off for the following 24-48 hrs after a trip, you just about recover and then it’s time to pop the nylon suit back on and do it all again.
You’re young so it shouldn’t cause too many issues. Once you start having a young family etc then best hope you have an extremely supportive partner. There’s a reason why this profession is a divorce magnet and these days it ain’t because Chantelle winked at you over your lager. Fatigue and constant tiredness changes your personality. It is testing to the most stable relationships.