The question which many people may ask themselves, do I want to become a short-haul or a long-haul pilot?

I have written this article to try and help you answer this question. We will explore the demands and duties of short-haul and long-haul pilots, the lifestyle as well as career prospects for each. I hope by reading this you will obtain a far better understanding on which is better for you.

The first thing to remember is that everyone is different, short-haul and long-haul lifestyles may vary considerably and whilst one pilot might cope easily with long-haul schedules another pilot may find the demands draining.

Short-haul flying involves far more hands on control, it can involve making several trips per day which means that a short-haul pilot gains a lot more experience in a shorter space of time. Takeoffs and landings are far more frequent and the airlines expect you to squeeze in a lot of flying in the working day.

Long-haul flying, on the other hand, tends to be more boring with long periods sitting in the cockpit coupled with less hands on control. The big advantage of long-haul flying and why it seems so appealing, are the overnight stops at far away destinations, some of which might last several days. Th- draw back with short-haul flying is that overnight stops will tend to be limited in their number and will rarely last more than one night.

Although once you have been a long-haul pilot for a while the novelty of stopovers can rapidly wear off, especially for those pilots with families. Long-haul pilots do get more time off between trips, however jet lag can take its toll, especially when you are performing a mix of east-bound and west-bound flights.

Short-haul flying is demanding where long 5-6 flying days followed by 3 days off is typical for some airlines. This will usually involve consecutive early starts or late finishes. A major benefit for some will that you get to spend most of your nights tucked in at home.

A major difference between the two are the aircraft types. Short-haul pilots will fly smaller planes with 2 crew in the cockpit. Whereas long-haul pilots get to fly the big wide-body jets and will usually fly with 3 pilots in the cockpit due to the lengths of the flights.

This can be a big factor in ones decision between short/long haul flying. Some people dream of the flying an aircraft such as the 747 and this will be the deciding factor for them. Others are more content with smaller types due to the increased handling responsibilities.

It is certainly true that as a long-haul pilot for a major carrier such as BA/Virgin you will better remunerated with greater perks. A salary for a long-haul 747 captain can be as great as £ 40,000 more than a captain flying a 737.

The pros and cons on each side are finely balanced and one must decide which is best suited to their personal aspirations and circumstances. Long-haul might be better paid with good benefits and overnight stops, but the time away can prove difficult. Whereas short is less well paid, it tends to be more fun with more going on in the cockpit and you are never too far away from home.

Either way you will experience short-haul, because if you aim to become a long-haul pilot then you will certainly have to spend some years flying short-haul routes beforehand.

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