Commuting life?
 

I am wondering how bad/good the QOL is commuting to and from base in your first few years at a regional.. I am already married with a wife that’s followed me around the country in and out of the military.. That being said a semblance of stability for her would be ideal.. So commute from an area you love to live, or live in an area you might not love; at least not until some seniority?

Commuting isn’t so bad depending on if you have decent airline service wherever you live. However, it can take a pretty hard toll on QOL sometimes. Missing commutes home cause of delays on your trip, getting bumped off, getting home really late, etc... There are tons of different choices nowadays with bases all over the country. I, personally, would try to avoid commuting as much as possible. But, it’s not the end of the world.. especially with airlines like Endeavor that have a sweet commuter clause.

I prefer to live where I enjoy it the most and commute to work. Been doing it for the better part of 4 years at a regional. It isn’t as bad as some make it out to be, but it also isn’t always a cake walk. Having an understanding spouse goes a long way.

If you can live somewhere that has 6-8 flights /day to a hub you can be based it commuting isn’t bad. Having early flights to the hub and late flights from that hub to where you live is a huge plus. Working for a regional with a good commuter policy like the one that Endeavor has or like one of the American WO regionals (Envoy, PSA, Piedmont) helps tremendously.

I’m a CA at PSA and like I said I’ve been commuting for my time here. If you have any questions or want any insight let me know!

Depends, where you commuting from and where you commuting to ?

Would the commute be on company metal ? own brand metal if at a wholly owned ?

I commute out of a large hub on mainline metal. I can be bumped off the actual jumpseat by mainline pilots. As it turns out there are few mainliners on this route, lucky for me.

There are between 10 - 15 flights a day depending on season so if you do miss one - the next one is in an hour. However, its a popular tourist destination so the standby list is regularly 20 or more deep all day every day. Add a maintenance or weather cancellation due to crew timing out and the whole thing turns into a crap fest quick and in a hurry.

All that said the only time I did not get a seat was Dec 22, ended up jumping on my own metal and had a friend pick me up at nearby airport and went got my car the next day.

So like above, its been no big deal commuting - depending on situation.

Now, add in to that though - picking up open time is next to impossible for various reasons. I basically just fly my line and that's it.

There's no way of getting around it, it's terrible unless you have a lot of days off. It's almost a different job if you commute vs actually living in base. Be prepared to be home like 30-48 hours a week as a junior pilot. Also there was a report that came out recently saying that airline seats have never been more packed full of people than any other time in history. Means lots of Jumpseats to and from work.

I get why some of the people above are saying it’s not bad. I mean I say that too right up until **** goes bad, which it does.

Commuting is cancer and this job is night and day more enjoyable, more rewarding and far less stressful if you can live in base.

I would strongly advise living in base as I feel it is the single greatest factor in determining your level of stress in this job.

My commute has about 24 flights a day each way. Hour flight. It's absolutely terrible. Drive if you can.

If at all possible avoid:
1. Hub to hub
2. RJ only routes that your airline doesn’t fly
3. Two leg commutes

If you are reserve it will be hell. One year I spent 20 days in a row in an airport. Come home on day off, sleep, laundry, go back to work the next day on my day off. Rinse and repeat. As a line holder things can get a bit better to a lot better. If you can commute on the same days you work but make them really long is a hell of a lot better than having to go in the day before and back on your day off.

Until you stop doing it you just don't realize how much commuting sucks. With that said it depends on from where to where. Under an hour flight it's not that bad. Commuting coast to coast wedged in the jumpseat and ending up being awake for 18 hours isn't all that fun. Your kids, your wife, your dog all want to see you and you just want to curl up and sleep for 24 hours. Having sometime steal your jumpseat and you get to wait 3 hours for the next one or 2 leg it home not fun. Yes, people can steal the jumpseat by lying about which partner they work for and a few other methods that gate agents have no time to deal with.

I commuted 10 years to 4 different bases and the majority was pain in the arse. Yes, there were moments where life was good and easy but it was not the majority of the time.

If you can tolerate it great. If you go in with a clear view of what commuting life is going to be and your wife is on board fine. I live out west, want to stay out west, and simply won't apply to airlines that would cause me to commute to the east coast. Assuming they would love to have me (ha ha) it just isn't worth it to me. Everything in life is about trade-offs. Good luck..

