Commuting tips/tricks
 

I am after some tips/tricks/techniques/apps/whatever you all use in helping you commute, whether it be to/from work or pleasure.

after commuting for 4 years living in base for 3 my biggest tip is:
Don’t
kidding but really but my was mindset always assume you’ll miss your first commute you planned on made getting on the first flight so much better. Other one is get to the gate early essp with OAL if you can be the first to list for the jumpseat, the better.
and always be nice no matter how annoyed you are with your day kill the gate agents and people you interact with kindness

The StaffTraveler app is a must. Provides real load and schedule info. Other good apps are Flight Board, ID90, and Flight Aware.

If your going to commute (as other have said, not recommended) look at options that are a pain but will do the job and unload the stress off your back. Example: I commuted at a regional from FL to ORD. Rather than dealing with fighting for the one jumpseat on an oversold plane with 5 other pilots willing to death match with you heading to ORD, I didn’t bother and went to MDW on AirTran at the time or SW then got a coffee at the MDW train station and sat on the train for an hr to ORD.

It added a little over an hour to the commute but it was zero stress as those flights always had room and AirTran always took care of me in business class.

Yes, it’s a PITA but you have to do that sometimes. If it sounds like not your cup of tea, and it’s not to many, you need to move or pick another airline where your car is waiting for you the same place you park the plane at the end of duty.

I now work for a major in my home town and my drive to work is 4.5 miles garage to parking space. I will NEVER go back to commuting again, I would literally leave the industry. I did the commute for a long time and let me tell you it will hurt your body, family, and your mind. My doctor, no joke, was amazed at my overall health improvement when I started being home based.

I appreciate this post. I'm planning to commute for about a year, so I'll for sure need the advice. But I'm only doing it for a short time with a specific goal in mind so I feel it's doable.

Just to clarify you can use StaffTraveler to check route and schedules?

If it doesn't do this, what's a good app that can also capture freighters? flightware?

Yes, it will show all pax flights and then you can spend credits to get the loads you're interested in.

Don't think so, but not sure. The app references publicly available flight schedules published via interline systems, don't think cargo would be available.

Thank you.

And you as a user can answer load questions for your own airline (for other commuters) and get credits to use for your own questions.

I commuted almost my entire career. The best tip I can give is be a low stress commuter. If the weather is going to be nasty go early or even the night before. Find a hotel that offers cheap day rates so you can be rested or have a Crashpad. Don’t be the guy who flies a all nighter to a East coast base and then sits in the lounge all day before reporting.

If you’re at an ALPA carrier, the ALPA app does this under jumpseat finder. It will also interline solutions for multiple carriers for a 2-leg+ commute.

I miss jumpseat finder on the ALPA app. I didn't need it very often but when I did, it was perfect. Needed it last week and was surprised the APA app didn't have anything remotely similar.

Commuting is a mental game. Never feel sorry for yourself, embrace the suck, manage expectations (yourself and at home), try to be productive (I don’t watch tv or Netflix at home, just on the road), never calculate your “extra time away”, enjoy the hell out of where you live (that’s why you commute!), enjoy the moment.

lots of good advice so far, I’ll add:
1. Try to not have a base that covers multiple airports.
2. Pick somewhere that preferably you can fly your own metal.
3. Routes that consistently have the Airbus or other 2 jumpseat aircraft are game changers.

Simple….

Plan for the worst,,, but hope for the best. Load the iPad with movies and/or other media apps.
Formulate a Plan “B” and “C” for the very least. Test the plans on off days, that is if one on has multiple days off in a row.

I was close to not passing my medical without meds due to blood pressure. As soon as I stopped commuting it went down to 100/70. It’s amazing the amount of stress that puts on you.