Anyone commute to the NE from DFW?
 

Hi all,

Been looking at commutes to LGA, EWR, BOS and PHL from DFW. That's if I even go to this airline. Trips won't be same day commutable it seems and I'm ok with that. Anyone else do this commute? I got Spirit, UA, AA, DL and SWA out of the metroplex to some of these bases. Would like to know if some of these legs are easy or hard to commute to. I see where LGA has 22-24 departures out of the metroplex during the weekdays. Pretty good imo.

Eventually I'd like to hold IAH but I heard the DFW-IAH commute can be a monster.

Thanks

FWIW this is secondhand information from people who make that commute:

I have heard it is very difficult with many flights being oversold/ full. Depending on which airlines and their commuter policies it could cause quite a headache. Not sure if youre looking at regionals or something else, but all of the direct flights are mainline so dont count on a jumpseat either.

As far as coming in the day before- personally- this is the absolute worst part of the job. Unless you are single with no kids and no wife/ girlfriend at home, I would advise *firmly* against a commute that requires it.

Even if you are single it will get old as you forego one more night at home to sleep in a crash pad.

Not sure what your background is but airline life is different from many other jobs in that your time at home is 100% yours, but your time away is 100% gone. Im sure youre already in aviation so you are probably familiar with this but I came from a 135 operator that had fewer days off per month but more nights at home. I started looking into airlines because I was thinking "wow, 12 days off, no on call" etc. Its not quite as easy when you have to fit all of your life into your 12 days off- not only family obligations and general chores, but also a little relaxation time to protect your sanity.

Sorry for the rant, to answer your question, from my friends and acquaintances that make that commute, it can be tough, especially when winter weather shuts down new York.

Some commutes are easier than others- but if long term your goal is IAH then i would look at airlines with IAH bases and plan on moving to the northeast for the few years it will take to get enough seniority to hold IAH.

Strongly suggest avoiding anything hub to hub for the same airline, so avoid PHL. Almost entirely served by AA, connecting one of their senior bases to what is one of their most junior bases. Ditto on BOS unless DL eventually starts flying the route providing more options. I’d say EWR is your best bet as it is served by tons of both UA and AA flights, and I guarantee you not a single mainline AA commuter... they’d drive or fly to JFK/LGA. Better crashpad situation in EWR than LGA as well.

This is the boat I’m in. I live near Dallas and am strongly considering taking a DEC at C5....... dfw to ewr and back again.

I reckon in a scale of 1 to 10, my stupidity level is 11

Why wouldn't you do DEC with Envoy, get a commuter clause, a fat signing bonus and eventually get back to DFW?

Two years reserve in LGA before dfw. So they say. I have the CJO.

C5 has commuter clause too and typically a line after 3-4 months I’m told.

I think that two year reserve number is insanely flawed/ outdated. I know people that got back to ORD or DFW in several months and were able to transition over to the 175.

Can I pm you? Also, I think that bonus just died.

DEC at Envoy is dead. Try following the DEC link at APC. Then, try entering the link in a web browser.

However, one could go to Envoy and upgrade right away if DEC without DEC benefits floats one's boat.

They’re advertising 6 months which isn’t too bad.

That commute would be hell. Don't do it. I've done that commute from west of the Mississippi airports and its misery.

Pax loads are high. Every. Single. Flight. Will be oversold and part of your daily life will become convincing gate agents who don't care/understand that you are trying to get to work.

Avoid commuting at all cost. If Wendy's is hiring in your town, do that before commuting, especially to a NE corridor airport.

I did the reverse commute, NYC-DFW.
Getting on flights wasn’t an issue. There were normally so many options. SWA is pulling out of EWR so that will cut out that one.

Going to work be advised that EWR is about an hour from LGA/JFK. There is a private airport express bus that I think leaves once an hour between the airports. May be an option getting to work but not the greatest. Not like DAL/DFW.

The down side of the commute was the length. About 4 hours each way.

This is an insane idea. There are plenty of other regionals with attainable bases in DFW and IAH.

Sounds like you’re thinking about republic. I’m a former Dallas guy who moved into base. Commuting out of Dallas in anytime but winter absolutely sucks and I don’t recommend you do it unless you absolutely have to.

This is just for the meantime until I can hold IAH.

I do it. I won't sugar coat it: It sucks. Anytime someone sneezes too loudly in NYC, the whole region shuts down, creating lots of chaos. There are always major cancellations and delays going into that area. I'm at 9e, and we have a pretty good commuter policy, but even so, it sucks.

AA is always oversold. Spirit usually has the most seats, but not a ton of frequency. They have bailed me out a couple of times.

I’m a DFW commuter. Commuted to PHL the past three months and had to use the commuter clause twice. Also, I had one seat in the back exactly one time. Switched bases and life is good now especially being senior in base being able to move and drop trips. I used to stress out about when I was new but now I just try to go with the flow. If you make it, you make it. If you don’t, well, back to the drawing board. All of my employer’s bases reside in the NE. In retrospect and in agreement with others here. I should’ve gone with a hometown airline. I made my bed and now I’m laying in it. If you have any questions about the commuter life feel free to message me. I like trying to share my experiences and knowledge. People can be harsh on here towards commuters.

Two years reserve in LGA is a complete and utter lie.


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