Commuting Life = Oxymoron

In a 30 year career I commuted for about 6 months. It was the EASIEST commute in the world Chicago-Detroit. One leg, less than an hour and, this was in the 90's when load factors were rarely above 70%. There were at least 18-20 flights/day, on 3 airlines, and that was just between MDW and DTW, let alone ORD.

IT SUCKED.

Here's the Reality for a 3 day trip:

> 2 Days before Day One - Stressing out checking loads/listing and planning. OOPs..looks bad. Better go late tomorrow and head to the crash pad. Sh!t.

> Day 1 - Work

> Day 2 - Start looking at loads/listing/planning/stressing out about getting Home tomorrow.

> Day 3 - Well...It all worked out. Great. Home. (OR..SURPRISE !...Maybe not. There goes another day. )

---------------------------------------------------------------------

4 Days Off

Day 1 - Relax.

Day 2 - Start looking at loads. OOOhhh...Lil' Stress there. Ignore it.

Day 3 - Start looking at loads/listing/stressing etc.

Day 4 - Damn. Time to leave - You will NEVER make your Showtime on Day 1 of work. Crash pad appreciation Night...Again.


---------------------------------------------------------------------

Get it?

Lather, Rinse, Repeat.


OR


Get up, drive to work, go away for a few days and come home.

Better yet, bid Turn Lines and be home EVERY night. Don't even bother to pack a bag..Throw a shirt and some socks/underwear in your flight kit just in case if you like.

You choose...It's not one size fits all.

I'm jus' sayin'.


:)

Have Fun.

Stimpson

You explained the predicament perfectly.. I commuted for a total of 8 months. One was an easy one with a city pair less than an hour away. The other was cross country. The good thing about the cross country one was there were flights every hour on mainline jets. Almost always a seat available. The one hour commute was bad, had to be on the jumpseat many times. I also had maintenance issues a few times as well forcing me to not make the showtime.

The ONLY reason why I did it was because I was single. I mean I was never home. I have no idea how or why these guys with families do it. There’s so much stress involved and you’d really have to not like your family to be able to rinse and repeat the lifestyle. We haven’t even talked about crash pads either. That’s a doozie. Bunked up. I guess it takes a certain kind of person to pull it off, if you are sick or you wife and kids, commuting might be a blessing.

I live in base and I'm barely home that much as it is. I have no idea how commuters do it. I'd quit if they closed my base and I had to commute.

I have been commuting for years. My flight is blocked just under 2 hours, same time zone, and about 15 flights per day on my own airline. It’s as easy as it gets because I can book jumpseats so I never have to rely on checking loads. I work about 14 days per month which leaves me 16-17 days off per month. The good news is I always get up and back on my working days (no hotels or crashpads). The bad news is the first and last day of my trip can turn into 18 hour days which is very tiring. I also never pick up overtime and I always make sure I’m fairly senior in category so I make less money than the pilots who live in base.

I just moved to base after commuting a year or so. My commute was pretty rough. The area I lived in had very few airline serviced airports within a quick drive. So I had about an hour drive, then a regional leg to a hub followed by a mainline leg to base. The only bright side was the D2T system American has when having a connecting flight on your commute. I was always top of the list for the mainline flight. Only like 10 flights a day out of the airport I was leaving from so commute in day always started with a 0545 flight out (a 0300 wake up to get there in time) then go home day if I didn’t get to my bed until 0100. That was if I didn’t have to go in the night before or leave the day after due to early show or late release.

Starting my trip yesterday I woke up in my own bed, left an hour early due to traffic (which I hit of course), and tomorrow when we block in at base I’ll be in my own bed by the time the sun sets.

I had a really positive attitude about commuting because I really enjoyed where I was living, but I doubt I could ever go back.

Live where you want to live!!! Good god. It is one of the BEST benefits possible. Literally no one in any other career field can realistically say that. People move all the time to Corportate America jobs. Often times they don’t necessarilu want to, but have to.

I live in a city that I love and was born and raised in. It’s a terrific place and I’m blessed I wasn’t forced to move. My commute has daily flights to base and 5 flights a week on company metal.

With that said, you have to be smart. If your living on your family farm, 2 hours from a small airport with only 2 regional flights a day (to a hub that isn’t your base) it’s going to be pretty much hell.

Commuting doesn't bother me. I don't stress over loads or give it much thought. Can't get to work? So what. Once or twice a year I get stuck at work trying to get home, and that is frustrating. On reserve you'll typically loose a half day to day each week on your days off. Ideally you live where you can easily have a commutable schedule on each end of a trip. Otherwise you'll be coming in the night before or going home the next day.

