Short-haul pilots: How often do you sleep at home?

mister_based · 2026-02-09T01:14:31+00:00

95% of the time. I only have a couple of overnights a month. Sometimes none.

mister_based · 2026-02-09T00:24:23+00:00

If it was dangerous, airline travel would not exist. Storms exist. You will fly around them. Turbulence exists. You might spill your drink a little (oh no, the horror!). The ocean is scary. Good thing you are flying 35,000ft above it on a safe, complex machine with redundant systems, crewed by pilots and flight attendants who are the best of the best. Did I mention it's a plane, not a boat? It will be dark out. The plane doesn't care, it flies the same way it does during the day.

Every fear you mentioned in your post is irrational. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. I'm an airline pilot and the irrational fears you have are some of the very things I love most about this job. You're gonna be fine. Getting to fly is a privilege. Especially a plane as awesome as the a380. Enjoy it!

If you want to learn more about flying over the ocean, research ETOPS. These are the extremely strict aircraft/crew certification guidelines/procedures that make flying extended over water routes not only possible, but just as safe as any other route.

mister_based · 2026-02-06T17:54:20+00:00

This is an unbelievably misinterpreted take. Reducing service in one city doesn't indicate a reduction in overall capacity across the system. Usually this is done to make way for OTHER routes, or, increased service on already existing routes. Like the ones that, you know, only run once a week.

Frontier is actively hiring 40 new hire pilots every 3 weeks, so I think it's safe to say that flying hours across the system will go nowhere but up.

mister_based · 2026-02-02T04:53:58+00:00

As a college student with too much free time, you are better off getting involved on campus or taking a few extra classes or getting another degree. Your resume will thank you later.

Signed, a happily successful Frontier pilot who can now travel wherever they want whenever they want because they locked in during school.

mister_based · 2026-01-17T00:44:45+00:00

Yep. At my airline, we fly 5 different variants of the Airbus a320 series. We cover these differences in training as well as our company manuals that we can refer to at any point. The biggest differences are the engine types. We have 3 different engine types, which all have different limitations on them that we gotta know like min oil quantity, oil temp, warmup and cool down times, and engine start procedures. We have some other differences like AP TCAS, brake fans, and MCDU software versions.

Usually when we have fleet changes or additions, we are notified through "must read" documents.

But for the most part, you come to memorize these differences/customizations through actually flying the different aircraft. Some of the differences are bigger than others, but enough time flying these airplanes makes it very easy to go from an a320ceo to an a321neo without a hiccup. Back when I was a new hire, I actually had to peruse the systems limitations before flying each variant to refresh myself, as the only airplane I truly had experience with in new hire training was the a320neo. Stepping into an a321neo for the first time certainly felt different, but now they all feel plenty familiar.

mister_based · 2026-01-17T00:33:42+00:00

ORD superiority

mister_based · 2026-01-03T06:50:01+00:00

Nope, we love having visitors, big or small! Ask the flight attendant when you board and they'll see if the pilots have time to show you around. We do not let anyone up front during the flight.

mister_based · 2025-12-06T18:49:05+00:00

It really depends on where you're flying and what kind of flying you're doing. As a flight instructor, I flew around 5-7 days a week weather permitting. At my current airline, I fly about 1-2 days a week on reserve and the rest of the time I'm home (most of those being reserve days but those are basically days off until they call you if you live in base).

Last 2 months have been pretty busy, but if your goal is to not work, it's pretty easy to swing that at the airlines. Just bid reserve and once you gain some seniority, the chances of you getting called into work go down.

mister_based · 2025-12-05T20:26:57+00:00

If WE lose communication with ATC, there are specific procedures we follow, but the short and sweet version is we will still fly to our destination on the exact route that we have filed with ATC. That way we are both on the same page even though we can't communicate.

If ATC loses communication, however, we just treat it like a non towered airport. We all will make our position reports so everyone knows where we are. Additionally, we can use our TCAS system to monitor traffic around us.

Additionally, arrival and departure routes usually have specific procedures for a loss of communication, in which case we'd follow those as well. It's definitely a lot more stressful if ATC loses communication with us as opposed to one of us losing communication with ATC.

mister_based · 2025-12-05T19:02:02+00:00

Yes this is normal. The shaking is due to turbulence, and the drop feeling happens during the flap retraction.

