A pilot reveals: Most people are wrong about what they think about pilots

Adeva says that recently she was asked two questions, which she has already been asked several times: Does an airline pilot fly regularly to the same destination? And is it also at those hours? Edva points out that there is a need to separate, and that there are two types of pilots in the airline, one is called a reserve pilot and the other is a line pilot. Reserve pilots are usually, but not always, pilots who have just joined the company, young pilots who are just starting their careers with their current airline.

Reserve pilots do not have a fixed schedule, they do not have scheduled flights at all, and are only called when the airline needs a replacement pilot or squadron. The reserve pilots actually work a few days a month and have to be available by phone. They might get called, they might not, but they should be available usually within two to three hours of getting the call and they need to get to the airport or the plane and start their shift.

In addition to them, there are Line pilots, who have a schedule of flights, but these are not always regular flights and not always flights to the same destinations. Most airlines have a system called a bidding system, in which each pilot chooses their preferences – which flights they would like to take in the near future. The more senior a pilot you are in the company, the more likely you will get the flights you chose. If you are a beginner pilot, the less likely you will get your preferences.

The pilot or the squadron can ask for very, very specific things. They can request days off on certain days, they can request which destination they want to fly to, they can request to start flights starting at 1:00 p.m. only, they can request to stay only in Japan, they can request that their trips be only four days or request that their trips be only two days. There are a lot of preferences and everyone does this bidding according to their wishes.

The system gives each pilot what it can give him, according to his seniority in the company and the different needs. It is important to know that there are pilots in the company who have been there for many years and still do not succeed in bidding as they would like. Sometimes pilots get upset about their bidding results and don’t understand how they got it. In any case, this process is very transparent and you can usually see the bidding of the other pilots as well.

You have to remember that the airlines also change the flights and change the times sometimes. Thus, from month to month there are seasonal lines that open and seasonal lines that close. Sometimes the specific time of a scheduled flight can also change. It’s rare, but it happens and all these things make the aviation world very dynamic.

Bottom line: we do not have a fixed line and there are no fixed hours, certainly if you are a reserve pilot or if you are a relatively young pilot. As you get older, you have the option of getting a schedule that fits what you choose, but even here there is no 100 percent.