Originally Posted by
chrisreedrules
In the past 2 years I can count on one hand the number of times I've missed a flight. And I have never had to stay a night in base after a trip ended. And sleeping in crew rooms is for FAs, pilots at the WOs have hotel money. Even when I was flying a build-up line, my trips at PSA were commutable out of CLT. Commuting is better for my quality of life. 5 minutes from the beach, 7-8 flights every day (and that's just on AA), no state income and much lower cost of living compared to living in base. Reserve would of been better living in base, but I was only on reserve for a few months. Go somewhere with short reserve times and it will be a moot point.
Indeed, In 6 years of commuting I've gotten stuck once. CLT is great for commuting because there really aren't any acft in CLT overnight other than for MX. So the acft have to come in with enough time to go back out on the final bank, meaning you get to go out on the final bank as well. Some commutes are tougher than others but if you live anywhere near a major city CLT is a breeze.
All that being said I'm sure living in base is absolutely fantastic.