Are you happy night stopping?
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Are you happy night stopping?
As someone who flies for a loco who always returns home every night, it sometimes seems like there is a fundamental element to the job that's missing, It can feel like we fly all day and get nowhere.
But is night stopping a blessing or a curse? Is it better to just do your job and go home or have the chance to visit the places you fly? is that what the job is all about?
I'm interested to hear people's experiences after a few years of a traditional airline lifestyle.
But is night stopping a blessing or a curse? Is it better to just do your job and go home or have the chance to visit the places you fly? is that what the job is all about?
I'm interested to hear people's experiences after a few years of a traditional airline lifestyle.
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I fly cargo around Europe with DAYstops here and there. I leave home and never come back for another 2-3 weeks. As a father of a 2 yo boy with a *still* loving wife, I dream for your loco job of 100 hours/month and no nightstops!
I hope this answers your question
I hope this answers your question
I suspect it depends on the construction of the night stop and to be frank where it is: Would a late night arrival at a hotel, minimum rest and an early report count as a "visit"? To be honest minimum rest might be all the time you'd want to spend in some places/some hotels.
As imaximov also points out it also very depends on what you've got going on at home...
As imaximov also points out it also very depends on what you've got going on at home...
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Personally I think it is one of the best sale to of the job. You get to explore the world, have a nice breakfast and dinner everyday. I also think it helps to keep the marriage and family fresh......providing of course you're not away from home for extended periods. I'm away for 4 or 5 nights at a time then with 5 days at home and it works fairly well.
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Ditto to all the above! I night stop virtually every time I go to work, but it's very varied and world-wide which helps...
As long as the "down time" at home as a balance is there so you can also live life, I love it!
As long as the "down time" at home as a balance is there so you can also live life, I love it!
Horses and courses. If you live near your base then home every night may work well. If you don't, then the driving to work 15+ times a month can be a drag. UK SH charter I got fed up with an hour on the ground then back again. Now (cargo) I do 'tours' of 2-6 days with daystops all over Europe plus a few LH destinations. I have seen so much of Europe in small bite size chunks and it's great and I drive to work four times a month.
These tours are harder if you have a working partner and/or young children.
These tours are harder if you have a working partner and/or young children.
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It really depends, my company is moving to a more point to point network operation and that will mean fewer nightstops. However, a few will still happen and especially those that have to shuttle because they do not live near their base (especially now that 5 bases have been closed) will try to get those as it means less self paid hotel stays for them.
Personally i can live without any nightstops and did very happily so for a few years in the past. But i do enjoy the odd 36 hour layover in a nice city, particularly enjoy stockholm and copenhagen, would love to get a budapest one as i haven't visited the town yet. Would dread moscow, but love st. petersburg. Nightstops are a normal part of non-lcc airline life, some like them more than others, but a few a month (not more than 5) are usually nice, depending on the crew of course.
Even on our longhaul fleet it is now usually minimum rest and then back home, which means that there isn't much time to explore those destinations.
Personally i can live without any nightstops and did very happily so for a few years in the past. But i do enjoy the odd 36 hour layover in a nice city, particularly enjoy stockholm and copenhagen, would love to get a budapest one as i haven't visited the town yet. Would dread moscow, but love st. petersburg. Nightstops are a normal part of non-lcc airline life, some like them more than others, but a few a month (not more than 5) are usually nice, depending on the crew of course.
Even on our longhaul fleet it is now usually minimum rest and then back home, which means that there isn't much time to explore those destinations.
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I was in a Loco for the first 8 years of my career dreaming of seeing the world and layovers in 5 star hotels.
I left to join one of the worlds biggest airlines and achieved just that.
Now I've seen it and done it (glad I did) and I've got a young family I just want to return to short-haul and be home every night (even if I work damn hard all month). Unfortuately I'll be taking a 50% pay cut from a widebody skipper (tax-free out here) to do so...
Swap you?
