G Pilot,

Welcome to the wonderful world of commuting. I have been doing it for roughly13 years and 4 past airlines. I even wrote an article on "the lifestyle" in the Dec issue of Airways magazine.

First off, are you able to commute on your own airline? This will make life easier right off the bat.

It is workable on other carriers. Invest in an OAG guide, or download all schedules to your palm on carriers you can use.

If you have time to research, goto the the specific airline websites, and look at on-time performance of specific flights. Looking at trends you can get a feel for which flights usually have seats open and which are always full.

Look for back-ups. Instead of taking B6, or DAL into JFK, you might find a seat available on our AA flight to LGA. Remember you can make it from LGA, and even EWR to JFK with transportation. ie bus, shuttle, or subway.

ON my best days I sit in first class on NWA and arrive 1 hout prior to my sign in. My worst days involve 2 legs with one through ORD and a night on the couch in ops. Make certain you keep an eye on the weather in NYC while you live in FL. Learn to look at how weather patterns in different regions effect traffic into the NE.

There will be a learning curve, you will meet some very nice people, you will also meet some with bad attitudes (from every airline) just remember they are the 2%.

Happy Commuting,

AAflyer