JetBlue as commuter
03-22-2023, 09:13 AM
#1
On Reserve
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Feb 2018
Posts: 19
JetBlue as commuter
Howdy,
I'm trying to decide right now between Spirit and JetBlue and would be commuting for both. Obviously there's a big chance that the two become one anyway, but for the sake of argument in case the merger doesn't happen and QOL during the first two years I still need to decide. I live in the Southeast and would be commuting either way, probably to JFK for B6 and ATL for NK. I'm about a 4.5 hr drive from ATL, which is somewhat reassuring in case there's significant IROPS I could always drive in or rent a car & drive home. But I've been based there as a regional pilot, and even commuting on the mainline carrier where we had nonrev benefits (albeit at the lowest priority) started to get more difficult. I've done the math & if I bought all my tickets and averaged 4 trips per month, it would cost me between $10k-20k per year -- basically lowering my hourly pay by $13-23 per hour depending on the route (to ATL or JFK) and the airline. I think this is something I could live with both for the added peace of mind and to not have to drive the additional 1700 miles per month to ATL (which carries its own set of risks).
I know moving to base is always the obvious choice but with my wife's work there is almost no chance of that happening within the next 10 years. Given that, here are the pros & cons as I see them:
NK -- ATL
Pros: shorter flight, more flights per day (6-7), first flight to base arrives before 7am & last flight home is usually after 10pm; could drive if absolutely had to; easier to move between terminals at airport; better schedule flexibility as lineholder
Cons: more expensive route (monopoly by mainline); NK long call gets used a lot from what I hear; commute route not served by Spirit
B6 - JFK
Pros: route served by JetBlue; good number of flights (2 on B6, 3 on a different regional); I've heard B6 might be better for LCR
Cons: longer flight, first flight into base wouldn't arrive until about 9:30am, last flight home leaves before 8pm; more time to move between Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 if needed
How are the routes or commutability at JetBlue between 10am and 7pm? Is there anything I'm missing? I think with the LCR not showing before 2pm, worst case I might need a hotel on the back of the assignment but would rarely need to come in a day early.
Lastly, most commuter clauses deal with needing 1 or 2 flights when jumpseating. How would these apply if I were buying my tickets, and reported late due to a flight delay (maintenance, weather, crew, etc) that was outside of my control and not an issue of me not getting the jumpseat?
Thanks in advance.
I'm trying to decide right now between Spirit and JetBlue and would be commuting for both. Obviously there's a big chance that the two become one anyway, but for the sake of argument in case the merger doesn't happen and QOL during the first two years I still need to decide. I live in the Southeast and would be commuting either way, probably to JFK for B6 and ATL for NK. I'm about a 4.5 hr drive from ATL, which is somewhat reassuring in case there's significant IROPS I could always drive in or rent a car & drive home. But I've been based there as a regional pilot, and even commuting on the mainline carrier where we had nonrev benefits (albeit at the lowest priority) started to get more difficult. I've done the math & if I bought all my tickets and averaged 4 trips per month, it would cost me between $10k-20k per year -- basically lowering my hourly pay by $13-23 per hour depending on the route (to ATL or JFK) and the airline. I think this is something I could live with both for the added peace of mind and to not have to drive the additional 1700 miles per month to ATL (which carries its own set of risks).
I know moving to base is always the obvious choice but with my wife's work there is almost no chance of that happening within the next 10 years. Given that, here are the pros & cons as I see them:
NK -- ATL
Pros: shorter flight, more flights per day (6-7), first flight to base arrives before 7am & last flight home is usually after 10pm; could drive if absolutely had to; easier to move between terminals at airport; better schedule flexibility as lineholder
Cons: more expensive route (monopoly by mainline); NK long call gets used a lot from what I hear; commute route not served by Spirit
B6 - JFK
Pros: route served by JetBlue; good number of flights (2 on B6, 3 on a different regional); I've heard B6 might be better for LCR
Cons: longer flight, first flight into base wouldn't arrive until about 9:30am, last flight home leaves before 8pm; more time to move between Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 if needed
How are the routes or commutability at JetBlue between 10am and 7pm? Is there anything I'm missing? I think with the LCR not showing before 2pm, worst case I might need a hotel on the back of the assignment but would rarely need to come in a day early.
Lastly, most commuter clauses deal with needing 1 or 2 flights when jumpseating. How would these apply if I were buying my tickets, and reported late due to a flight delay (maintenance, weather, crew, etc) that was outside of my control and not an issue of me not getting the jumpseat?
Thanks in advance.
