Fenderbean

So as my retirement date approaches and I start to prep for the airlines I was wondering about the life style. Do most pilots live near the hub they fly out of or do they commute? Im wondering how tough that is, I have a particular place I would like to settle down at that has an international airport there but the two airlines im looking at are in are not there but im sure they have flights to and from. This is going to be the toughest part for me since I have just spent 20 years living out of a bag.

BeatNavy

passrider

Check flights there.

Commuting sucks. I commuted for a few weeks to reserve at a regional, then drove to work there for a year, and I've been commuting to my current airline across the country for 2 years. It's a significant PITA and the worst part about this job. My schedule is less flexible, I can't pick up/swap into better stuff that is short notice, and usually if I'm headed to work I'm too close in to swap anyway. Commuting to reserve is about as bad as it gets, especially at a regional. Crashpad life is no bueno.

I'm senior enough to hold commutable stuff now and I got rid of my crashpad, but I commute on a redeye and get home late the night I finish a trip. I had to go in the day before a lot my first 2 years, and sometimes wouldn't make it home until the next day after my trip. That kills QOL, as does riding on a plane in the back 40 hours a month. Also, bidding for commutable trips takes out a lot of good overnights and/or productivity.

There are some short commutes that are highly commuted and you will be fighting for a jumpseat. Commuting offline makes that very difficult and unpredictable. There are some lightly commuted routes that are very easy and people do those commutes with less stress. Some airlines have good commuter clauses...some don't. Mine allows for one online attempt or 2 offline attempts. Some people can handle commuting just fine...I think it depends on your situation. If its a short easy commute, and you have a good crashpad setup, and don't mind being away from home, it may be ok. I would never commute for a regional, but they have gotten a lot better and some even pay for commuter hotels now. The AA wholly owned ones have good flight benefits, so there's that. Commuting on your own metal is always better (priority for jumpseat, etc.).

Regardless of commuting or not, you will be living out of a suitcase for half the month for a while. Assuming you're going to a regional, where most have 11-13 days off on reserve, and after a while you can hold 13-18 off depending on the regional. The rest of that time you'll be in a pad or hotel. I'm gone a lot more than I was in the Army fwiw, but I'm not getting shot at and I come home more frequently.

Sliceback

Commuting - leave home at 1000, back at 0100 on day 3 (actually after midnight so day 4).

Live in base - leave home at 1700, home at 1700 on day 3.

That adds in golf, tennis, chores, etc, and a lunch and dinner at home, along with a normal bed time, 4-5x per month.

And that’s for a commutable trip. For me, depending on the base, a commute adds 4-10 hrs per commute.

Kids out of the house? Rent in base and then commute for awhile(a year?). You’ll figure it out for yourself. Some guys make the commute work for them and for others it stinks.

Grumble

Depending on what airline you get picked up with and what base you wind up in, that commute may save you $30k+ in taxes. Every time I get screwed on my commute (which is rare) I remind myself I’m saving about $4k/month.

Living in base def makes it a better job however.

Live where you want and commute, or live where you can tolerate and drive. If the two happen to be one in the same, you’ve won the career lottery.

BeatNavy

I'll also add that there is a retired army guy at my airline who drove 6 hours from Dothan to Savannah to catch a commute flight to NY for a couple years until he moved to Savannah...that was the closest decent commute airport for him, and he had friends there to crash with if he couldn't get on a flight. I don't think his wife saw him very much. I know guys who drive from DFW-IAH or vice versa because driving 4-5 hours is sometimes easier than commuting on a 45 min flight. Ditto for other 2-4 hour drive city pairs depending on how the typical loads are, weather/cancelations, etc.

Depending on what airline you are at, you can overnight at home if you can bid/hold trips that overnight where you live. That can make up for time lost commuting. It can also result in getting paid to commute to work with virtual basing, jetway trades, etc., or premium trips if someone there calls out sick and they need someone to operate the flight back, etc. and have no reserves since it isn't a base for your airline. Also, if your airline has many trips that start/end with deadheads, once you can hold those, and if your airline allows it, you can self DH, not get on your scheduled DH and pick up your trip where it starts. That's another method of getting paid to commute to work.

You'll figure a lot of this out once you start. But for planning purposes, plan on life sucking commuting to reserve at a regional, then getting incrementally better each month as your seniority gets better and you become a line holder. For me, I will take my transcon commute to NY before I'd move there, and I will eventually move into one of my airline's bases once I'm done with my mil stuff.

Adlerdriver

You could also try coming to FedEx and (assuming you live in a city we fly to) have one of the easiest commutes in the industry. Get a little seniority and get paid to commute on our trips that start and/or end with a deadhead.

BeatNavy

Until FedEx starts counting helicopter time, I don't think that will help OP in the short term regional plan. Although commuting on FedEx, even offline, has been helpful to me in the past and is worth looking into as an option for him.

Fenderbean

Well I would love to live around Huntsville and the two airlines im planning to go with are Gojet and PSA. Im on the fence about the airlines and from the research I have been doing I completely understand why they have shortages, bad pay for the first 6-8 years and constant travel to and from work gets to you. Even harder pill to swallow after spending 20 years in the Army doing it.

So how does the hub you get work? can you request it or do they send you to one for starters and then maybe later can pick?

Also your saying that 1st officer cant bid on commuter flight seats?

navigatro

I may pay more in taxes than the non-commuters, but living in domicile makes it very easy to make up for that (if I want) by picking up extra work on my days off. And I still work less than most commuters.

BeatNavy

You keep saying hub...that’s not the right word. I think you mean base. A hub is a big airline base that serves the hub and spoke model. A base is a domicile where you are assigned...not necessarily a hub. It’s all based on seniority and varies airline to airline. Usually places like NYC are junior bases at airlines that have bases there because of the cost of living. You don’t get paid more for being based in a high cost of living area, which is why they tend to go junior. For reference, the most junior FO at my airline’s most senior base could hold captain at our junior base. Base/equipment/seat is all seniority based, and you’ll figure out where you can hold the best pay/QOL based on your commute and lifestyle. As a regional guy, most airlines only have one or two planes...figure out what bases you can commute to the easiest and go to a regional with a good contract and good movement (ie not expressjet) so you can get some seniority quickly.

Friends don’t let friends go to gojet (unless maybe you live in one of their junior bases). I have an army bro who lives in Huntsville and is starting at endeavor in July. Highest pay and one of the best contracts for regionals. PSA may work ok for you too. But check out endeavor since getting to ATL would be fairly easy and cheap from HSV.