Was curious if anyone had any experience or thoughts on the commute options out of Wilmington. Will be retiring from the Marines in about two years and due to wife's family/work, we're pretty much locked in to that location. After 20 years of this, I had to promise her that.

Understanding that my first couple of years would suck trying to get to my reserve base, what do you think the commute might be like eventually once I could hold a base closer (ATL or CLT being the two major hubs serving ILM). There are half a dozen flights each day to either of those, but on RJ's.

Is this one of those "no sweat, not alot of guys commuting out of there, you should be good" situations? Or one of those "no way in hell, its way too small" situations. CLT is about a 4 hour drive as well, and RDU is about two. I know anything is doable, but i'm thinking long term. Thanks.

 

I think ATL has some mainline. You can also drive to MYRTLE beach.

 

Delta has direct mainline from ILM to ATL, some to MYR too.
Don't even think about CHS though. With the AF reserve units there I'm told it's a terrible commute, and we are hiring lots of pilots from there as well.
I think there are regionals operating out of New Bern.
We spent almost 3 years looking for a deep water lot on the SE Atlantic coast. Commuting was a very big factor. We bought in Beaufort SC. SAV isn't a bad commute, and it's not too onerous a drive to ATL if all else fails.
I told my wife I'll commute to work if I can walk to the boat!

 

Thanks boatbuilder. A fishing boat in the near future is also a not insignificant factor in this calculation.

So is it your feeling it wouldnt be too bad long term? I know there are a few different options within a reasonable drive. I'm really interested in everyone's gut feel about whether this is doable for a 20+ year career, or if I'd want to blow my brains out after a couple of years.

 

Well it's really depends on the individual, and the reasons they commute. Some guys don't mind it, others loathe the hassle.
If it's to live somewhere you really love a one leg commute is worth it to me, especially if it's possible to drive when all else fails. Also I don't mind long drives. Audio books!
Now commuting to reserve is another matter, but at the rate the majors are now hiring you won't be on reserve too long.

 

My daughter went to UNC-W, so for 4 years somebody in the family made ILM-ATL at least once a month. RJs fill up sometimes, but I never had a problem getting a JS if I needed it. And now there's one mainline a day. Book according to the commuter policy and you should be OK. May have to get a crashpad for reserve, or a hotel for the occasional early sign in

 

Good luck! Wilmington is a battle to get into and out of, unless it is your own metal but even then its the actual jumpseat for you. There are a decent amount of flights but they are very full. You will find that a lot of the time you will have to go to Jacksonville, OAJ, or myrtle beach or just making the drive to CLT. Lots of retired US Air/American and commuters live in that tourist town, not to mention the people jumpseating as a tourist. Not to be doom and gloom but it is a tough airport for jumpseating

 

I commute out of ILM. Have been for several years. It's doable, but there have been some trying days! Best if you are on your own metal. The two carriers are AA and Delta. Delta has one mainline flight and the rest are RJs. The actual number of flights varies, depending on day of the week. Not sure about AA.

Delta flies to Atlanta, and one flight a day to LGA, but that one ends this fall. AA flies to CLT, LGA, PHL and DCA. As a backup, MYR, FAY, OAJ, and RDU are all within 2 hours drive. Forget people telling you about driving to CLT. That is over 3:30 away by road.

There are a bunch of active and retired employees here. FAs have it worse, due to the fact that there is no cabin JS on the RJs. It can be frustrating sometimes, you just need to be willing to roll with the punches.

Let me know if you have any other questions, and welcome to the commute!

 

Easy drive to RDU...

 

Seems like we always have a jump seater on CLT-ILM


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