Can you ... bring your spouse/significant other with you?
You bet. I brought my wife with me on an overnight this past tour, in fact. We had an empty leg from one of the nearby airports -- she rode in total luxury in the back, ate a steak dinner, and watched part of a DVD with the remote in her hand. When we arrived at the FBO, a rental car I booked for all of $35 was pulled up right next to the airplane. She then joined me for my 15-hour overnight in a beachside Crowne Plaza. We had breakfast together in the hotel, she dropped me off at the FBO, and drove the ~90 minutes back home. For longer trips, we simply use my frequent-flier miles to get free
positive-space tickets.
Certainly beat the last time we tried to non-rev together when I was still working an airline job. If you're working for an airline, then you already know how useless the travel benefits are most of the time if you can't make your way into the jumpseat.
As for the scheduling, no, I can't bid specific cities or overnights because our business doesn't work that way. You know this. But I have every other weekend off even as a junior pilot, I work 15 days a month, and get two 21-day stretches of time off for vacation each year, going up to three and four as I gain seniority.
Who cares about a cell phone, a car during training or hotel during an interview...
Hey, if you'd rather be a refugee in your hotel during training, eating whatever food is nearby, have at it. I'd rather get out and live life when class is out.
If a cell phone, car during training or a turkey sandwhich you have to eat in an FBO is good QOL for you then more power to ya.
Been there, done that.
Turkey sandwich? Are you kidding?
This past week, just for example, I recall having crabcakes, sea scallops, half a Giordanno's deep-dish pizza (had to split it, it was too much), ropa vieja, coconut shrimp, baby back ribs, a veggie burger, roasted vegetable sandwich, and more.
I'll take a free steak in a nice FBO over a Whopper in the food court
any day of the week.
It's not for you; we get that. This is a much better fit
for me. Enjoy your job; I enjoy mine.
