Average/Normal week as a pilot

[davepearsall]

From reading previous threads am I right in thinking the average is around 17 hours per week flying?

If anyone could give an overview of an average week for a pilot. I.e. is it 3 days on 4 days off as I really don't know what to expect.

I'm sure that it all varies from airline to airline but a general overview of a pilots week would be great.

Many Thanks

[tom775257]

I fly short/close medium hall A320 series for a uk 'traditional' charter/scheduled. Generally I work between 3-5 days on then generally 2-3 days off.... quite variable actually, currently I am working 7 days on, however due to flying on a standby I now have today off - yay!

Previous airline I worked for I was really hammered, 6 days on, 1.5 off, 6 days on in the summer up to the hours limits per month.

Circa 20 hours flying per week.

[davepearsall]

cheers for the info Tom.

[Telstar]

I think the answers to your question will be wide and varied, there is a lot of different types and disciplines of flying.

I work for a Low Cost Carrier. Fixed roster of 5 days work, 4 days off. One week of Late shifts, with starting times of between 11am and 5 pm finishing between 9.30pm and midnight depending on the combination of flights. The next week are the dreaded earlies, starting as early as 5.00am and going on until 4-5 pm. A Typical duty day is 10hrs, but anything up to 12 hrs, with block times on average of about 6.30-7Hrs.

You don't always work the full 5 days, you will quite often have a few standby days mixed in there too. 17 hrs is technicaly correct, but that's BLOCK time don't forget. It is not uncommon to get close to 55 hrs DUTY a week, and believe me with very early starts/disturbed sleep patterns, you will feel it!

[Dreamshiner]

Longhaul - 3/4 flights per month, 12-16 sectors, sometimes a bit of repositioning too. Average flight time for main flight is 11 hours. Logging on average 80 hours per month. Get anything from minimum rest to 1 week in destinations.