If you have to live in domicile, places like LGA, JFK will become VERY junior...and how are the junior guys going to afford to live there on airline pay?
We did in the past; I did it at EAL in the '80s based at LGA. Affordable within two hours. Loads of pilots, airline and corporate, live within two hours ground transport from the NY airports. One of our guys is furloughed AA and lives in Wilton, CT. Not wanting to live in domicile doesn't mean you cannot afford it.
BTW, no other employers generally require their people to live near work
i disagree,
most employers expect their employees to live somewhere near their employment, certainly not an airline commute away. My employer considers 1+30 a reasonable distance and we all live within that circle. In the Northeast. Moving is a normal part of most white collar jobs; most of our pilots have moved 4 or more times in their aviation careers. One has moved three times with this company alone. While the military has better family support programs, the pay isn't that much better, wives have little chance at careers. Your employer doesn't owe your wife a career.
I (and many others) would never have gone down this road if the deal was a career of military-style forced relocation every 2-5 years.
Who said "every 2-5 years"? Just when the company closes a base or when the company wants you domiciled elsewhere. I agree the compensation system is based, to an extent, on commuting. I'm saying it shouldn't be. If one doesn't want to move, don't bid a category that requires one.
GF