Originally Posted by Denver

I am also 1:15 away from SFO. or 1:16 non commute hours to be exact. You also need to factor in 30 to 40 minutes from the employee parking garage to the aircraft. So for me its super tight as it is. During the commute I may or may not make it. Metering lights and car pool lanes and all that. Heavy rains, mudslides and accidents can also screw me pretty bad. As a new hire I am stressed out about it so I just drive halfway just before the commute and hang somewhere till about 10am, then go home. During the weekend you don't need to do that so bid reserve lines that have reserve days on the weekends. No one wants those anyway except me. It's ironic that everyone was saying 2 hour calls are very rare. My very first reserve call last week was during peak commute for a 2 hour call. In fact they wanted me to get there much sooner. I made it in an hour that day and earned myself a free beer. Had I stayed at my house I would have probably been slightly late.

Some people in my same boat care to varying degrees weather their late or not so they hang at home the whole time. Even sleeping through the start of their reserve period. They usually seem to make it. I for one am just to paranoid as a first year guy on probation. You can also save yourself 20 more minutes by going to short term parking. Employee coupons make it only 13 dollars a day.

You do need your bags packed as if you were going on a trip as long as your reserve period, tie pre tied, uniform hanging up in your vehicle, etc. You need to be out the door in 2 minutes preferably.