Originally Posted by
BeatNavy
I live in base and have been able to swap/drop trips for day trips. It took about a year to have that schedule. I started with about 20 nights away while commuting. That was with a brand new kid. It's gotten progressively better with seniority. I average 7-8 nights away a month now. This will drastically change in May when I upgrade or go to a new airline, and I will commute to reserve again and my QOL will go down the tubes for a while. Every seat swap or airline swap we get to reset seniority.
If you live in or move to a junior domicile for your airline of choice you can be home a lot more than if you commute. Commuting, particularly to reserve, is hell, especially at a regional..
All true. And if you get to go through multiple base closures in a short period of time, a displacement or 2, cherish those times where have more nights at home than away. Because they may not be the "norm".
However, years ago I worked at RJ operator A, commuted since they didn't have a base where I lived. A buddy of mine worked for RJ operator B, had a base where we lived. I was line holder, commuting. He lived in base, on reserve, with a crappy contract. I was home more than him, had a better pay check, days off, etc.
Now, this ISNT meant to start the whole stale/worn out "commute to a line or sit reserve in base?" question, NOT AT ALL. I've sat reserve at home when I could have commuted to a line. There were months it sucked and months it was great.
Just saying that with the varyance in regional contracts, well, a lot just simply depends......