Maternity Leave for airline pilots???

raff

New Member
I am a female flight instructor looking into a future career as an airline pilot. I would like to have a family one day and i have a few questions regarding Maternity leave.

1.) Do the airlines offer maternity leave?
2.) Do you lose your seniority by going on maternity leave?
3.) Do they make resources available to you to stay current?
4.) How long into your pregnancy are you allowed to continue flying?

Any information on this subject would be greatly appreciated.
 
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I am a female flight instructor looking into a future career as an airline pilot. I would like to have a family one day and i have a few questions regarding Maternity leave.

1.) Do the airlines offer maternity leave?
2.) Do you lose your seniority by going on maternity leave?
3.) Do they make resources available to you to stay current?
4.) How long into your pregnancy are you allowed to continue flying?

Any information on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

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1.) Yes, by federal law, they MUST offer leave. The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires employers to give up to 12 weeks unpaid leave . Most airlines have also have a seperate "Maternity Leave" program available also.

2.) You do not lose any senority, however depending on your airline's contract, you may not accrue any senority either. For example, if you are on an extended leave, and your hire date is 1/1/00, and you take 3 months (12 weeks) off, upon return your 'company senority date' will now be 4/1/00. Again, this depends entirely on your airline's company policies and union contract (if applicable).

3.) Upon return to work you will go through whatever training the company sees necessary to make you current. If your landings have expired, you'll have to go for a sim ride, if you've missed your recurrent training, you'll have to complete it before return to the line.

4.) You can fly up to but not including the last 12 weeks of pregnancy. So you can fly through your first two trimesters. If you really want to/need to work longer, you can do a desk job for a few more weeks, but if your pregnancy was anything like mine, you won't want to!

If anyone else has anything else to offer, please speak up!

edit
Guys, in case you're curious, FMLA applies to you too! If your wife has a baby, or you adopt, you qualify for the 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Companies generally don't advertise this, but under law you are allowed up to 12 weeks off (not necessarily all at the same time) during the 12 months following the birth/adoption. Take advantage of this! My husband had to jump through a few hoops to use his time off, but it was worth it to have him home for a few weeks to help out.
 
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Thank you for changing your avatar. I was completely over Bart mooning me!

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I thought it was funny.
 
It was for a few times. After a while it became somewhat annoying.

I've noticed that about avatars.

You're new avatar is very cool - is that an ATR?

Gotta like that!
 
And yours isn't annoying John?

I ditto what Amber said about not wanting to work till the end. Something that a lot of women don't prepare for is that you can't always work until the end. There are several women who are literally so sick the whole time and can't even get out of bed. So don't be dependant on your income when you do get pg or it might stress you out to keep working even when you feel like you can't take it any more. You also might be lucky like me and have an easy pregnancy, but I still went part time at 6 months and then quit at 8 because when you realize it's never going to be just you, for the rest of your life you will now have children, you might want a little "me" time before the end. Just my opinion, though, you might be totally different and want to work the whole way through.
 
Thank you, it's my avatar and Doug also put it on my perspective.
Yeah, it's an ATR 42, N275BC. It was parked at the Eagle hanger at ORD the day I was taking some snapshots. The maintenance folks were kind enough to let me use it as a prop for some pics. I'd never seen that particular ATR before, and never saw it again. I think it may have come up from the Rock for maintenance (maybe you've seen it down there JT), though the company usually just sent ATRs that needed maintenance all the way up to Sawyer. I always crack up at that picture, because of all the hours I spent in so many ATRs, I had my picture taken next to one I never ever actually worked in!
btw you can edit your display preferences if you don't want to see people's avatars
 
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And yours isn't annoying John?

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My avatar doesn't MOON you. I don't have to block my avatar when my 3 yr old daughter is sitting next to me. I'm pretty shocked to hear you defend that avatar Wife!

MQ - I don't recall seeing that particular N number. When I was down there they were mostly EI planes, registered in British Virgin Islands. Cheaper to do it that way or something like that.

The ATR got some bad press but what an awesome airplane! Flies fast, looks cool and is roomy up front. It's the only turboprop I know that has a horn to get the ground crew's attention.

I never did get a good description of "AC Wild" however, any ATR freaks out there?
 