03-22-2023, 09:24 AM
#2
Line Holder
Joined APC: Jul 2021
Posts: 29
B6 wise 1 commute in company to commuter clause. Has to get in 1 hour before though. As things stand currently we have positive space commuting indefinitely from the last email we received. At spirit as far as I know, from a close friend there long call tends to trend a bit senior Atleast in the Florida bases. Lcr at blue is about 1-2 months depending on class seniority for the 320 in kennedy on the 190 it’s about 0-1 months in Boston.
03-22-2023, 09:31 AM
#3
SDQ Base Chief
Joined APC: Mar 2006
Position: 320 CA
Posts: 5,588
Originally Posted by harad
Howdy,
I'm trying to decide right now between Spirit and JetBlue and would be commuting for both. Obviously there's a big chance that the two become one anyway, but for the sake of argument in case the merger doesn't happen and QOL during the first two years I still need to decide. I live in the Southeast and would be commuting either way, probably to JFK for B6 and ATL for NK. I'm about a 4.5 hr drive from ATL, which is somewhat reassuring in case there's significant IROPS I could always drive in or rent a car & drive home. But I've been based there as a regional pilot, and even commuting on the mainline carrier where we had nonrev benefits (albeit at the lowest priority) started to get more difficult. I've done the math & if I bought all my tickets and averaged 4 trips per month, it would cost me between $10k-20k per year -- basically lowering my hourly pay by $13-23 per hour depending on the route (to ATL or JFK) and the airline. I think this is something I could live with both for the added peace of mind and to not have to drive the additional 1700 miles per month to ATL (which carries its own set of risks).
I know moving to base is always the obvious choice but with my wife's work there is almost no chance of that happening within the next 10 years. Given that, here are the pros & cons as I see them:
NK -- ATL
Pros: shorter flight, more flights per day (6-7), first flight to base arrives before 7am & last flight home is usually after 10pm; could drive if absolutely had to; easier to move between terminals at airport; better schedule flexibility as lineholder
Cons: more expensive route (monopoly by mainline); NK long call gets used a lot from what I hear; commute route not served by Spirit
B6 - JFK
Pros: route served by JetBlue; good number of flights (2 on B6, 3 on a different regional); I've heard B6 might be better for LCR
Cons: longer flight, first flight into base wouldn't arrive until about 9:30am, last flight home leaves before 8pm; more time to move between Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 if needed
How are the routes or commutability at JetBlue between 10am and 7pm? Is there anything I'm missing? I think with the LCR not showing before 2pm, worst case I might need a hotel on the back of the assignment but would rarely need to come in a day early.
Lastly, most commuter clauses deal with needing 1 or 2 flights when jumpseating. How would these apply if I were buying my tickets, and reported late due to a flight delay (maintenance, weather, crew, etc) that was outside of my control and not an issue of me not getting the jumpseat?
Thanks in advance.
I'm trying to decide right now between Spirit and JetBlue and would be commuting for both. Obviously there's a big chance that the two become one anyway, but for the sake of argument in case the merger doesn't happen and QOL during the first two years I still need to decide. I live in the Southeast and would be commuting either way, probably to JFK for B6 and ATL for NK. I'm about a 4.5 hr drive from ATL, which is somewhat reassuring in case there's significant IROPS I could always drive in or rent a car & drive home. But I've been based there as a regional pilot, and even commuting on the mainline carrier where we had nonrev benefits (albeit at the lowest priority) started to get more difficult. I've done the math & if I bought all my tickets and averaged 4 trips per month, it would cost me between $10k-20k per year -- basically lowering my hourly pay by $13-23 per hour depending on the route (to ATL or JFK) and the airline. I think this is something I could live with both for the added peace of mind and to not have to drive the additional 1700 miles per month to ATL (which carries its own set of risks).
I know moving to base is always the obvious choice but with my wife's work there is almost no chance of that happening within the next 10 years. Given that, here are the pros & cons as I see them:
NK -- ATL
Pros: shorter flight, more flights per day (6-7), first flight to base arrives before 7am & last flight home is usually after 10pm; could drive if absolutely had to; easier to move between terminals at airport; better schedule flexibility as lineholder
Cons: more expensive route (monopoly by mainline); NK long call gets used a lot from what I hear; commute route not served by Spirit
B6 - JFK
Pros: route served by JetBlue; good number of flights (2 on B6, 3 on a different regional); I've heard B6 might be better for LCR
Cons: longer flight, first flight into base wouldn't arrive until about 9:30am, last flight home leaves before 8pm; more time to move between Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 if needed
How are the routes or commutability at JetBlue between 10am and 7pm? Is there anything I'm missing? I think with the LCR not showing before 2pm, worst case I might need a hotel on the back of the assignment but would rarely need to come in a day early.
