Commercial pilots ONLY!?
GraveRobert
It all depends on where my home terminal is, that would also play a role in your home time. The longest I have been away from home was two weeks. The oversea routes will keep you away around that length of time. It's not hard in my personal experience to be away for lengthy periods though, but I don't have a wife and kids at home either.
rob
I was wondering the same thing!
Zaphod Beeblebrox
There are all sorts of "commercial pilots", not just airline pilots, who represent only one segment of commercial aviation. I'm a "commercial pilot" and am home every night. I've had other flying jobs where I was away from home for many days or weeks at a time. So, if you are referring to airline pilots who work for a scheduled airline, that's what you should be asking about. Having done airline flying for a portion of my career, I can tell you that you don't get much, if any, choice of schedules or routes when you are first starting out as a newly hired copilot and start at the bottom of the seniority list, and it is that way again when you upgrade to captain and move to the bottom of the captains seniority list. One generally moves up that list very slowly and it can take many years to obtsin as schedule you are happy with. And, too, how long one might be away depends on whether you fly domestic short-haul or international long-haul routes. I can also say this from experience. It's very hard on some families and that airline pilots have one of the highest divorce rates of any profession. In the flying profession, like the military, the job comes first and family obligations comne second.
tacloh
It depends. Some days I go away overnight, and sometimes I stay a few days. The best thing is the bar in the airport to spend the lonely hours between flights.
Joe
Sometimes I just tell them that I am away to get a bit of space. Most of us have a few girlfriends from work.
Anonymous
Hardly ever.
JetDoc
You don't get an "option". If you want to work for an airline, you work whatever schedule the airline tells you to work. Choices of routes and schedules are strictly based on seniority, and as a new hire, you don't have any seniority.
Fred
I don't see what pilot advertisements have to do with anything.