Oh the horror! I do everything I can to get jumpseaters on my plane but I feel no sympathy for commuters. It truly is a choice. Multiple people outside of the airline industry have had their jobs move multiple times. Many people in my family had to move 3+ times over their lifetime because their jobs changed. Commuting is a right that airline employees have but they deserve no special treatment. The most logical thing to do is call uhaul and make the company foot the bill if your domicile closes.

 

Since you call it "your jumpseat" I'm assuming you're a CA so your perspective on this issue will be different than a FOs but I challenge you to live near ORD or any NY domicile on 30k a year with a family. Then come back and talk about it being a "choice".

Past the commuting argument you're still talking about early AM day 1s and late PM day 4s. Even living in base you're now losing 4 FULL days of your life as opposed to 3 and a fraction.

 

Did you read ANY part of what was previously said?

Moving once or twice or maybe even three times in an entire career is acceptable. Having to move once a year, or once every other year.....not acceptable. That is what the regionals are. If you work for FDX and don't want to move to MEM, yes thats a choice. If you are an FO at republic and don't want to move to LGA or DCA, not so much.

You clearly don't commute.

 

I keep hearing this over and over again, making $30k. I'm on year 2/3 FO pay at a regional and I'm going to gross close to $60,000 this year.

 

I will make just under 40....Where do you work. Do you commute and do you pick up open time?

I was on reserve for part of the year but even at 85 hours a month I'd only gross around 37k. Add maybe 4k perdiem and that's 41k.

Maybe I need to work elsewhere.

 

Living in base, and I do pick up open time, mostly from other crew members. Only 10-15% from company open time.

 

At Eagle even if you gamed the system HARD on 3rd year pay I'm not sure you could make an extra 23k to gross 60k. I need to work where you do.

 

Below is a response that I posted to one of your "anti-commuter" posts:

It was pulled by a moderator because in addition to what you'll read below, I said used some less-than-diplomatic words in response to your previous post. Anyway, here it is:

So you're saying that one should just up and move to base? Never mind that the move could potentially cost hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on individual circumstances and location of that person's property? A large percentage of people in this country are upside down in their house.

Should they walk away and allow a foreclosure just to make you happy?


Jobs go away, you know. A pilot might have had a great job with an air ambulance company or a flight school (my instructor job made me just shy of $60K/ year) when suddenly they are without a job and the only one available might have been with some regional with the junior base on the other side of the country but has the possibility of being based closer to their home.

Should they move for 18 months just to make you happy?


What if you have children and want to keep them close to your family? They help out with things like watching the kids and running errands that would otherwise be cost-prohibitive.

Should they move away and go broke just to make you happy?


What about a divorcee who wouldn't see his/her kids very often even if they lived down the street?

Should that person move away and never see their kids just to make you happy?


What if a pilot also owns a business to make ends meet or is part of a family business that needs him/her on his/her days off in order to help out?

Should that person turn his back on what he/she has worked to build or turn his/her back on their family just to make you happy?


What if I live on land that my family homesteaded? No, not the housing loophole...actually homesteaded.

Should I give up my family legacy and history just to make you happy?


What if I'm a regional FO with a first-year W2 that showed $18,900 and I'm crashing in my parents basement because it's the only way I can keep the wolves away from my doorstep?

Should I move and risk bankruptcy just to make you happy?


What if I have a spouse that has a great paying job, but moving would reset her income to half (or less) of what she makes now?

Should we give up $30-$60 thousand a year just to make you happy?


What if I have an elderly parent who may not have much time left and I'm the only one available to visit?

Should I move across the country and abandon them just to make you happy?


What if I have a marriage that depends on my ability to commute?

Should I get a divorce and move just to make you happy?


You're correct in saying it's a choice, but for most commuters, the choice includes circumstances that are beyond their control, and force them to "choose" to commute. That is what we call life.

I bend over backward for commuters. I try to get them the best seat available, offer to let them board early because I know they've most likely been waiting at the gate for at least an hour, and that they are most likely at my gate because they've determined that my flight is either their best chance for getting home or is the only flight that gets them where they need to be in time; whether that is a report time or their daughter's kindergarten graduation. I also walk up the jetbridge and gently prod gate agents to do everything they can to accommodate commuters in the best possible manner. Doing these things doesn't cost me one thin dime and I, personally enjoy actually helping my fellow man, not to mention my colleagues.

Is it such a foreign concept to you to want to help someone else? Tim Russert used to say that the best exercise for the human heart is bending over to pick someone else up, and I couldn't agree more: It makes my day to do everything I can to make someone else's day.

You should try it some time...

 

Im calling bs on this unless you include perdiem into your equation.

 

It is included, why should it not be? As of right now, I've made approx $49,000for the year with with $4,000 of that being per diem.