Lastly, most commuter clauses deal with needing 1 or 2 flights when jumpseating. How would these apply if I were buying my tickets, and reported late due to a flight delay (maintenance, weather, crew, etc) that was outside of my control and not an issue of me not getting the jumpseat?
Thanks in advance.
If I had to chose between those two I would chose B6 and bid JFK 320 SQ (SQ = Special Qualification crew class for doing the Europe stuff). If you can get LCR it is a 14hr callout, and even on SCR as a SQ pilot they will be putting you on mid-afternoon RAPs until you get to your last two days, then they shift you earlier.
JB has positive space commuting until further notice, so that helps as a commuter.
I might add that JFK 320 SQ is starting to see some early morning trips being built with the daytime LHR flight, so you might want to consider BOS 320 SQ if you can get it. As of now all BOS 320 SQ trips are late afternoon departures and mid-day arrivals back to base.
03-22-2023, 09:45 AM
#4
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Oct 2015
Position: Gear slinger
Posts: 2,897
Originally Posted by harad
Howdy,
I'm trying to decide right now between Spirit and JetBlue and would be commuting for both. Obviously there's a big chance that the two become one anyway, but for the sake of argument in case the merger doesn't happen and QOL during the first two years I still need to decide. I live in the Southeast and would be commuting either way, probably to JFK for B6 and ATL for NK. I'm about a 4.5 hr drive from ATL, which is somewhat reassuring in case there's significant IROPS I could always drive in or rent a car & drive home. But I've been based there as a regional pilot, and even commuting on the mainline carrier where we had nonrev benefits (albeit at the lowest priority) started to get more difficult. I've done the math & if I bought all my tickets and averaged 4 trips per month, it would cost me between $10k-20k per year -- basically lowering my hourly pay by $13-23 per hour depending on the route (to ATL or JFK) and the airline. I think this is something I could live with both for the added peace of mind and to not have to drive the additional 1700 miles per month to ATL (which carries its own set of risks).
I know moving to base is always the obvious choice but with my wife's work there is almost no chance of that happening within the next 10 years. Given that, here are the pros & cons as I see them:
NK -- ATL
Pros: shorter flight, more flights per day (6-7), first flight to base arrives before 7am & last flight home is usually after 10pm; could drive if absolutely had to; easier to move between terminals at airport; better schedule flexibility as lineholder
Cons: more expensive route (monopoly by mainline); NK long call gets used a lot from what I hear; commute route not served by Spirit
B6 - JFK
Pros: route served by JetBlue; good number of flights (2 on B6, 3 on a different regional); I've heard B6 might be better for LCR
Cons: longer flight, first flight into base wouldn't arrive until about 9:30am, last flight home leaves before 8pm; more time to move between Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 if needed
How are the routes or commutability at JetBlue between 10am and 7pm? Is there anything I'm missing? I think with the LCR not showing before 2pm, worst case I might need a hotel on the back of the assignment but would rarely need to come in a day early.
Lastly, most commuter clauses deal with needing 1 or 2 flights when jumpseating. How would these apply if I were buying my tickets, and reported late due to a flight delay (maintenance, weather, crew, etc) that was outside of my control and not an issue of me not getting the jumpseat?
Thanks in advance.
I'm trying to decide right now between Spirit and JetBlue and would be commuting for both. Obviously there's a big chance that the two become one anyway, but for the sake of argument in case the merger doesn't happen and QOL during the first two years I still need to decide. I live in the Southeast and would be commuting either way, probably to JFK for B6 and ATL for NK. I'm about a 4.5 hr drive from ATL, which is somewhat reassuring in case there's significant IROPS I could always drive in or rent a car & drive home. But I've been based there as a regional pilot, and even commuting on the mainline carrier where we had nonrev benefits (albeit at the lowest priority) started to get more difficult. I've done the math & if I bought all my tickets and averaged 4 trips per month, it would cost me between $10k-20k per year -- basically lowering my hourly pay by $13-23 per hour depending on the route (to ATL or JFK) and the airline. I think this is something I could live with both for the added peace of mind and to not have to drive the additional 1700 miles per month to ATL (which carries its own set of risks).