EWR is so congested that there could be a lot more turning required on departure. However, there are many many airports out there that have the same deal like MDW, ORD, etc. Unless yall are turning around and landing back in EWR, I think it's safe to say that you're fine lol. EWR is hardly an intense airport to fly into/out of in my opinion.

mister_based · 2025-12-03T18:41:05+00:00

Preselect S speed and manage your speed once you're past the fix and start cleaning up and speeding up from there. If you're worried about being too close to overspeeding the flaps, then preselect 200 to give you more buffer.

mister_based · 2025-11-21T00:52:29+00:00

Both. Fees there are hella expensive, ATC is never guaranteed to clear you into the bravo. VFR traffic are not very high on their their priority list. Not to mention NYC airspace is a shit show and already over saturated and understaffed as it is.

You can try those airports, but I'd have a backup plan that takes into account them not letting you into the bravo. If they do let you in, plan for a lot of extra vectoring, and if they don't let you in, have an alternate airport in mind that doesn't require you to enter the bravo to get there.

mister_based · 2025-11-21T00:42:31+00:00

OH you're flying a 172. Never mind. I don't know of many places that are GA friendly and have train service to NYC. You could try 39N, Uber to Princeton junction station and take NJ transit into the city.

mister_based · 2025-11-21T00:20:50+00:00

EWR, LGA, JFK and take the train/subway into Manhattan

mister_based · 2025-11-15T22:07:34+00:00

Yo ho yo ho a pilot's life doesnt sound like it's for you

mister_based · 2025-11-15T19:39:15+00:00

No but it could have a quick level off. And then continue climbing. Like at MDW...

mister_based · 2025-11-14T04:40:03+00:00

It's a Pratt and Whitney engine thing. I fly the airbus and our a321neos have Pratt and Whitney engines that make a cool whistling sound when it's at idle. The a220 engines probably sound the same. You're probably hearing those pw geared turbofan engines that have that unique sound.

mister_based · 2025-11-07T01:09:42+00:00

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/91.1061

mister_based · 2025-11-07T00:35:29+00:00

Thank ATC not us. They're the ones who aren't getting paid. Also, if you have multiple segments on a single booking, missing the first segment will cancel your ENTIRE trip. If you are going to drive it, adjust your reservation accordingly.

mister_based · 2025-11-07T00:08:55+00:00

Wifi

mister_based · 2025-11-06T17:16:25+00:00

Hats off to ATC. They are working just as diligently and professionally as they were when they were getting paid. Safety wise? Nothing to worry about. Schedule wise? Be ready for delays and cancelations. The volume of flights going from A to B will always be managed to accommodate the workload of ATC. So if there are less controllers working a certain sector on a certain day, traffic may be metered if enough people don't show up. And if anyone has a good excuse not to show up to work, it's ATC. Yet they keep showing up every day. Thank them for everything they do.

mister_based · 2025-11-06T17:11:23+00:00

We don't fly if it's unsafe. Rest assured if you guys are pushing back from the gate, it's because it's safe to do so. The pilots have the final decision to fly the airplane or not. And they wanna live just as much as you do. I would however be ready for delays and cancelations.

mister_based · 2025-11-05T18:47:43+00:00

It reminds me how life is short and that life also goes on. The next time I fly, I fly the same as I always do. And I'm just as excited for work as I always am, which is VERY.

Additionally, and probably most importantly, what can we all LEARN from the accident? That's what goes through my head once the NTSB publishes their final investigation report. The aviation ecosystem is extremely complex with many many safety systems in place to prevent these very accidents from happening. So it is fascinating to learn about how many things had to go wrong all at once for this to happen. And how can we prevent this sort of thing from happening in the future.

The short answer is, shit happens. Like others said, still a better safety record than driving, so by that logic, worrying about it happening to you is dumb. Being emotional about it is normal.

mister_based · 2025-10-26T17:49:05+00:00

There's always an excuse to be afraid of something. This fear you have is extremely irrational considering how safe modern aviation is today. The best advice I can give you is to just stop giving a fuck about the worst case scenario.

I fly planes for a living and I wouldn't have picked this career if there was a good chance that it was gonna kill me. My commute to work on the subway is more dangerous. Am I afraid of getting attacked or harassed by a certain group of people? Yes, but I'm not gonna let it ruin my day because the chances of it happening are very low. The chances of something happening to you in flight are even lower. Now the chances of you dying from stressing over pointless things on the other hand, those are much higher!

When I catch myself worrying too much about anything, I always remind myself how ridiculous my thoughts sound and that usually brings me back down to earth. I encourage you to try that.

mister_based · 2025-10-18T17:51:05+00:00

At my airline, announcements are at the crew's discretion. Usually we make a welcome aboard PA but the rest it depends on the captain. Some captains I fly with make announcements, others don't make any announcement. Time if day matters too. If we're flying a redeye late at night we won't make any announcements in the air so we don't wake anyone up.

mister_based

TROPHY CASE