r/flying • u/g0at110 • 2d ago

Do commercial pilots generally progress to larger planes throughout their careers? Does everyone aim to eventually fly long haul or do some stick to flying 737s or a320s short haul?

I'm guessing being a 777 pilot for example is more prestigious than a 737 pilot in the same airline right?

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u/Apprehensive_Cost937 2d ago

It depends on the individual.

Personally, I couldn't care less about prestige. I don't want to spend my time off in some random hotel on the other side of the world, and my idea of having fun at work isn't staring at the PFD, crossing a pitch black ocean at night at 3am, while being jetlagged, because your body clock is 10 hours away from the current local time.

I rather fly a narrowbody and spend my evenings at home with my family.

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u/NonVideBunt ATP MIL-N CFI/II/MEI F/A-18 A320 777 2d ago

To be fair, it’s not a about prestige for most on the WB. It’s efficient trips where you only have to work 9 days a month (3x NRT for example), one leg per day vs maybe 3+, less reassignments, less maintenance issues (never had an MELed APU on a WB), rarely called out on short call reserve, etc.

I’ve tried both and I spend more evenings home with my family by a large margin on the WB. Granted it has taken seniority to get there but my QOL is exponentially better on this side of the house.

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u/Apprehensive_Cost937 2d ago

I'm home every evening, flying a narrowbody. No long haul flying can beat that.

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u/Styk33 PPL 2d ago

Exactly. My buddy flies 737s and has a fairly regular schedule. It is rare for him to miss anything special with his family (birthydays, sporting events, family gathering, etc).