I know moving to base is always the obvious choice but with my wife's work there is almost no chance of that happening within the next 10 years. Given that, here are the pros & cons as I see them:
NK -- ATL
Pros: shorter flight, more flights per day (6-7), first flight to base arrives before 7am & last flight home is usually after 10pm; could drive if absolutely had to; easier to move between terminals at airport; better schedule flexibility as lineholder
Cons: more expensive route (monopoly by mainline); NK long call gets used a lot from what I hear; commute route not served by Spirit
B6 - JFK
Pros: route served by JetBlue; good number of flights (2 on B6, 3 on a different regional); I've heard B6 might be better for LCR
Cons: longer flight, first flight into base wouldn't arrive until about 9:30am, last flight home leaves before 8pm; more time to move between Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 if needed
How are the routes or commutability at JetBlue between 10am and 7pm? Is there anything I'm missing? I think with the LCR not showing before 2pm, worst case I might need a hotel on the back of the assignment but would rarely need to come in a day early.
Lastly, most commuter clauses deal with needing 1 or 2 flights when jumpseating. How would these apply if I were buying my tickets, and reported late due to a flight delay (maintenance, weather, crew, etc) that was outside of my control and not an issue of me not getting the jumpseat?
Thanks in advance.
03-22-2023, 02:19 PM
#5
On Reserve
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Feb 2018
Posts: 19
Originally Posted by Flyby1206
First off, if you are commuting you should really consider going to a legacy where the pay/benefits/QOL will likely be better than JB/NK.
There's also only one flight to BOS daily from my home airport so that's not as attractive as the five flights to JFK no matter the pairings.
Thanks for all the info!
Last edited by harad; 03-22-2023 at 02:43 PM.
03-22-2023, 02:25 PM
#6
On Reserve
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Feb 2018
Posts: 19
Originally Posted by Otterbox
Go to Spirit, drive to work and then go to Delta in ATL and drive to work.
I tried to think of it this way: if I were offered two jobs, one paying $150,000 per year but I had to find my own way to work, and one paying $140,000 per year but they would buy my tickets to and from my base… Which would I choose?
03-22-2023, 02:29 PM
#7
SDQ Base Chief
Joined APC: Mar 2006
Position: 320 CA
Posts: 5,588
Originally Posted by harad
I don't disagree, but don't have an offer or an interview from mainline yet, so while more ideal isn't really an option.
There's also only one flight to BOS daily from my home airport so that's not as attractive as the five flights to JFK no matter the pairings.
Thanks for all the info!
There's also only one flight to BOS daily from my home airport so that's not as attractive as the five flights to JFK no matter the pairings.
Thanks for all the info!
03-22-2023, 05:04 PM
#8
Line Holder
Joined APC: Dec 2021
Posts: 25
Originally Posted by Flyby1206
First off, if you are commuting you should really consider going to a legacy where the pay/benefits/QOL will likely be better than JB/NK.
If I had to chose between those two I would chose B6 and bid JFK 320 SQ (SQ = Special Qualification crew class for doing the Europe stuff). If you can get LCR it is a 14hr callout, and even on SCR as a SQ pilot they will be putting you on mid-afternoon RAPs until you get to your last two days, then they shift you earlier.
JB has positive space commuting until further notice, so that helps as a commuter.
I might add that JFK 320 SQ is starting to see some early morning trips being built with the daytime LHR flight, so you might want to consider BOS 320 SQ if you can get it. As of now all BOS 320 SQ trips are late afternoon departures and mid-day arrivals back to base.
If I had to chose between those two I would chose B6 and bid JFK 320 SQ (SQ = Special Qualification crew class for doing the Europe stuff). If you can get LCR it is a 14hr callout, and even on SCR as a SQ pilot they will be putting you on mid-afternoon RAPs until you get to your last two days, then they shift you earlier.
JB has positive space commuting until further notice, so that helps as a commuter.
I might add that JFK 320 SQ is starting to see some early morning trips being built with the daytime LHR flight, so you might want to consider BOS 320 SQ if you can get it. As of now all BOS 320 SQ trips are late afternoon departures and mid-day arrivals back to base.
Can you utilize positive space commuting as many times as needed each month? If you are SQ with 5 distinct trips to London from JFK could you commute fro JFK to your home between each one with positive space flights on JB? Not having to compete for a jump seat is a big deal.
03-22-2023, 05:36 PM
#9
SDQ Base Chief
Joined APC: Mar 2006
Position: 320 CA
Posts: 5,588
Originally Posted by Cactus310
Can you utilize positive space commuting as many times as needed each month? If you are SQ with 5 distinct trips to London from JFK could you commute fro JFK to your home between each one with positive space flights on JB? Not having to compete for a jump seat is a big deal.
03-22-2023, 06:44 PM
#10
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2016
Posts: 916
Originally Posted by Cactus310
Can you utilize positive space commuting as many times as needed each month? If you are SQ with 5 distinct trips to London from JFK could you commute fro JFK to your home between each one with positive space flights on JB? Not having to compete for a jump seat is a big deal.
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