‘I would’ve ended up divorced’: Why many pilots don’t want to get promoted to captain

United Airlines first officer Phil Anderson has turned down opportunities to be promoted to captain as he does not want the unpredictable schedule that comes with the bigger paycheck.

Anderson is one of many who have passed on that promotion at United, and analysts and union officials said a resulting shortage of captains – who function as head pilots – could cut the number of flights available to travelers by next summer. One industry official dubbed it the “no one wants to be a junior captain syndrome.”