Interesting take on the longhaul lifestyle. I've done transpacifics, with one day off becoming two due to the time change (and subsequent inversion of the body-clock leading to some interesting medical effects,) 5 transatlantics in a month over many months, transatlantic 3-day trips followed next day by Gulf 3- and 4-day trips, (playing that interesting game that almost none of the general public know about of "Where exactly is my body-clock now!!??!!) ..became friendly with company-prescribed Temazapam, and even turned down 5-days overtime twice in my career because I simply was too tired to do it, and needed the time at home more than the money.
..and just once in a while the schedule gave me a day off in Accra.. and even once a day off in Bermuda.. not a luxury, just the simple expedient of there not being a flight every single day, or else see the above paragraph for how the company would have played the schedule.
Funnily enough, Mr Brown's concept of longhaul above doesn't quite square with the reality, but then that's why we have the red type at the bottom of the page, to counter such uninformed trolls.
Now shorthaul; a week of earlies, no report later than 0530 is now a regularity. Equally tiring, but in a different way.. perhaps a more insidious way.. no more temazepam, but it is equally as difficult sometimes on the last sector, even in good, easy weather, to keep the attention level up... good job there's two there sometimes, to catch the little things you miss...
So, no need for violins, but for goodness sake lose the mythology.... the flying lifestyle does not exist as portrayed by some above as some idyllic paid holiday. Given the chance our companies would work us to Italian rules plus 50%, with company issued tents to camp under the wings of the aircraft, and would sell it to the public as a flight safety benefit that we never left the vicinity of the aircraft for the entire month we were with it, before our two days off. Reductio Ad Absurdum of course, but there's a reason why that is a valid argumentative tactic, and the AOC holders we work for consider it a starting point for negotiation.