Average drive/commute time..
 

Curious how long of a drive and/or flight you guys do to get to work. I am looking at basically either a 5-7hr commute to work, or a 300mile interstate drive to base. The drive usually takes around 4-5hrs but will gain an hour on the way in. Is that totally unrealistic? I'm not going to move, so that's not an option. I am thinking the drive would be much less stressful than trying to make he commute via jumpseat+car ride. Just wondering what you guys have done, or if this is crazy of me to even consider. Thanks.

That drive may not sound that bad right now, but after 6 months of reserve or a crap schedule, it's going to suck. Don't be a sucker for the quick upgrade, go to an airline that has a commute you can live with if you get stuck there.

I fly on 2-3 flights and spend 5-10 hrs commuting each way. I don't really mind it, but If I lived 4 or so hours from domicile I would drive most of the time. It makes any trip commutable and takes any stress off. I know plenty of people who drive 3+ hrs to work.

I would gladly do that, but due to geographic location of where I live, that IS the closest option lol! Truth be known, I really want to get to a NetJets type operator eventually so I can be home based, but I need the multi turbine time to get there. No other options around here other than regionals.

Neither of those options is great. I admit, I got used to a 4 hr commute only by "Zenning out", which means mentally conditioning yourself to not care. Whatever happens, you just don't care. Of course, I commute in a day early, so that relieves me of a lot of stress, but the days away are not good for family life.

Are you planning to commute in, then go straight to work? After a 7 hrs of commuting, starting a long day of flying is going to be fatiguing. Driving in the previous day may be your best option. If you have a minivan, or camper, you could sleep inside and avoid hotel costs. Welcome to the "dream".

Where do you live?

Not sure if u will commute in same day or not. Guess show time will dictate that. If I drive in(4-5hrs) I would probably do it same day if not too early a show time. I have made the drive before when flying in the same area, but it was only every other weekend.

Things change and this career we have chosen is going through a period full of more change than normal. I picked my airline because of the ease of commute out of my home airport. 5 to 9 flights per day from JAX to CLT. Well that has recently been cut back. The remaining flights are almost always full, and my commute has become much more difficult in a matter of a few months. Things are changing. If you live in an outstation or a base served primarily by a regional, you could be in for a rude awakening when it comes to getting to and from work. I was on a mainline flight home and the mainline guys were saying how it has become really tough getting home sometimes. Because of RAH staffing problems and AAG deciding to cut back on mainline feed, now we have less service.

Looks like the safest, less stressful way is to drive. I have heard they are trying to pack as many paying folks into the flights as well. I flew this past week for vacation, and on the 4 different planes I was on, there were only 1-2 seats empty on each one. Did see 2 pilots in uniform with their wife's on one, so that's provably a few seats there. All in all though, the time spent getting to work is almost the same either way I look at it, with driving possibly a little shorter.

2:45 from door to the gate.

Being based close enough to drive was the main factor in choosing which regional to apply to.

20 minutes door to ops.

I own property in JAX, which is why staying here for the time being was the best option. I'm going to stick it out for the rest of 2015, but moving might seem more enticing if the commute gets worse. I'd take a 2 hour drive over what I went through last night to get home any day.

Do you have to drive through winter weather?

Answer these questions for yourself..

What is your strategy with this commute when your report time is 7am?
When you are finished after 9-10pm, or later?
When you have back to back trips (1 night off in between), or 1 day off between trips?

I drive 1:10 now, and have to leave 2 hours prior to account for traffic and airport overhead, and that's long enough to where I don't care to make the commute any more than 1.5-2x a week.

I was living in Kansas City (on the Kansas Side) and was based out of St. Louis. Ended up driving numerous times, but more often than not i'd fly. If the flights looked even remotely full, I'd just gas up the car and drive across state.

I lived about 30 minutes from the airport, and would arrive 30-45 minutes prior to boarding for my commute. The flight was right around an hour, then I'd have to trek from the East Terminal to the main terminal for work which could take 20 minutes depending on the metrolink situation, or hopping on the shuttle. After all was said and done, it was about 2.5 hours of "commute" time before I'd arrive at the crew room...when I drove it, I'd be there in about 3.5 hours. Not a WHOLE lot of difference.

