Commuting worth it?
 

Hey guys,

So I'm moving to the 121 world and cant decide between Commutair or Skywest. I will be moving to DEN with my fiance, a decision which has been finalized based on other factors. I'm trying to determine if the commute to EWR will be worth the money.

I currently have an offer with Commutair, who is offering a 22k bonus and second year FO pay of 54/hour. Is that worth the commute from DEN - EWR? 2 year pro rated contract.

Or should I go with Skywest and live in base but take lower bonus/ pay?

I'm torn between the two. Hoping someone who has experienced this type of commute and/or either company can shed some light. Thanks.

United hub to hub sounds like an absolutely awful idea especially with so many pilots living in Denver (great place). Much better to commute to another airline’s hub (eg Dallas, or Atlanta). If you’re chasing pay, I suggest Endeavor. We have a large bonus as well (no contract attached); much higher pay than Commutair (compare 3rd year contain pay...) and positive space second attempt commuting. With about 15 plus flights Denver to Atlanta a day it would be “easy.” Miss the 9 am southwest flight, call scheduling and they’ll put you on the 10 am delta flight. Also, the most junior lineholders on the 900 are getting 18 or 22 days off... I guarantee you Commutair can’t offer that. Most of their flights are 60 mins long.

There's not a single bigger contributor to your quality of life than living in base. It makes the job night and day better. You're fortunate to be moving to a hub with multiple options. Why commute?

I work for skywest and can tell you we are not the best place to work. That being said, I don't hate my life. It's a tolerable place of emplyment. I made $56k as a year 2 FO. $42k net. Are there better places? Absolutely. Would I commute to a better place instead of live in base? Absolutely not. One question I would ask would be how is your resume? Do you need a flow or are you marketable? Even though majors are retiring a lot of guys you still need to be marketable to make it. If you've got a spotty record, bad GPA, and excessive check ride fails, go to Piedmont, PSA, or Envoy.

Commuting DEN-EWR will be a complete nightmare (you'll be competing with a zillion mainline UA guys), and it will quickly eat up any difference in pay. If you live in base, not only will your life be vastly better, you'll be able to pick up trips for premium pay, which could easily allow you to make more by living in base than by commuting.

Just don't do it. Really.

ABSOLUTELY go to SkyWest. CommutAir is a clown show. Any additional money will not make that place worth it. Further, the quality of pilot they are hiring.... well, it’s not top tier. Don’t make that mistake. I know of at least one CommutAir pilots that just left three years of seniority to go to SkyWest.

Don’t commute. You’ll be MUCH happier.

I’ve commuted DEN-JFK for 2 years and now DEN-LGA for a little while. We have a base in EWR and the trips are a lot more commuter friendly, but I can’t justify trying to do that commute hub to hub on United. As a regional guy you’ll be #30 on the standby list with an oversold flight. Getting into JFK or LGA has been pretty easy and they’re close enough you can utilize both airports for your commute.

With all that said- If I were to do it all over again, I would have chosen a different regional in DEN. Unfortunately at that time my only options were Skywest and Great Lakes and for a few different reasons I did not want to work at either. The bottom line is commuting sucks, but it can be palatable if you really want to live somewhere.

Yes, living in base can greatly enhance your QOL, but in many cases commuting is a better tradeoff for the family, or even yourself.

The trick is to pick your commute carefully, one leg, 3-4 hours max, consider available flights (multiple airlines), and who else will be competing for seats. The one leg thing is important, but you can plan on two legs as a plan B.

Thanks for the advice guys. I think I'll go with Skywest. I would probly end up hating my life if I had to spend years doing that commute.

It simply can not be overstated how living in base increases ones quality of life exponentially. I’ve been commuting my entire time at this job and it has at times been the most soul-sucking experience of my life. The sheer number of hours of my life absolutely wasted is mind boggling. I highly recommend going where you won’t have to commute.