Are either of you ladies married to pilots?
How is family life after the baby is born and you go back to work?
What do you do when you and your husband have a trip at the same time? (does that happen very often?)
 
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Are either of you ladies married to pilots?
How is family life after the baby is born and you go back to work?
What do you do when you and your husband have a trip at the same time? (does that happen very often?)

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My husband is a Delta pilot. I am furloughed, so I don't have trips anymore. I have stayed unemployed by choice (I haven't gone out job hunting) so that I can stay at home with the baby. When I was flying, we purposly bid to be working on the same days, so we'd be off on the same days. If you have family (like your mother, mother-in-law, etc) close, you can have them watch the baby for overnights when you're working. Or you can go the live-in-nanny route (way out of our price range though!). You can try to bid with each other's schedules so one of you is always off, however that can be very tough on the relationship, as you're almost never home together, and you don't get any 'couple' time. It's not an easy decision to make, I didn't have a choice about taking time off, but it has been a choice not to pursue flying with any other airlines. My entire professional life (okay, it was only 7 years) I spent flying, and it was a big adjustment not having that anymore. I wasn't a professional pilot (I do have a PPL, but I worked for the airlies as a flight attendant) so I didn't have thousands of dollars and many hours invested in my career, but it was still a difficult change.

As for family life once the baby arrives, hopefully your husband will be able to take some time off to help you out in the first few weeks. Trust me, you need someone there with you initially, be it either your mom, your husband or both. Then the day comes when mom goes back home, and husband goes on his first 4-day since baby was born, and suddenly you're all alone with this small, noisy, hairless creature! It can be tough, because my husband doesn't know his 'daily routine' as well as I do, just because he isn't here everyday to experience it like I do. Sometimes I feel like a single mother because there is basically no doing anything without having the baby along in some way, when dh is working, baby is with me no matter where I go, or what I do! When I get frustrated, and just want a few minutes away, I can't have it, because there's no one to hand baby off to! I can't tell you how nice it is to leave baby with dh for 45 minutes to go to the grocery store! I honestly don't know how two people can both fly full months, and have a small baby. You would have to have a grandparent, or nanny available to deal with the overnights, and if you're on reseve, that's doubly true, because you can be required to show up for work with only a couple hours notice.

So sorry I've been a bit long winded, I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to stay at home with my baby. I have put on hold my plans to pursue my pilot ratings to fly professionally. I will, someday, fly for an airline, but right now I make the choice to stay at home with my baby. If you want to keep flying, you CAN make it work, but if you both want to fly full time, you will have to have around the clock care available, or bid so that one of you is always off, but remember one of you must be senior enough to have that choice in bidding!





as for my old avatar, get over it , and that's the last I'm going to say on the subject
 
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as for my old avatar, get over it , and that's the last I'm going to say on the subject

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LOL yeah! Well all I will say is that I really like your new one!
 
Thank you for the compliment
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, it's one of my favorite pictures from my Eagle days.
 
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It was for a few times. After a while it became somewhat annoying.

I've noticed that about avatars.

You're new avatar is very cool - is that an ATR?

Gotta like that!

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since turn about is fail play I have to say monkey boy is getting old. Of course I can't stand those sketch.
 
John I have a lot more problem with a certain avatar of a barely dressed woman then I do with a cartoon. You are surprised that I was defending it? I didn't realize that you know me well enough to know my stand point on cartoon avatars. I don't have my child stand next to me while I am on the computer so I guess it's not an issue for me.

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Are either of you ladies married to pilots?
How is family life after the baby is born and you go back to work?
What do you do when you and your husband have a trip at the same time? (does that happen very often?)


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Mine is still a student, finishing up his commercial, so I haven't gone down the road yet, of "really" being married to a pilot. However, I work from home, and can't imagine going to work after having a baby, unless I had to. So I can't really say how things are after going back to work etiehr. Wow, I was helpful huh. Lol.
 
ok Monkey Boy is retired (for now.)

Now if you want me to do something you have to say it three times!
 
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Now if you want me to do something you have to say it three times!


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DON'T DO THIS!!!

Did anyone see "Beetlejuice" or "Candy Man??"..... same thing.
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