atpwannabe,

The whole base thing here at Comair has been frustrating for years. They close and open bases and then close them affecting hundreds of pilots and spending money on moves for all those displaced out of a domicile.

It's clear to me after 11+ years at Comair that the decision to open a base has absolutely nothing to do with the concerns or wants of the pilots. I think this true industry-wide. There is no economic advantage to open a base in a city that has a low cost of living if there is not much flying out of there. Building trips that start and end in DFW and ATL is not worth doing if the flying isn't sufficient to support it. I'm no expert on trip building by any means, but our closest chance at another base right now from what I hear is BOS, but when they tried to build trips with the flying we do now, they weren't productive enough to satisfy the contract and efficiently use the manpower that would be based there.

The company doesn't care if you can afford to live in a domicile. Delta tells Comair where they fly and where they put a domicile and that's all management thinks about. Whether or not the pilots can afford it is the last thing on their mind and having a base in JFK is proof of that. We're lucky we have a commuter policy to cover commuter's butts when they can't get to work.

I'd love a base in BOS because that's where I'm from and where family is, but as a fairly senior captain I can barely afford to live within an hour of the airport.