Originally Posted by RyanP

I guess you haven't had the luxury of commuting very long or on popular commutes. Or certainly on reserve, hub-hub or into any bad weather seasons because I have had the exact opposite experience commuting. It has always been a nightmare. Probably losing at least a month or more per year commuting minimum on time off when I could've been sitting at home instead with family. Even if you are lucky and have nice commutable schedules for the most part and only end up commuting on 1 day off per month, that is still nearly 2 weeks per year lost with family. That is a good scenario commuting for someone senior enough to hold those schedules and gets lucky with low commute competition, plus no delays ever to make you miss the last commute flight home and perfect weather, no cancellations ever. Not to mention no redder than red trips so you can trade at your leisure into commutable luxury.

If you commute on 2-3 days off per month on average you are losing nearly a month off per year. Over a decade that is almost an extra year you lost out on your family. Nobody ever thinks about these things but the time lost adds up.

Reserving a jumpseat is a nice benefit. Except for on reserve when you don't have the notice to do it early enough. Or on a commute with 50 other people trying to do the same thing as you. Or when you have it reserved but you get in 2 hours late due to flow delays and end up spending the night in the Airport LaQuinta instead of your own bed with family. Then you can't get on any morning flights the next day (your day off) either.

I've heard of these mythical easy commutes from small town USA but in 5 different domiciles worth of commuting from big cities or hub to hub, I have never had an easy low stress one.

The stress comes from the extremely long days the commute causes on both ends of trips and missed time at home. Or having to work at 10am on a Monday but unlike driving to work Monday morning like everyone else, you are having to leave Sunday afternoon at 2pm on your limited days off. Also, Instead of no big deal as delays build up throughout the day (for the local living pilot). Your stress is building all day on day 4 as you watch your last commute flight home vanish because the rampers are screwing around, maintenance is taking forever, weather is building....... and you know you are going to also lose a day off before the next trip as well due to an early sign in. SO now you are home for 1 full day instead of 3. I could keep going for hours. Commuting SUCKS.

After having lived in base and commuted for many years. There is not even a value you can put on the difference in QOL. It's astronomical. I get wanting to live in certain areas. I have done it myself, but the QOL hit to do it is HUGE. There may be some super cush commutes, I just have never had one. If you absolutely must commute, commute East to West or stay in the same time zone. That helps. I did a 5 hour transcon commute at one point from the West which made me want to quit this profession every day and probably took years off my life. Attempting to Sleep on the floor of the Airbus cockpit or jammed into a middle seat for 5 hours plus drive and airport appreciation time before and after flights, then have to work all day. Awful.