I left to join one of the worlds biggest airlines and achieved just that.
Now I've seen it and done it (glad I did) and I've got a young family I just want to return to short-haul and be home every night (even if I work damn hard all month). Unfortuately I'll be taking a 50% pay cut from a widebody skipper (tax-free out here) to do so...
Swap you?
Same hotels, same staff, same bars.
After a while you get sick of it... extracting (a notorious few) cabin crew from drama downroute became a pain as well.
Glad to be out of it.
After a while you get sick of it... extracting (a notorious few) cabin crew from drama downroute became a pain as well.
Glad to be out of it.
I loved it when I had no kids. Once they came along it became a drag to be away from home so I guess it depends a lot on what you are leaving behind you.
It makes me feel rubbish that my youngest gets upset when I go to work.
It makes me feel rubbish that my youngest gets upset when I go to work.
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I also think a lot depends on company policy on hotels etc. I night stopped a lot with one employer. Disliked it. Always in poor hotels with one allowance no matter which country we were in.
Did an awful lot more night stops with my next employer. Which was a dream. We chose our hotels. No limit. We used the credit cards for dinner. No limit. Which was very interesting. Bar a couple of guys everyone opted for good hotels but not the most expensive. Rewards programmes helped shape this I suppose. And bar the inevitable first night madness big night no one took advantage of the credit cards either. I guess we were treated as adults and behaved as such.
Did an awful lot more night stops with my next employer. Which was a dream. We chose our hotels. No limit. We used the credit cards for dinner. No limit. Which was very interesting. Bar a couple of guys everyone opted for good hotels but not the most expensive. Rewards programmes helped shape this I suppose. And bar the inevitable first night madness big night no one took advantage of the credit cards either. I guess we were treated as adults and behaved as such.
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I would echo the comments. If you are nightstopping in the city centre then it's most likely fine but if you are in an airport hotel or one in the middle of no where then it soon becomes a drag.
It depends on the cities and hotel location, a good hotel in the centre of a nice city, which you would pay to visit anyway, is a far better proposition than a 3* airport hotel miles from anywhere.
A few nights a month in a variety of good locations is a plus to the job, where as three nights a week in a transit hotel miles from anything gets monotonous.
If I'm staying over somewhere which lacks things to do, I'll use the time productively to catch up on paper work, visit the hotel gym or study.
A few nights a month in a variety of good locations is a plus to the job, where as three nights a week in a transit hotel miles from anything gets monotonous.
If I'm staying over somewhere which lacks things to do, I'll use the time productively to catch up on paper work, visit the hotel gym or study.
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If you have kids, sometimes a night or two per week away helps get your sanity back but strangely, any longer than that and you start to go insane because those that make you go insane at home are not there anymore. Withdrawal symptoms I believe they're called. 
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buzzc152 Personally I think it is one of the best sale to of the job. You get to explore the world, have a nice breakfast and dinner everyday. I also think it helps to keep the marriage and family fresh......providing of course you're not away from home for extended periods. I'm away for 4 or 5 nights at a time then with 5 days at home and it works fairly well.
I do lots of layovers. Away 3 weeks then week or so off. I don't want to stay long haul. It's got a shelf life and you never feel life you're part of your own life after a while, no matter if you do it in a few day chunks or get it out of the way in one long stretch. I think having kids makes it worse.
Last edited by Cliff Secord; 24th Apr 2015 at 19:24.
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I did the low cost thing for 5 years, found a lucky break and managed to fly with a real airline again.
It depends on the nightstop location, the type of pub you're in and how much rest you have. Some places I loathe for one or more of the same reasons, and others I kill for.
Overall though a few overnights per month is much better than being at home every night.
It depends on the nightstop location, the type of pub you're in and how much rest you have. Some places I loathe for one or more of the same reasons, and others I kill for.
Overall though a few overnights per month is much better than being at home every night.
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We do 6 on, 5 off. The overnights can range from fantastic to min rest in an airport hotel.