4hr drive is a nice supplement to 3-4 flights a day if you don’t like to drive for long periods of time and want flexibility. I’d probably keep an airport car if that’s what you’re considering doing. If you’ve got the endurance for a 4hr drive regularly you should be fine.

Commuter clauses depend on the airline. Some want one on own metal (two otherwise), others want two (not necessarily on own metal) arriving prior ( or X minutes prior) to report time.

 

The long drive really depends on you. I have a 3.5 hour drive and it beats the commute on an airplane hands down, especially if that commute is offline. Then again I’m a road trip kinda guy so driving doesn’t effect me that bad.

I fly with others who look at me incredulously for making that long of a drive while I feel sorry for them having to commute by air. I’ll gladly take a long drive over even a relatively short commute by air.

Another factor is traffic and how variable that can be. Only a small portion of my drive can have greatly variable traffic, while some people have a much shorter drive to my base but theirs can vary from 1.5-3 hours depending on traffic.

Unless you loathe driving, take the drive over the flight commute if you can. Living in domicile is priceless.

 

This thread might help.

https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/m...e-commute.html

My post from that thread regarding driving time to the airport:

 

For me, commuting is a perk of the job. Not many professions allow you to live wherever you want. Let me add a disclaimer; I'm just a regional guy who has only been doing this for a few years.

However, I have a very easy commute- I live in southern Connecticut and commute to PHL. Im within an hour drive to an airport that has 5-6 flights per day (depending on the time of year) and another small airport with 3 flights per day. 4 ish hour drive and there is also the option of taking the train for ~$100. On average I spend an extra night in PHL probably once every three months.

However, I personally would not commute any further than I do now. Having friends with two leg commutes, or having to do lots of "offline" commuting (meaning jumpseating on a different carrier), it doesnt seem worth it.

I primarily chose which airlines to apply, and ultimately work for based on what domiciles were available and within reach seniority wise. Many friends and mentors warned that a commute would be hard. I figured I would try it and then decide if I wanted to move to my base. My specific commute is pretty easy, and it allows me to live near my family which is ultimately more important to me.

I wish you the best of luck in your decision!

 

There’s really a lot that goes into determining if it’s easier to drive or fly. You said you have three flights a day, and that’s pretty parallel to my situation.

Four hours is a long drive, but with only three flights a day there is a good chance you’ll spend more time than that waiting on a flight. I don’t think I’d be up for a drive that long week in week out, but I’d do it often.

There really is a lot to be said for your own car... you always have a seat and it leaves when you do every time.

 

When I used to commute, I did so to an airport that had regular flights, meaning 7+ flights a day. I'd be cautious of the 3 or so flights per day because if one cancels or you get bumped, it means you either go in the night before, you miss your trip, or you get stuck in base after a trip and miss a night at home. The other thing you have to figure out is what sort of commuter schedule you can hold. As a new hire, commuting to reserve is absolute hell and I would never do it again unless I was offered big money. Crash pad life isn't for me, and in my case I could lose 2 days off for every reserve block I had. Commute in the night before for an early RAP, and then I'd inevitably get used on my last day and miss my commute home. Once you can hold a good commutable schedule it gets easier, but on the regional level, I'd find an airline with a base driving distance from you, or to an airport that has regular flights throughout the day. Driving 4 hours every few days back and forth will get old quick.





This is exactly how I feel. I live in base now but have the option of parking 30-40 min away from the airport and taking the bus in. Many of our pilots go this route and a few think I'm insane for instead choosing the 'park at airport' option. Bus, airplane, train, it's all public transit on a schedule and I don't want to deal with it. I love knowing that my car is in the parking lot, and if I have to sit in traffic waiting to leave the airport, I'm doing so in my car, listening to what i want to listen to without dealing with some random person sitting next to me.

 

I'm in the middle of selling a house and moving my wife and I someplace I never thought I'd even consider living, solely to not have a commute anymore.

I currently commute 2 short legs out of a town which has only 3 off line flights a day. This causes me to have to leave a day early and come home a day late most of the time (even with a 1200 show, do to only having 1 option). If I can't get on a flight it's a 1.5 hour drive to the next option with 2 flights a day, non-stop.

Everyone has a different tolerance to commuting, but for me it made me the first year of my "dream job" miserable. I am constantly stressing over and checking flight loads when I'm at home, which makes it hard to enjoy being there. I'm all about qol and it seems like I had none. I am still on reserve and couldn't even try to bid long call because I wouldn't have been able to get to base in 12 hours if called out in the evening.