Short Commuting On Delta, SWA, American
 

I see it come up all the time in the forum....commuting. Most people say it's two different jobs commuting v driving to work. I believe them, makes total sense.

I live in Grand Rapids, MI(GRR). It's a busy airport for it's size. It's a 50min-1hr flight to either Chicago or Detroit. How would it be commuting with that short of a flight?

Delta, SWA, and American each have 3-6 direct flights a day to their given domiciles in Chicago or Detroit.

Chicago is a 3 hour drive with no traffic or weather issues(rare). DTW is 2.5 hours with no traffic or weather issues. I've driven to both airports dozens of times and it gets old FAST. So please don't focus on driving. I live 15min from GRR.

No matter how you slice it commuting is a detractor to QOL. Depending on your company policy, individual commute, and your personal temperament it can range from a minimal negative factor to a huge QOL Killer.

Things affected by commuting:

Ability to sit long and or short call reserve at home.
How many extra days away will it cost you.
How many "good trips' will be eliminated from the bid package due to early sign-in or late release.
How many less very lucrative short notice GS opportunities will you miss out on.

With your individual commute it sounds like you could drive as a back-up which may be required with crappy weather etc - this helps a lot. Also with a flight that short the jumpseat would not be as painful as a cross country commute. On the other hand we at Delta can not book the jumpseat on connection so that is a huge negative in my mind for all non-mainline flights.

If your goal is to fly international with less trips per month and generally commutable on both ends I think it would be pretty easy. For NB and domestic flying it would be a little more of a PITA and that goes for reserve with both.

All in all I don't think your commute would be that bad but like I said all commuting has some negative affect on QOL. You could be commuting to an international category holding a line and making 2 trips a month with easy commutes until the one day your flight home gets canceled or you get bumped from the JS - Is this a PITA? You bet it is, but you could always rent a one way car to get home so like I said before a commute with a back up drive capability gives you a lot of options long distance commuters don't have.

Good Luck.

Scoop

Thanks for your feedback Scoop. I really appreciate it. This is more helpful than you know. I would 100% expect my commute to get messed up sometimes and have to rent a car. I would be good with that. It would get annoying if it happened frequently.

Net Jets has a domicile in GRR but from what I can tell there pay is extremely lagging. Also pay raises year over year seem to be lower on a percentage basis. Thus why I'm exploring short commuting options.

If hired at Delta, drive to DTW. Don't fly that one (though it is possible).

I second this. 2:45 minute drive verses flying. To fly you need a backup 2 hours after your primary flight to qualify for contractual commuter protections. If you have a noon report that probably means getting up at 5:30 AM to catch a 7 AM flight to DTW. If you drive you get in your car at 8:30 and head to DTW. No worries about weather, mechanicals, loads ect.. If you have a 9AM report you need to go up the night before if you fly. Leave at 6AM if you drive. Coming home depending on timing of flights you will get home sooner almost every time driving.

Most guys would kill for a 2:45 drive to work vs getting anywhere near an airplane -- onffline or online.

I've done both and you are correct sir.

I once talked with an FA about commutes. She asked first ...

Me: "It's about 2:45 from my house to JFK. The worst ever is 4 hours in rush-hour traffic but that's rare."

Her: "Oh my God, that's terrible. How do you do it?"

Me: "What about you?"

Her: "It's not to bad. I take a cab to LGA*, the shuttle to BOS, then I drive an hour and a half to my house in New Hampshire."

Me: "Wow that's ... so easy."

*easily 30 minutes and a $30-40 cab ride.

To each his own. As long as they're still making podcasts I'll take my drive.

Thanks for the break down. I appreciate it. I didn't realize how much earlier I would need to leave even with a short flight.

The detail is helpful. Thanks for the information.