Commuting out of DEN
 

I'm just curious who commutes out of Denver and to where.

I've decided I'll be picking up and moving to Denver. I'm young and single, so commuting wouldn't be a big deal right now. I'm just curious as to what commutes are harder than others. I'd commute to the east coast if I had to (ie. went to work for AWAC, which is high on my list), but I'd like to stay around the southwest, midwest, or CO/WY areas.

How about over to MSP, ATL, CVG, JFK, PHL, DCA, or down to IAH, or SAT.

Obviously being based in DEN would be great, but I can't wait around for an airline w/ pilot bases in DEN when other, and potentially better opportunities arise.

Thanks guys/gals!

PM me, I've commuted to 7 different domiciles out of DEN.

DEN-IAH is a nightmare. There are alot of CAL employees that still live in denver and commute to IAH. The last IAH-DEN flight I was on had 24 SR3s.

DEN-ORD is one of the worst.

I second that DEN IAH commute being a nightmare. The cabin fills up just about every flight with revenue pax. The standby list gets into the 40s and 50s with numerous CAL pilots taking the jumpseats. If you come to XJT you might want to use United or Frontier to SAT, ONT, or LAX.

We (AWAC) have a ton of guys commuting from DEN to PHL and DCA. NONE of them say it is fun by any means. There are so many that do it, and the cabins are always full of people, and both jumpseats are ALWAYS full.

The good thing about DEN commuting is Frontier....airbuses have TWO jumpseats. But it all depends on which city you are going to and who else wants to go there.

Assuming you are brave to board one to begin with..........

Wow, I didn't realize it is that tough of a commute. I didn't even bother asking about SoCal as it's seems like a pretty tough commute. Or am I wrong?

Heh, funny thing, I grew up 30 minutes from ONT and 45 from LAX. Oh well.

Thanks for everyone who replied. Definitely some new things to consider.

Thanks all!

what about denver to atlanta?

You'll love Denver...it is worth a crummy commute. The hardest thing about living in Denver is buying all of the outdoor gear in the first two years. That gets expensive but it is WELL WORTH IT. You have 300 days of sunshine, you can backpack, dayhike, snowshoe, ski, snowboard, boat, four-wheel, snowmobile, para-sail, glide, fly, street bike, mountain bike, sport climb, trad climb, ice climb and mountain climb - all within an hour or less drive from Denver. You simply can't beat it....and besides...it always snows when the Broncos are playing on MNF. Further reinstating the MYTH that DEN is like BUF. FAR FROM IT!!! It was a rough winter last year but it truly is a "dry cold". :)

The easiest commute I had was DEN-PHX. That was easy when you looked at United, America West (US West), Frontier and now Southwest.

The toughest commute, without question, was the DEN-ORD route. United has some 800 mainline employees riding the skies between those two cities. It used to take me an average of three attempts to make the trip. However, you can always look for backdoor routes to the city you want. For instance, I'd give United three tries to get me to ORD then I'd bag DIRECT ORD and look for DIRECT MDW or a two-stopper that wasn't entirely obvious. DEN-XNA-ORD. That worked rather nicely. :) NO ONE and I mean NO ONE even thought of using that one. Mind you, I think the route structure has changed since and that route is no longer an option. Other ideas for getting back to DEN from ORD is a side-step to COS. I believe there is a lot of service between the two cities on RJ's. Mesa used to run some Dashes out of there but who knows if they are still working. If you get stuck in COS or misconnect then you go to the AVIS counter and tell the agent you're an airline pilot trying to get to Denver. NO KIDDING - I got a one-way rental for 19.99. I drove it to AVIS(which is next to landside parking) and dropped the car and then walked to mine.

Other suggestions, you'll have to buddy up to an agent or really look at the travel guide closely to find the routes that are "hidden".

Going to DEN-ORD - you can go to MDW and then catch the train to the city and connect with an ORD train. The whole trip costs less than five bucks and will get you to ORD within an hour of your departure from MDW.

DEN-ATL isn't an easy one either. Lot's of United people live in ATL and work in DEN or ORD.

DEN-EWR or IAH is a tough commute. DEN used to be a VERY senior CAL base. Those people still reside there and can commonly be found commuting between those cities.

There are other options: UPS/FDX/DHL Look up their specific rules and verify you qualify to ride then know your options.....MEM? IND? SDF? CVG?

Commuting is a crapshoot. There are two types of commuters: Brazen and ChickenShizzit. I'm happy to be a member of the CS tribe. I always go early and I always made it when I HAD to be there.

Happy commuting..best of luck.

STL - DEN is easy.... lots of flights! being STL based isn't fun, but at least I can get to where I want to go.