It’s like you are with me every week. Lol. This is the truth. Often times the actual flight of the easiest part of the commut. It’s all the other worries and stress that suck the most.

Funny you should say this. After being in the tech industry and chained to various offices in one of the most expensive states in the nation (NJ) I'm getting back into the aviation biz so I can relocate and live where I want, among other reasons.

Commuting may suck, and I do plan to avoid it to the extent possible but I agree you should not underestimate the value of living where it is cheap(er) to live or simply where you enjoy living, rather than being forced to move to wherever your pointy-haired boss lives and works.

Or work for an airline that home bases their pilots....

Regional
Via Airlines

Charter 135
Contour - limited
Gamma Wheels Up

ACMI
Kalitta
Omni
Atlas
Western Global


There are certainly more, these are just from memory.....

Been commuting about 2 years. I've done the 2 leg commute thing and that is nightmare fuel for sure. But now I have a 30 minute flight almost 40 options a day. It's night and day. I can leave my house and be in base in 3 hours if I'm lucky. I've only ever missed my ride home when I was trying to push it and was gonna be close anyways. I can bid for trips that aren't commutable for a lot of people. When it comes to commuting the options you have make a world of difference. Commuting is definitely not for everyone and if I could drive to work I gladly would.

Commuting vs. Living in Base is the Jordan vs. LeBron conversation for pilots. We love to argue it into the ground, both sides are convinced they are right.

Commuting will cost you money compared to living in base, no doubt about it. Parking, crash pad/hotels as needed, lack of flexibility to grab a quick turn at premium pay, lost time getting to and from work. It will probably cost me $5-6k in both expenses and lost revenue as a first year FO. For me, it’s worth it.

My wife is active duty military, we will probably move 2-3 times over the next decade. Because I can commute, this affects me far less than somebody with a “normal” job.

I also don’t stress over loads. My commuter clause says 2 flights, at least 1 hour apart, the first one arriving 2 hours before show time and the second one arriving no less than 30 minutes before show time. That’s what I give myself. If I make it, great. If the first flight goes out full with a jump seater, oh well. I call the company and let them know.

The commuter lifestyle is definitely not for everyone. Some people do not have the personality for it. Do you like a regimented schedule? Do you find yourself getting anxious about what will happen if your first option doesn’t work out? Do your palms get sweaty thinking about having to call scheduling to tell them that you have to use the commuter clause because getting to work today just isn’t happening? Do you start thinking about your commute home on leg one, day one?

If the answer to those questions is “yes,” then you should probably move to your base. If you are comfortable with having some uncertainty and occasionally not making it into work or home on time doesn’t fill you with dread, then commuting will probably not be that bad.

Also Ford is better than Chevy, luggage works is better than strongbags, peanusts are better than pretzels, David Clark is better than Bose, leather jackets are awesome and peppered beef jerky is better than teriyaki beef jerky. And LeBron is better than Jordan.

I'll give you a little advice and its free!

I didn't know how much better my QWL could be once I STOPPED commuting! I can't live anywhere it snows, I hate being COLD. So I commuted from MCO for a good 15 years--it wasn't bad or so I thought until I moved into a southern base with warm weather.

I would have a sit down with my Wife and explain the pros/cons of both. Just understand it will cause stress "commuting" no matter how easy it is! Hotels and Crashpads suck ***! ;)

My wife hates cold weather, unless we are on vacation. I gladly commute knowing her and the kids live where THEY want to live. She’s also very understanding when ****** happens. If she had to shovel snow and deal with ice while I was away that would definitely create issues. Happy wife, happy life. I’ll commute for a regional, I’m not commuting once I make it to a legacy. Even that isn’t true. I’ll commute for a bit if I can get into a widebody quicker but that’s getting ahead of myself. That’s just my experiences and thoughts.

Ok so here is the secret to commuting... you have to no care. You really have to just. Not. Care. You will miss rides home. You will have to come in a night early, and get home a day later. You will have extra stress getting to work. Just don’t give a crap.

The people I know who hate commuting the most... the ones most stressed out about it, are the people who do everything possible to get home an hour or two early. These are the guys that care too much. They’ll take a red eye on fedex, then grab an Uber to the terminal and RUN to catch a second leg jumpseat to get home at 1000 instead of the one leg Cronkite that gets them home at 1400.

Or they’ll take the latest flight they can they gives them 20 minutes to get off their commute and make it across the airport to check in at their gate on time.

