Originally Posted by sqwkvfr

Below is a response that I posted to one of your "anti-commuter" posts:



It was pulled by a moderator because in addition to what you'll read below, I said used some less-than-diplomatic words in response to your previous post. Anyway, here it is:

So you're saying that one should just up and move to base? Never mind that the move could potentially cost hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on individual circumstances and location of that person's property? A large percentage of people in this country are upside down in their house.

Should they walk away and allow a foreclosure just to make you happy?


Jobs go away, you know. A pilot might have had a great job with an air ambulance company or a flight school (my instructor job made me just shy of $60K/ year) when suddenly they are without a job and the only one available might have been with some regional with the junior base on the other side of the country but has the possibility of being based closer to their home.

Should they move for 18 months just to make you happy?


What if you have children and want to keep them close to your family? They help out with things like watching the kids and running errands that would otherwise be cost-prohibitive.

Should they move away and go broke just to make you happy?


What about a divorcee who wouldn't see his/her kids very often even if they lived down the street?

Should that person move away and never see their kids just to make you happy?


What if a pilot also owns a business to make ends meet or is part of a family business that needs him/her on his/her days off in order to help out?

Should that person turn his back on what he/she has worked to build or turn his/her back on their family just to make you happy?


What if I live on land that my family homesteaded? No, not the housing loophole...actually homesteaded.

Should I give up my family legacy and history just to make you happy?


What if I'm a regional FO with a first-year W2 that showed $18,900 and I'm crashing in my parents basement because it's the only way I can keep the wolves away from my doorstep?

Should I move and risk bankruptcy just to make you happy?


What if I have a spouse that has a great paying job, but moving would reset her income to half (or less) of what she makes now?

Should we give up $30-$60 thousand a year just to make you happy?


What if I have an elderly parent who may not have much time left and I'm the only one available to visit?

Should I move across the country and abandon them just to make you happy?


What if I have a marriage that depends on my ability to commute?

Should I get a divorce and move just to make you happy?


You're correct in saying it's a choice, but for most commuters, the choice includes circumstances that are beyond their control, and force them to "choose" to commute. That is what we call life.

I bend over backward for commuters. I try to get them the best seat available, offer to let them board early because I know they've most likely been waiting at the gate for at least an hour, and that they are most likely at my gate because they've determined that my flight is either their best chance for getting home or is the only flight that gets them where they need to be in time; whether that is a report time or their daughter's kindergarten graduation. I also walk up the jetbridge and gently prod gate agents to do everything they can to accommodate commuters in the best possible manner. Doing these things doesn't cost me one thin dime and I, personally enjoy actually helping my fellow man, not to mention my colleagues.

Is it such a foreign concept to you to want to help someone else? Tim Russert used to say that the best exercise for the human heart is bending over to pick someone else up, and I couldn't agree more: It makes my day to do everything I can to make someone else's day.

You should try it some time...