I have a 90 minute drive and then 3 1/2 hour flight... can usually expect to waste at least 14-15 hours of my life a week getting to/from work. It's miserable- best advice is to live in domicile.

Its about a 20 to 30 minute drive to the airport for me. But like was stated above, the flights are being reduced. I had to be in CLT at 9AM... The 7AM to CLT was completely full (when there used to always be a few seats open) and I almost didn't get on. They reduced the daily flights and did away with a morning flight and a late afternoon flight. My day ended at 4PM yesterday and the last afternoon flight back to JAX was at 4PM. The next one was at 8PM but was oversold by about 10 seats and 4 mainline employees had priority over me for the jumpseats. So no go. There used to be a 6:00PM flight but that one is gone now as well. I have to wait for the 10:30PM and that flight was full. I made it on at the last second by the skin of my teeth but my luck could just as easily not been so good and I would of been spending the night in CLT on my own dime. Finally get back to my house around 12:30AM the next day. So I was up from 4:30AM to about 1:00AM the next day. 21 hours. I know this isn't unusual for many of us, but for anyone reading this and thinking of commuting, all I will say is consider your options carefully. Because it sucks and it can suck the soul out of you if you do it long enough. Chronic fatigue is the name of the game.

I'd argue that commuting is required at the regionals, because even if you do move to your domicile there is nothing that says mainline cannot swap your domicile's flying with another regional. I've seen it happen more than once in my short stint in this industry.

I commute from an outstation with three flights a day to the hub. The flight is just under two hours and driving is not an option as it would take twelve hours. The flights are fairly full but there's never any competition for the jumpseat. One of the problems I've ran into is weight restrictions on Skywest 200s, but even then it's usually never a problem. It works out well because there's always an early flight (6AM) headed into work and a later flight (8PM) coming back home.

The other problem is having a plan B, which involves two legs and adds a lot of time to the commute. 95% of the time I get on the first flight and make it in with 4-5 hours to spare. Some guys chance it on one flight that gets them in an hour or less before show time, but then you have to burn a sick call if that doesn't work. It really depends on how ballsy you're feeling that day. The ONE time I went without a plan B it ended up being a full flight with a check airman in the jumpseat. Go figure!

Does anyone have any experience commuting out of Phoenix to any bases back east? i.e. MSP, DTW, NYC

I may be looking at this through rose colored lenses but my current considerations are the following:

Presently I commute (by car) 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. So 40hrs a month.

If I am hired by the regional that I have applied, it will be a 6 hour round trip commute by car. So, basically, I could make that drive 6 times and be in the exact same boat im in now. My understanding of a typical regional airline pilot schedule, I don't think you commute to base 6 times a month, more like 3-4 times per month.

Am I way off base here?

I commuted internationally for years and I can say it depends on your situation, seniority, schedules. My wife went back home (Europe) to help with her mom.

For 4.5 years I would go back and forth between New York and western Europe. It was the lowest stress commute I ever had. Worst part was the bus ride to and from the airport. All the flights to the States left within a 1.5 hours of each other. First class 90% of the time. Missed 3 times in 4.5 years. First day was normally a deadhead or 1 leg to the overnight.

Got onboard aircraft. Eat my breakfast. Sleep for 5 hours. Watch a movie and go to work.

10 Minute walk (bus to train also available), 20 minute train ride, 5 minute walk inside airport to KCM. 1-3 minutes to a computer to sign in or 5 minutes to crew room.

I give myself 45minutes to an hour prior to sign in. Used to drive 30 minutes than take 20-30 minute employee bus.

Curious to know if you decided to drive or fly for that commute!

Yes. After driving 3hr are you going to be fit for duty for a 12hr day? How about after a 4 day trip you get back late at night, will you be safe to drive home? Sometimes I question if my drive for an hour is safe after a long trip.