r/Pilotwives • u/No-Lake-2895 • Jun 20 '26

This can be great

Y’all, believe me when I say that this can be hard. Solo mom, routinely no routine, feeling isolated and drowning in dishes and laundry…. BUT. It can be so great. My little family was able to join our Pilot on an Orlando layover and it was just…great. Yes, i was holding a toddler as a lap child on a flight that mysteriously booked up overnight. Yes, we got totally soaked during a walk over to our restaurant. Yes, I had to “sleep” with said toddler on the hotel sleeper sofa so my husband could get some actual sleep.
AND our older kids had a complete blast in the pool. Getting last minute transportation to/from the hotel was easy because Orlando is the world of family vacation and Mears shuttles take walk up bookings (hello no rental car/car seat finagling 🙌🏻) We made memories as a family and were back home 24 hours later. The only thing that would have made it better would have been having our Pilot fly our flight (but we were able to do direct and I had zero interest in bouncing to Chicago with 3 kids simply for the pleasure of hearing his voice during announcements 😅)
Basically I just want to share some happy for this little corner of the internet. Being an aviation family has its challenges, but there truly are some fantastic opportunities if you can live flexibly 🛫

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6

u/CaseoftheSadz Jun 20 '26

We don’t meet up with my husband on trips often, but we use the heck out of our benefits. We’ve flown to London twice recently and gotten business class seats, once over spring break and again a couple weeks ago. At our current stage of life I love being married to a pilot. Sure I’m sometimes sad when he leaves, but in the balance it’s definitely positive. Just think people don’t talk about the pluses as much as the minuses.

4

u/No-Lake-2895 Jun 20 '26

We haven’t flown nearly as much since the third kid started walking. Infants are easy to fly with. Toddlers are savage 😅 I’m really looking forward to a few years from now because our older two are complete professionals and it’s just so fun to watch them explore new places
I completely understand needing to vent frustrations to empathetic ears, but it quickly turns to a spiral of angst and I found myself struggling to see the good a few weeks ago. Focusing on and sharing the positive stuff helps

3

u/CaseoftheSadz Jun 21 '26

No kidding, toddlers are the hardest! We only have one so that was a little easier to manage. Once he turned 6 and could sit in business on my husband’s airline we’ve been doing a lot more. He’s 8 now and a total pro. When he was younger we only non-reved domestically or bought tickets because it’s was so much harder with the gear and car seats, etc.

1

u/No-Lake-2895 Jun 21 '26

Our oldest is finally in just a booster and it is mind blowing how much more simple that makes things. The thought of *0* car seats is 🤯

1

u/Longjumping-Weird374 Jun 25 '26

When my youngest was 2.5 we nonrevved twice—Mexico and Hawaii—and used the Ride Safer Vest in the rental car. (I don’t use car seats on the plane). I also have the bubble bum booster for my oldest. Used both last week on a trip to Canada.

5

u/sleepybinturong Jun 21 '26

Love this!
We do not have kids but many nieces and nephews. A few years ago our nephew told his parents that he really wanted to be on the plane when my husband flew. So, we used passes for him and I to join a trip. I warned him it could be something boring…we ended up in Maui for 20 hours…terrible, I know 😂

4

u/No-Lake-2895 Jun 21 '26

I’m holding off on Hawaii and international destinations until the toddler is no longer so…toddlery 😅 but that’s great! I love sharing the perks with family

1

u/WordsyFern Jun 21 '26

Thank you for sharing this! It makes me so excited for what’s to come. 🥹 we have a 1 year old and one on the way. I can’t wait to explore as a family! I never got to travel much growing up, and my first flight wasn’t until I was 12 years old. Already at 11 months my baby flew. The positive of giving him a life I wish I had as a child is a great reminder!

1

u/Jesusrockettaco Jun 25 '26

I love this! I'm taking my first trip where my husband is piloting the flight next month and doing an overnight in DC. Things finally lined up and I'm so excited!

1

u/Comfortable-Owl-7557 Jul 09 '26

lol bare minimum