An airline pilot who is junior in his/her seat will be out of town approximately 12 nights a month. This is 4 4-day trips. As the pilot gets more senior in a particular seat, this may segue to 6 nights a month which would be 8 2-day trips, six nights a month which might be 4 3-day trips, and even down to no nights a month which would be all turns (1-day trips). Of course there will often be a mixture. I am somewhat junior in my seat, so next month, I have 2 days of cerry-in from the previous month (1 night away in August), 4 turns (no nights away), and 3 4-day trips (3 nights away each). So in the month of August, I will spend 9 nights away, and work 18 days. I have chosen to be a Captain on a wide body; if I wanted more time off, I could simply bid back to one of the narrow bodies, and make less money, but have a better schedule. If I was willing to make less money, I could give away some of my trips, and have more time at home.