A Pilot's Day Off - How Beth likes to spend her free time

If you’ve read our recent blog post about pilot schedules, You may have been surprised to find out that the average pilot gets about 15 days off in their monthly schedule. Now, these days off are taken seriously. All pilots need to be sure they are appropriately rested for their next flight days, so that we can ensure that they are safe to fly! However, it’s not all serious: most pilots also use their time off to pursue a hobby that they’re passionate about!

I found this out for myself when I first became a pilot: my colleagues would ask me at the end of the trip what I was doing on my days off, and I didn’t know what to say. My childhood in Jamaica was laser focused on academics, so I didn’t have any hobbies besides school, school, and more school thanks to my mother’s belief “get an education, and you will become” 

So I started to explore to find a hobby. Well, being a very type-A person, that exploration led me to becoming a hobby connoisseur (wait, is that even a thing…hmm…anyway). This has become something I’m very passionate about, and have even shared with my daughter so that we can spend quality time exploring and learning together. 

But for me, my family is the top priority on my days off. 

Contrary to common stereotypes, a pilot’s schedule CAN prioritize family time! First of all, a pilot’s off days are predictable: if you are scheduled to be off, you are off. While the monthly schedule bids are based on seniority, they can be made considering your family’s needs. 

For a junior pilot, getting their first choice of schedule might be more difficult, but it is always possible to get creative to make the schedule work: either by utilizing a trip trade or pilot to pilot swap. 

Sometimes, even with all of the resources that we have, we still can’t get the exact schedule that we want, but that’s ok! The monthly schedules are bid a full month in advance, so that if the schedule can’t be made to accommodate life, then we have time to adapt our lives to accommodate the schedule. 

Additionally, our vacation days are bid yearly, so those big once-in-a-lifetime events like births, weddings, and graduations can be planned around and ensured to be off. 

Because the bidding system is based on seniority, junior pilots understand that sometimes they will have to make certain sacrifices (like flying on holidays), but are happy to be flexible in their personal lives so that all of our passengers and cargo can arrive at their destinations safely and on time. 

Now, what do I personally do with my time off? 

Starting when I was 21, a fresh new pilot based in Puerto Rico, I devoted my time off to exploring the nearby Caribbean Islands. I had only read about them in books as a kid, and never thought that I would be able to see in real life! 

Later, I spent some time backpacking in Europe, I got my motorcycle license (I still have it!), and gifted myself a Nascar driving course when I became a captain at American Eagle. 

One of my favorite hobbies is cooking: I grew up in Jamaica, where I learned to cook Jamaican food, then as an adult, I took cooking classes and learned to cook French food. Now, when I’m at home, I cook Asian food. Chinese food has been my comfort food since I was a kid; one of my neighbors was Jamaican Chinese, and her family had a Chinese restaurant. She taught my sisters and I to cook her family’s recipes, which are my favorites to this day. 

As my daughter has grown up, I have shared my passion for trying out hobbies: so far we have tried piano lessons, skiing, and tennis together with plans to do a sailing course once she graduates Flight school. Our favorite past time together is watching movies, and analyzing the storytelling, art direction, and cinematography. My love for film was inspired by my mother and I love that I now get to pass that passion on while spending quality time with my daughter. 

As much as I try to keep things balanced, sometimes my commitment to trying new things isn’t easily compatible with my schedule as a pilot. But I always make it work! For example, when I signed up for ballroom dancing, I worked with the instructor for one on one classes instead of group classes that better fit. 

The reality of this field is that our work schedule is unconventional and comes with its own unique challenges. However, we as pilots learn how to work within our airline system to create the work-life balance that we need for ourselves and our families. 

And thanks to resources like trip-trade and pilot swap, our fellow pilots are able to support each other when our seniority means we do not get the ideal schedule we bid for the first time. We all work together to balance our lives and families, while prioritizing the passengers and cargo that we have the privilege of taking care of.