Hi folks, odd question here as I am not the pilot asking.. but I am considering moving my family and current 18 YO son who is timebuilding to the Dothan, AL area to get tons of land and build my retirement home. I see that Delta connection (is this Endeavor?) flies 4 flights a day out of Dothan. If he ends up flying for Endeavor / Delta, or even another major, would those flights provide him with a "relatively" easy commute to his likely domicile? IE Dothan to Atlanta, and then either connecting to another domicile or (hopefully) being based in Atlanta at some point?

Is this a viable commute, or would it be a nightmare? Just thinking about his early career if he were to live with us for a bit as he gets his feet under him.
It would take 15-20 min to get to the Dothan airport from the property we are looking at.

We currently live south of Nashville, so a 30-55 minute (depending on traffic) ride to BNA would be the travel time if we stayed here. I assume that could put him on some direct flights to more domiciles, but if domicile is Atlanta, I would think Dothan would be a lot less hassle.

Thanks for any advice!

 

There's a lot of cart before the horse here, but no, Dothan isn't a good commute option at all.

The 4 flights a day mentioned appear to be two departures and two arrivals and those are the only flights for the airport. That's nowhere near enough for a reliable commute; even an airport with 20 total departures/day is marginal. The nearest other fields VPS and ECP are somewhat notorious for being filled with military commuters.

That being said, the three hour drive to ATL is reasonable.

But even if he has a crash pad in Atlanta and easy access to home, that's a significant support.

 

Roger that, thanks for the info! So in general, then, is it much better to either assume living in the Nashville area is a better fit or should he just plan on trying to get some type of small apartment in the city he is domiciled for the first couple of years, wife/girlfriend, permitting? And yes, I definitely know this is a lot of cart before the horse but I am a planner :-). At least, until it all goes haywire!

 

Adding to that...

DHN is flown on a CRJ-200, so the jumpseat isn't going to happen due to weight. When winter weights are in use, that plane is usually restricted to 48 pax, and those flights are often booked to that. Will the 200 still be on those routes four years from now? Good question. If the 200 does go away, ATL-DHN will be one of the last routes to make the switch.

Being three hours away, I'd just drive it. On short call, he'd want an ATL crash pad. On long call or with a line, that's an easy drive.

 

Why don’t you move to where you want to live and let Jr figure it out for himself? He’s 18, he’s an adult.

 

I guess the 200 is going away, so scratch the first part. I'd still drive it, even if DHN retains air service after the 200 goes away.

 

That's not a minor consideration.

Dothan isn't currently EAS. They have basically the least airline service possible. With the 200 going away they either get 1 flight/day (100>64 seats) or a substantial increase (100 > 128 seats)

Ft. Rucker may save them though.

 

For what it's worth, Delta has started subbing 700s and 900s to DHN lately. Once the 200s are gone, and if DHN keeps its service, JS on the 900 won't be quite as bad as on the 200. (on the 700, it'll be comparable to the 200. Those things always have weight restrictions when the weather is low)

As others have stated though, a 3hr drive to ATL is definitely not bad if on LCR or with a line.

Food for thought.

 

Take it from someone who's been commuting for 11 years...I'd kill for a 3 hour drive to my domicile.

 

No kidding.

Is this what ‘helicopter parenting’ looks like?