Being on a 15/15 roster and being lucky to live where the plane mostly fly from, I happen to have anything between 5 to 15 overnights a months, with the latter being normal in summer season.
Can be a blast or a pita depending on the crew you are with, and of course the destinations.

I will admit I have enjoyed some spectacular days in sunny greece or spain with fantastic colleaugues, and some miserable ones in not so glamour places in eastern or central europe.

Ps: now in sardinia for the weekend in a nice hotel, weather is glorious, food is great and meeting with an old friend. Could be worse.

I simply could not imagine a long flying career devoid of night stops. I could only ever take so much domestic bliss. Each to his taste.

Night stops
 

Part and Parcel of the job, I can not remember a night stop that I did not enjoy,some better than others.Aberdeen good ,hong Kong great, Islamabad not so good but still would not have missed them, part of the fun of aviation Enjoy ,after 20 years in retirement still miss it

I believe you are missing something out, personally that is.

In my low cost days I felt like a shift worker going to a factory.

Granted not everything is well at other airlines but getting a few nights away a month is not a bad thing. You get to know your crew, and spend time with them out of the uniform. This leads to a nicer working atmosphere onboard. You can catch up with friends or family that live in the towns you visit, or just have a good meal in a nice restaurant.

If you are lucky you get to work in a big, scheduled ops airline. That gives enough variety so that with a good bidding system you should be able to shift the bulk of your roster towards your preference, nightstops or turnarounds.

Yes to nightstops but I am commuting on a 7-7 roster.
In my former job I lived 20 min's from base and worked 5-4 and getting home everyday was fantastic

I did A LOT of night stopping for my low cost. Granted, the destinations were not that glamorous, but I just do not see the point. Different city, different taxi, same chain hotel, same crew, same breakfast. The only night stop I would fancy once in a while is to some Caribbean sandy beach to relax.
Honestly I am quite happy to be home every night.

Some people join this business for the glamour, they prosper in a 'proper' airline I guess. I don't miss it.

Thanks for sharing your experiences, all in all quite a positive view overall. I have seen colleagues with small children who would hate to be away and others who would welcome a little 'holiday'

I didn't want to mention any airlines specifically in order for it not to turn into an x vs y conversation. I have a feeling that my current job is probably suitable for me when I have a family one day but since they don't exist yet, maybe I'll try the night stop life for a while.

I have been nightstopping for most of my flying days and I would not have changed it. My most enjoyable night stops were when I was flying corporate and having a few days downtime in a nice city was great.

I am now back in the airline world and 24hrs anywhere is simply not long enough. By the time I hear the wake up call, I barely feel that I have arrived. :(

Dirk85
 

I'll ask your boss a paycut for you!:cool:

(We are friends)

BTW my night stop tonight was inside the aeroplane as I've just came back from yesterday evening.

If you have no family of your own then go out and see the world. If you are in a relationship, then a mix is good if you can achieve it. A good night stop once in a while is good for the soul, and reminds you why you spent all those years and all that money learning and training to become a pilot.

However, I would urge anyone with young children to consider a job without regular night stops or long periods away from home. The early years of children's life are very precious, and by the time you realise that, those years are gone.

I spent a lot of time away from home living in a shared rented house when I was working my way up the airline ladder with a previous company. I also spent a lot of time on the road long distance commuting to other bases, and so I missed a lot of my son's early life. For example, I missed teaching him to ride a bicycle without stabilisers - Mrs Uplinker did that while I was away.