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They have great pay, amazing company in the form of attractive-looking cabin crew and can fly all across the world. And yet it is not always smooth sailing, either for the pilots or their partners. So if you are keen to date someone from this professional class, here are a few things to keep in mind. Married to the job One of the first things you have to understand about dating an airline pilot is that their working schedules can be unpredictable.
This is unlike dating military personnel who are away for almost a year but then come back to stay with their families for a couple of months or so. On the other extreme are nine-to-five jobs where couples, no matter how busy they are during the day, can see each other at the end of it. They are absent long enough to miss important occasions in their personal lives but then not present long enough to work at renewing the bonding with their significant others.
Unlike truck driving, where it's perfectly feasible for a spouse to tag along, since non-pilots are not allowed in cockpits of commercial flights, it's really not feasible for spouses of pilots to go with them on all their journeys.
If you are the kind of person who likes to feel emotionally and physically close to a partner, you will let in yourself for a difficult time if you start dating an airline pilot. Rather you should also have a career you're passionate about to occupy your time while your spouse is away. Keep yourself busy until your pilot partner gets back, so that you have plenty to talk about when you are together again. Live the good life However one way that most airline pilots are able to compensate for their physical absence is by offering their partners a grand social life when they are back.
Airline pilots are one of the professional groups which make a good deal of money. During flight pilots are unable to be reached, and when on the ground they may be in a completely different time zone that is unfavorable to those at home. These challenges can easily create relationship problems if not dealt with properly. There are many pilots who have fallen into the habit of not checking in as often as they should with their spouses.
This lack of communication can create insecurities or questions about what is really happening while away on their trips. Creating a healthy relationship starts with communication, and will eliminate any room for mistrust or uncertainty. Have your partner text you when they land safely or arrive to hotel.
Use Facetime or Skype to check-in and talk face-to-face, helping to ease the feelings of long distance. Share dinner plans, who they will be with and when they get back to hotel room.
Dating an airline pilot means that you constantly have to adjust your life around their schedule. The majority of pilots flying today only receive their schedules for the following month a few weeks ahead of time.
This means that unless they have scheduled vacation, you will likely be playing a guessing game on whether or not they will have a specific holiday or weekend off. Pilots who fly reserve lines, meaning they are on-call, live day-to-day unsure of whether or not they will get used. Even though they may be at home, there is always a chance they will get called into work last minute.
For those pilots who hold a regular line, it may take many years before they gain access to an improved or more flexible schedule.
So in order to adapt to a pilots unpredictable schedule, the best advice is not to get hung up on important dates. You will likely have to celebrate birthdays on a different day, spend holidays apart, or plan your weekends together month by month.
I, 27yo, have been dating my boyfriend, 26 yo, for 1,5 years. He was a flight student when we got together and 6 months ago he became a pilot. Dating or marrying a pilot does however take a certain type of person. If you are someone who hates to be alone, has trust issues, or doesn't like to travel, you.
Be flexible and willing to adjust, even if it means making small sacrifices along the way. Pilots are usually based out of a specific hub, and sometimes this hub is not within easy commuting distance from your hometown. Unfortunately this can be a challenge when you have kids, especially when you need the extra support that your family can provide while your spouse is away. Fortunately though, one of the many perks of being with a pilot is that you have flight benefits.
We reveal the highs, and the lows Did we mention the free travel? Living the high life. Christopher Stork has been a commercial airline pilot for 14 years. Based in Washington DC, he has a three-year-old son and his wife is a former flight attendant.
He tells us why landing a pilot should be on your to-do list. Being with a pilot means you get bootstrapped to your throttle jockey's pass privileges. This isn't automatic though.
He or she may already have a drinking buddy listed as a 'domestic partner' so they can take free trips down to the islands or Vegas together. But once you've proven your worth, imagine travelling for almost free during peak travelling season, when everyone else is willing to pay to get there.
That's as long as there are seats available on the flight you're hoping to climb aboard. You can look also forward to off-season trips to beaches and icy ski slopes.
And while travel is cheap, you might get bumped from the flight because there's no room you can go home with the memory of being harassed by a security guard - for free!