That’s too much work and too much stress. You have to just roll with things.

While I dont do any of those things you mentioned in terms of the commute itself, I do stress about getting home. I have a wife, three kids, three dogs, friends and family I want to see, not to mention all of the other engagements I have to attend or take care of.

Commuting makes those harder and I do care about not wanting to travel on my days off work. Sure, I am fully aware I chose this way of life, so I am not blaming the airline or anything, just trying to advise others that it is a lot more work and stress to live outside of base.

We are changing it though by making a move to base. We are lucky as we both have family there so it is a pretty easy move for us. I should have listened to all the people telling me to move first, I could have saved a lot of time and stress.

commuting sux for the following reasons:

1. more time away from home

2. stress of commute

3. cost $$$ in crashpad/transportation

4. costs $$$ because its harder to pick up overtime

5. worse schedules because you will bid what is commutable.

6. commuting to reserve is its own special kind of hell

Why we commuters don’t complain....:(

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y-R2p6DdK8M

Totally get that. None of us want to be at work and away from family more than we have to be. You just have to go with the flow. Don’t make it home the night you finish a trip. Just relax... it sucks,I know, but too many people let it ruin their day. I’m talking ready to throw trash cans out the window mad. Just chill... that’s how you get an ulcer.

That’s what I mean when I say don’t care. You didn’t make it on? Get on with your life. Those who can’t do that need to move to base or find a local job. Otherwise commuting will destroy them.

Yeah I see what you are saying and in fact have started to take that approach myself lately. It happened a couple weeks ago as a matter of fact and I just had to say to myself, "hey, your not going to make your connection and will spend the night, so you might as well just get on with it and enjoy the rest of the evening". It still sucked but it did make the process better.

This sounds just like me! I don't think we've flown together but on day 5/5...oh boy let the stressing begin.

And therein someone has let the secret out. That's the #1 rule of a commuter: I have not the asse$ of two rats to give.

I commute from Alabama to SFO, it makes me want to cry.

This. Accept that you will miss commutes occasionally. If things fall apart, go ahead and try the hail mary plan D (it works surprisingly often) but don't stress over it. Trying even when it looks pretty grim will enhance your statistical reliability, but stressing won't help at all. Gate agents can smell stress and anxiety, and some of them will feed it just for fun.

But do plan ahead, have one backup flight and don't be the guy asking other pilots to give up their JS priority because you rolled through KCM 20 minutes prior to the very last flight which will get you to work. I fell for that a couple times until I recognized the pattern.

good lord someone would need a pretty damn convincing story to make me give up my jumpseat priority. Anything less than a kid in the hospital is going to get a squinting stare in response. Even then I’d probably still be dubious and wondering if you lied to me.

There is no emotion in commuting. If you get a seat you get a seat. If someone bumps you from the jump... thems the knocks. I had a guy apologize profusely for bumping me once. He got on but looked really guilty about it. Why? Hell I would have booted you from my metal without a second thought. That’s the game.

Commuting essentially adds a second job to the one you already have. Even on easy days, its still the worst thing ever. Id much rather drive 3 hours twice a week than have to worry about a commute.

Once my lease is up where I’m at, I will be moving to base.

I have the option to drive 3 hours or an 1.5 hour commute by air. But even at 2 times a week I wonder how long it would take to hate it.

When you add in all of the extra time at the airport the drive will be better in the end.

this. A three hour drive is about what it would take to fly a 30 minute flight with getting to the gate early, boarding, deplaning, etc.

It might cost more in gas, though. If you don’t get reimbursed for parking at your home airport it might be a wash. It’s also more work to drive. If I have a Trip that gets done and 2130 and there is a 2215 flight that gets me home...that would much easier for my tired self than having to get to my car then drive for a few hours. Of course there is something to be said about not having to worry about getting a seat in your Camry.

Yeah you might hate it, but you’re guaranteed to be home the same day. Crack open a red bull, unbutton your shirt, and make a playlist. Youre all set.

Giggity

On the subject of driving 3 hrs twice a week vs a 30 minute flight, how difficult is it at most regionals with NYC bases to hold trips that have early shows (6 AM or earlier) with late finishes (9 PM or later)?

I live in central CT, which is 2-3 hrs from all 3 NYC airports, so of course I want to absolutely minimize my time in the horrendous traffic, so getting early starts and late finishes would be ideal.

I'd gladly sacrifice some weekends and accept less dense trips to minimize traffic in and out of NYC.