For roster, no fixed pattern I.E 5/3 or whatever.
Normal roster, if you dont interfere/influence it by making requests, will give perhaps 1 block of 3 or 4 consecutive days off a month. Contractors have in their contract 1 block of 4off guaranteed a month, locals not.
In practice there is a lot of variation between individuals rosters month by month, and indeed some guys seemed to get home, even to UK, sometimes 3or more times a month, whilst others could only manage once, or twice if they wanted to bother for just 1 or 2 nights at home .
Colleagues that made requests seemed to have them honoured most of the time, assuming they had reciprocated with being helpful in the past, that is common sense of course.
I have seen months where local guys were VERY happy to have 2 consecutive days off between an early and a late meaning NEARLY 3 days off
once a month, but as I said, impossible to predict and Jun/Jul/Aug, if on a local contract, probably best you dont make too many commuting plans too often a month unless perhaps to a Scandi destination served several times daily. Local pilots association has tried hard for years to get a fixed pattern, indeed the monthly hours flown should on the face of it allow it. The company take on it, is that the mix of night flights/split duties/long days/very short days makes it impossible to roster a fixed pattern with the number of crew employed. I am not a crewing officer, so I wont pass comment.The local guys are not so fussed about it, as they are in bed if not in Boeing Hotel going to Tashkent or wherever, which is probably why it doesnt happen, it is of course the commuters who find it the most unhelpful.
If you plan on the worst, be helpful when asked by Crewing
and make a reasonable number of requests in a timely manner, I think you will find it is as commutable as any job on offer, just a shame they cant sort a fixed pattern, but that does not seem to be likely any time soon.