Originally Posted by
PW4060
I am a new member at APC. I am getting ready to target regional airline jobs and I prefer those that I can commute to via non-stop flights from south Florida. I have looked at regionals that operate from Florida and the only ones that I have found are Silver (turboprop only) and Republic (Miami is a very senior base, according to what I have read on APC); realistically I will have to commute.
The "non-stop bases" that I found are the following: ATL, CLT, DCA, DEN, DFW, DTW, EWR, IAH, JFK, LGA and PHL.
Would anybody have any input on how feasible, difficult or even possible it is to commute to these bases from south Florida? My nearest airports are PBI and FLL. Any input on any of these specific routes would be great. I have read the forums and I am aware of the large number of pilots that commute from Florida every day, I am interested in how that works out in real life for a commuting regional pilot.
I attached a calendar for you to visualize how bad commuting could be for you. This is worst case scenario, but one you don't have control over, just have to get senior.
Keep in mind boarding priority for the different companies. If you go to PDT you could bump the number one captain who fly's the 777 out of DFW and made captain before you were born. Its first come first serve. Some carriers use seniority, and their family may be able to use it also to bump you.
Second, some commuter policy's state you need TWO flights with seats available.
As you can see only 4 days you can wake up and go to sleep in your bed. The rest of the month has to be somewhere else. Either a hotel on a trip, in a crash pad, a hotel at your cost, or on a cargo plane.
Lastly how long can you continue this? Some carriers have guys on reserve for several years.