Commuting Internationally
01-16-2025 | 07:21 AM
#31
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Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 4,179
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From: Aircraft & Seat: old & hard
01-16-2025 | 08:53 AM
#35
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 5,244
Likes: 2
From: Baja Vermont
At EAL, we had a B727 captain doing that commute to NY. Very senior, bunched up both ends of the months, so it was basically 30 on/30 off. QF F/As knew and took care but this was before lie flat seats, etc. Guys I heard the story from said, he not of odd duck, up all night, sleep at odd hours, not top of the game sometimes. So, it was possible even 40+ years ago,
01-16-2025 | 10:05 AM
#37
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 2,607
Likes: 12
I commuted from Germany to a major western US hub for 2 years. German wife wanted to try it out after living in the USA so I went with it. I was quite senior and able to fine tune my schedule almost any way I wanted. Also had flight bennies on multiple airlines plus almost unlimited ZEDs. Takeaways:
1) Much easier if you live in a gateway. I did not and the commute after landing in Europe was up to an extra 3-6 hours as a result. If I did it again i'd live close to FRA, CDG, AMS, LHR, maybe MUC and thats about it. The rest dont have enough frequency for me.
2) I always spent 3ish days recovering from time change at home. Even though I bid early morning work, my body knew the difference when I shut the drapes at 5pm with the sun shining bright and lay awake for hours without being able to sleep. No real solution I found over two years to get decent sleep.
3) I spent an average of around $300 on taxes and fees. Sometimes more for a ZED and train tickets. No matter how you commute out of Europe, I dont know of a way to avoid the taxes. Brittain is horribly expensive, Germany not so much less. Add the other fees in and I had a significant addition cost to my monthy budgets.
4) I was more physically affected than I expected. I got biz class about half to 2/3 of the time and still there was an effect. But sitting in the back middle seat from SFO to FRA for 11 hours over and over again has its effects on your back, neck, ass, and other things I wont go into here. No way around this one either.
After two years my wife assessed and decided she's prefer a healthy husband to a zombie and we moved back. I wouldn't do it again unless I was working one 4-7 day trip per month and no more. It'll have to wait until I retire at which time I'll likely expat and leave forever. If I cant wait that long I'll retire early and escape the great USA. Hope that helped.
1) Much easier if you live in a gateway. I did not and the commute after landing in Europe was up to an extra 3-6 hours as a result. If I did it again i'd live close to FRA, CDG, AMS, LHR, maybe MUC and thats about it. The rest dont have enough frequency for me.
2) I always spent 3ish days recovering from time change at home. Even though I bid early morning work, my body knew the difference when I shut the drapes at 5pm with the sun shining bright and lay awake for hours without being able to sleep. No real solution I found over two years to get decent sleep.
3) I spent an average of around $300 on taxes and fees. Sometimes more for a ZED and train tickets. No matter how you commute out of Europe, I dont know of a way to avoid the taxes. Brittain is horribly expensive, Germany not so much less. Add the other fees in and I had a significant addition cost to my monthy budgets.
4) I was more physically affected than I expected. I got biz class about half to 2/3 of the time and still there was an effect. But sitting in the back middle seat from SFO to FRA for 11 hours over and over again has its effects on your back, neck, ass, and other things I wont go into here. No way around this one either.
After two years my wife assessed and decided she's prefer a healthy husband to a zombie and we moved back. I wouldn't do it again unless I was working one 4-7 day trip per month and no more. It'll have to wait until I retire at which time I'll likely expat and leave forever. If I cant wait that long I'll retire early and escape the great USA. Hope that helped.
01-16-2025 | 09:08 PM
#40
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Joined: Apr 2022
Posts: 1,783
Likes: 131
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