View Single Post
Old 05-22-2014, 04:00 PM
  #12  
M20EPilot
Gets Weekends Off
 
Joined APC: Jun 2012
Posts: 182
Default

The basic gist is that you will start a successful commute being relatively conservative (i.e. plenty of backup options, all of which are eating into your personal time). As you become more comfortable with the commute and the factors affecting it, you might consider paring down the number of backups or outs you give yourself. When something goes wrong, such as irregular ops from a major weather event.... more backup options.

I never went without one good backup, and that was out of SJC where it was EASY to commute. I didn't get on a grand total of two times in a year out of SJC - one was a mechanical, and upon checking in with the crew who came out to the terminal I hustled down to southwest and was out of there. The other, because a Fed who I swear looked like a real life version of the manager in Dilbert comics wanted the jumpseat on a skywest RJ that was otherwise full. By contrast, going in and out of SFO to DEN (two united hubs) I lost out several times to overbooked flights and United mainline commuting pilots. So along those lines - don't count out OAK and SJC. They will become your friends, especially since they are less delay-prone than SFO.

On the parking front, I have a gem of a wife who took me to the airport, bless her. However, there were times I had to find my own way and did find ways to park near both SFO and SJC for free (neighborhoods) which had some slight risk but worked out OK each time. Some adventurous people park at hotels near SFO and take the hotel shuttle, just pretending to stay there.

Finally, the specifcs of how to work out each airline are something you will figure out once hired. For the skywest airline partners (DL, UA) which you will likely have nonrev benefits on you can make a nonrev listing ahead of time which the gate agents will prefer. Of course they would need do validate you to sit in the jumpseat, but listing ahead of time saves them work. The ALPA jumpseat website details procedures and recommendations for offline pilots on a number of carriers and I always consult this before asking for a ride on a new carrier.

Finally, maybe because I was indoctrinated in the old school way of things -- I always check in with the crew and introduce myself, asking the captain for the ride, even if given a seat in the back and 'listed' as a nonrev.
M20EPilot is offline