Could it also be fair to say that an individual like that may have tried upgrade to the max allowed times at Delta before being fired (at our shop, your 3rd strike for upgrade you're basically done for), and says if I can't risk a CA upgrade failure, I'll just bid time on the highest paying FO plane?
I'm assuming a 26+ yr Delta narrowbody CA can set up a PBS bid that gets him three 4-day trips for the month with 65-75+ hrs and that's it. That was our princess VX schedule. Never done overseas trips but I'd imagine time zone changes get old, fast. Even more so in your 50s and 60s. 3 domestic trips per month is already semi-retired within your same timezone, +/- 3 hrs tops.
But of course, to each his own.
Domestic is rough. International, at least for me, is wonderful. I’m always well-rested, well-fed and I’ve already taken off ten pounds by being ablue to eschew fast food and walk until my ankles scream on layovers.
Like today, I’ll get to Detroit about 1300, take a couple hour nap, see what the CPO has to munch on, hit brief, fly for maybe 2.5 hours, sleep another 2.5 hours, fly another 2.5 hours, then hit the layover city about 2300 ‘body clock time’ then sleep maybe 5-7 hours (whereas I sleep about 4h at home). Wake up, work out, go explore the city, meet the crew for happy hour and dinner if they aren’t morons and take a nice after-dinner walk, back to bed around 2100, pop a melatonin and sleep for 8. Wake up, work out, light breakfast, then fly back.
On the four-pilot trips to Asia, it’s even better and more breaks.
That’s my routine international.
There’s no domestic equivalent to the quality of life as a senior widebody first officer and you will outearn your captain. If I showed you @DPApilot’s schedule, as a new hire even, you’ll think “Hot damn, does he know how good he has It?”
And he’s a probie.
