Airline Pilot Central Forums - Commuting out of ATL

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Quote:

Originally Posted by captover05 (Post 1776160)

I've been commuting from ATL-ORD for the past 3 months and have had zero problems. I've somehow made it on every flight I have attempted. I did have to do MDW once due to ORD weather cancellations (high winds). I also only have UA benefits. There are over 25 fligts a day on 5 different carriers (American, Delta, Frontier, Spirit, and United), so plenty of options . ATL-IAD is much tougher. That commute usually has about 10 overbooked flights a day between Delta, Frontier, and United. There are also a TON of commuters on ATL-IAD.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tacos (Post 1776429)

It generally sucks. Period!

So which one of you is correct? We all know commuting sucks but this guy is genuinely looking for good advice

Thanks so much guys for your help!

Glad people mentioned IAD because I thought about transferring there - I think I'll stick with ORD. Noted that FL sucks for commuting! I've been through ATL a few times going to visit family in FL and have had good luck but would be tough on a regular basis.

Quote:

Originally Posted by resetjet (Post 1776432)

So which one of you is correct? We all know commuting sucks but this guy is genuinely looking for good advice

I can't recall if you mentioned who you work for but let me preface this by saying I am ASA and therefore I am referring to riding on DL. If United is easy, great but this is what I found on DL.

Every city can be different but I commuted there for 4 years. The biggest problem with ATL I experianced is they use it a lot in reroutes when there are problems elsewhere in the country. Could be anywhere. Someone misses their flight in LGA/JFK, well now they are probably going through ATL and the stacks of HKs start adding up. The only predictability to ATL loads is that they will be worse than they look the day prior. Add into that and now mainline is taking over most of the flights we (LASA) used to do and now we loose priority. Not complaining but it's something to consider depending on who you work for and how your priority works.

3 months of good commuting doesn't make it easy. Wait until you go through a winter in ATL and spring break. Both are a nightmare. Airport can be back logged for days.

"Someone misses their flight in LGA/JFK, well now they are probably going through ATL and the stacks of HKs start adding up." <--- THIS so true, will drive you nuts some days - or just try and go as early as possible to avoid some of the HK factor on DL. AT/SWA is indeed a good backup in lieu of riding on DL - 3/4 of the time seats in First Class are open on AT.

I never said ATL-ORD is a "good commute." That's a bit of an oxymoron. I just want you to know my experiences on this commute so far. I too heard the horror stories and maybe it is much worse at different times of the year. I also have only used Delta a couple times for the exact reasons that others mentioned in this thread regarding passenger reroutes and such. My main point is if your options are ATL-ORD or ATL-IAD, go with ATL-ORD. At least you have more options for your commuter clause.

Commuting sucks any way you slice it. Good luck to you and hope it works out for you.

Thanks for the tips! Anything is better than the current commute...3 flights and earliest I get home is 3-5 pm depending on day