Originally Posted by
Turbosina
I'd avoid a flying commute SMF-SFO because that route is very frequently plagued by 1) overbooked -200s with plenty of nonrevs and commuting pilots, and 2) SFO flow, which can ruin your day.
If you're gonna live in the Sac area, just live on the west side near the I-5 and drive to your SFO base. Yes, 3-hour commutes can happen in the morning rush hour, but as others have mentioned there's the Capitol Corridor to BART. Unless the traffic is really bad, a SMF-SFO commute by air can often take longer than driving, once you include the time to drive out to SMF, park (for which you will not receive a parking pass, BTW), wait around, get bumped, wait around for the next flight, and then get told your flow time is 3 hours from now.
If you insist on a flying commute (can't imagine why), LAX would be your best bet.
Yeah I'd just drive SMF-SFO. Generally most pilots prefer a 3-4 hour drive to commuting by air, although it depends on available flights. Any longer than that on the drive and fatigue becomes a problem for early shows, late releases, and very long duty days.
A commute by air will usually mean you have to leave 4-6 hours or more prior to show time but you can usually nap on the flight (assuming cabin seat) or when you get to base. Driving of course you have to stay awake the whole time.