I dont get why people bash on commuting. I do it and life is fine. I guess I stay positive and know in the long run I'll take sitting in the back of a plane another 2 hours in order to see family/friends was much more beneficial to me. What sucks is reserve being 5-6 days long and sometimes they won't use you. That gets the mind racing a little bit. Just step outside and go for a walk and think about what you're going to do when you get back versus not being there and throwing a pity party.

Not bashing commuting... only saying that I'll take my 20 minute drive today over my two leg commute of yesterday. I think you would agree that my QOL is slightly better now. I think most people's point (at least mine) is to factor in your commute when deciding. Reserve rules (and utilization), length of reserve, commuter policy, and hotel reimbursement should all factor into one's decision. Wouldn't you agree?

I've been doing this six years. I'd compaere a weekly commute by choice to a weekly voluntary colposcopy. For the love of God don't commute by choice.

how long is the commute that people are complaining about...i'm looking at envoy, and if I got LGA, i'd move back to VA and commute, 1.5 hr flight isn't all that bad.

not only the flight, consider being at the gate 30min-hour early, getting your bags on board vs checking, dealing with oversold situations/ people with higher priority for the jumper, and start/ finishing at a time when you can commute same day (depends where you go, kinda).. overall it sucks. Sure, I do it by choice at the moment but my goal is one day move to my base and stay. And hope like hell it never closes.

Much appreciated! This helps a lot and really narrows down the choices since I don't want to commute. I've seen a lot of back and forth on whether to commute or not and I didn't know what the particulars were as far as the call out times and how they were assigned. I should have figured you don't get your choice right off the bat, but you shed some light on it. I've read a bit about "ready reserve" or standby reserve where you wait at the airport to possibly be assigned or you just go home after. Do all airlines have this?

LOL Snacky :D

thanks for the heads up. i'll consider it. I've got plenty of friends in NYC that may make LGA an option, although living in base at DFW would be nicer

Commuting isn't so bad when flights are open and on-time. A 1-2 hour flight isn't so much the big deal. It's the constant unknown that gets to you.

When there's a question of if you're gonna make it on a flight, it's an added mental and emotional burden. You don't know if you're gonna be sleeping that night at home, in a crash pad, or crew room chair. If you're doing this every week, it gets old.

If you find a commute that is consistently wide open with little competition, then it can almost be enjoyable. This happens with slow seasons on city pairs, but if the flights aren't full, they'll reduce the number of flights eventually.