For many the life of an airline pilot sounds like a dream job. Glamour, money, jetting off around the world on a regular basis, handling a mult-milltion pound jet. This is the view that many people have, but what is life as an airline pilot really like?

Seniority is everything as an airline pilot. It determines where you rank in your airline, this in turn will determine your status, which aircraft you fly, your schedule and of course your pay grade.

Pilots get to bid on their prefered flying schedules, your seniority will determine your bidding power. Therefore the most senior pilots get to pick their ideal schedules consisting of daytime flying and weekends off. Whereas those at the bottom of the pile usually get lumbered with poor schedules including many night flights and weekends away.

Clearly the more senior you are the better. You can climb the seniority ladder by new starters under you, or by more senior pilots leaving or retiring. Obtaining seniority is a waiting game and its speed can vary from airline to airline depending on their circumstances.

Seniority is one reason why many pilots will stay at the same airline for long periods of time. This is because if you changed airlines you will go to the bottom of their seniority list and will effectively have to start again.

When you get your first job you will be at the bottom of the seniority list. Therefore you will be likely to spend the first stint of your career on reserve.

Many things can go wrong in the airline industry, therefore airlines have reserve pilots that can be called in at short notice to fly anywhere.

Life as a reserve pilot can range from being boring and fustrating to being hectic. One week on reserve you might not fly anywhere, whereas another week you could be flying everyday. You must be prepared to drop everything and go straight to the airport for your assignment. The uncertainty of being a reserve pilot can place strain on family life, but its an essential part of your career which you have to go through if you are going to progress.

Eventually new pilots will get hired and you will climb above a reserve pilot to work on the line.

A pilot that works on the line will be given a predefined flight schedule usually influenced by their seniority. The line schedule will depend on a number of factors and vary between the nature of different airlines. Some lines may include stopovers and night flights. Some may require a pilot to be away for several days. It depends on the airline. The most popular lines are likely to be snapped up by the most senior pilots.

You are likely to start your airline career as a junior first officer ( co-pilot) sitting in the right hand seat. It is the desire of many pilots to eventually migrate to the right hand seat and become captain.

Your seniority will play a vital role in becomming captain. Captains tend to be the most senior pilots in airlines and so are highly experienced. To become captain a pilot must pass a number of tests which are both practical and written.

As a captain you will be in the command of the aircraft and therefore hold a lot more responsibility. On the positive side a captain can expect a higher pay grade and more respect.

Airline pilots work unsocialable hours and can be away from home for several days. They can work weekends, bank holidays and at night. The irregularity of pilot life can place strain on ones family life. Being a pilot can also be very stressful and climbing the career ladder takes time and commitment. It is important to consider these factors when thinking about pursuing a career as an airline pilot.

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