Originally Posted by
Fenderbean
So as my retirement date approaches and I start to prep for the airlines I was wondering about the life style. Do most pilots live near the hub they fly out of or do they commute? Im wondering how tough that is, I have a particular place I would like to settle down at that has an international airport there but the two airlines im looking at are in are not there but im sure they have flights to and from. This is going to be the toughest part for me since I have just spent 20 years living out of a bag.
1. grill your guard/res buds @ your unit, they should be a primary resource
2. the grass really is way greener
3. commuting just about always sucks but certain circumstances can make it even worse! example: a contemporary of mine lives in Dallas and was thinking it would be an easy commute from DFW to ATL to work for DAL (just look at all the nonstops!!!). what he didn't know was we closed a base there and that commute might be the worst at the company, even more so for a junior pilot. swa is a crappy backup since a lot of former ATL air tran guys now commute to DAL. if you have a specific airline, go to their forum here and ask about your specific proposed commute.