For pilots, marriage can be difficult. Most airline pilots won't trade their jobs for anything. After all, it beats sitting at a table, and it comes with a fantastic view along with many other benefits. But there are also problems. It can be difficult for the pilot's family and friends to understand exactly what they are against while they are participating in training or on trips. How hard is it to fly around the world, indulge in hotel bars with other crew members?
And why does their schedule always have to be so complicated?
I caught up with several airline pilots on Facebook, and they sounded out on pilot marriages and relationships.
Sarah E. is the first officer of a major airline. She says it's hard for outsiders to understand what's going on with the pilots. "It's hard for people who don't live in an airline to understand this. They think that while we are away, we are on vacation and partying. It is difficult to convey the amount of work we do, it is tedious and difficult, especially for a wife and mother. Sleeping in a hotel and living out of a bag is not the most fun, but we are pilots and passionate about what we do. It's in our blood, and it's part of who we are."
For an unsuccessful number of pilots, their relationships or marriages end because of one or more of these problems, which leads to misunderstandings. Some of them can be blamed for the harsh working conditions, which is difficult for any non-pilot to understand.
And those who are trying to do marriage work often spend their time explaining all aspects of a pilot career to their significant others, often left alone to cope with the challenges of raising a family. Details, such as why pilots spend a lot of money on fast food and why they were scheduled during the family's annual vacation in Hawaii, even if they offer different schedules, can become sources of disagreement, and often family members feel left out and misunderstood themselves.
"This is probably an important reason for pilots to divorce- a lack of understanding of what work entails," says Melinda W., a married first officer of a major airline. the captain told me about the best management methods for the content spouse: "Remember that the weather is always shitty, the hotel is a dump, and the team is a bunch of idiots. Your spouse does not want to hear that you are having a good time during the trip when they are at home working with a backup toilet, a car problem, a sick child, shoveling snow or a dog sprayed by a skunk! " Maybe so, but spouses don't need to be protected from the daily lives of pilots. The pilots just need to tell the truth that despite the fact that the weather in Hawaii is beautiful and yes, they enjoyed a cocktail at the hotel bar, that they are exhausted and yes, still committed to their marriages. And while they try to explain it, many pilots wish their significant others understood what's going on around them every time they fly.