10 comments pilot wives are tired of hearing/being asked

Anyone married to a pilot is used to a barrage of comments and/or questions regarding their partners career choice...here are some of the usual suspects we find ourselves trying to explain to people:

1.  Pilots make so much money: Um, no folks - this is not the case. Whilst there are some really well paying pilot jobs out there, there are also some pretty crummy paying ones....especially for guys just starting out. Do not simply assume because someone is a pilot that they are living in a multi-million dollar mansion, driving a porsche and holidaying at exclusive island resorts. There are plenty of pilots earning less than the likes of private school teachers.
2. Pilots get to live and work in the best locations:  There are some pilots (and their families) that are 'living the dream' in beautiful locations...once again these are in the minority and everyone in the industry is trying to get these jobs. On the other hand, there are plenty of guys based in crappy locations, flying crappy routes to crappy places.
3. Free tickets, FREE tickets, for everyone: Whilst I know some airlines offer a certain amount of 'free, full fare tickets', what is far more common is for them to offer some form of discounted ticket...which goes hand-in-hand with it not being a confirmed seat. This means that you are at risk of getting 'bumped off' a full of flight and having to wait for the next flight - and this happens....often. We know of pilots and/or their families sitting somewhere (expensive) for over 7 days due to over booked flights - not cool, at all.
4. Pilot schedules must mean they work so little and are so organised: Aviation companies send out schedules on a regular basis...it would seem because these schedules are forever changing. Do not expect your partner to be home on a particular day/date just because that was what last weeks schedule said, chances are - it will change. The sooner you can get your friends and family to understand this, the easier your life will be.
5. Airplane food: Whilst us mere mortals that fly economy class drool when we see the business/first class meals, even those get tiring after a while, especially when the menu stays the same for a long period of time. No matter how you package or present airplane food is, after all, airplane food.
6. Family time: This comes into play more so in certain countries, or on certain continents, where many pilots fly contract work i.e work away from home 6-12wks and are back home on leave for 2-4wks. This means pilots and their families get little time together, and for everyone involved - this is tough, really tough. So whilst some pilots may only be doing a few flights a month and bored out their skull the rest of the time, there are plenty who would happily donate a kidney to spend more time at home with loved ones.
7. 'What are you guys doing for Christmas/Easter/your birthday?': Well let me put this simply, remember that time you flew to*_________* on Christmas day? Well that means there was a flight crew working on Christmas day too. Aircraft fly 365 days a year - what are 'normal holidays' to most people stop being holidays to many pilots and their families. It becomes luck of the draw, or based on seniority as to who gets the good days off, so for many of us we can count the amount of Easters/Christmases etc we have had with our pilot partner, on one hand.
8. 'Why doesn't your husband apply to *______* airline/company?':  There is no 'general license' which gives a pilot leeway to fly any aircraft in any country in the world. Pilots are forever doing ratings for a new aircraft, renewals, crew resource management training, medicals, license conversions etc. This can get confusing when trying to explain to friends and family, but pilots are forever studying and learning. Moving onto a new aircraft, or flying in a new country is not as simple as it sounds.
9.  Crew house mansions: Referencing point one here, there are plenty of pilots who live in shared housing when starting out because its the cheapest and easiest thing to do. For pilots that fly contract jobs they most often live in crew houses.....I don't know about other places in the world but in Africa - mansion is not the word that comes to mind when you see where they live, the words that do come to mind are not appropriate to be written here...use your imagination!
10. 'So the pilots and air hosties thing..?': I still can't believe people actually ask this. I have never turned around to someone who has a husband high up the business ladder and said 'So, CEOs and their secretaries huh?'. Yes, pilots and flight crew do sometimes end up dating/married - often due to an understanding of one anothers work and lifestyle. Does this mean pilots and cabin crew are continuously racking up belt notches in the mile-high club...no - it doesn't.  People whose jobs require frequent travel, such as pilots and cabin crew have statistically higher divorce rates than 'home-bound' occupations...we don't need the general public reminding us of this.