I’m curious about this as well as I live in a West Texas town serviced by WN with multiple flights to DAL/HOU. Didn’t seem like too bad a deal to me but as I’ve never done 121 flying, I guess we will see. I’m sure it’s not near as good as living in domicile, but my wife’s family (whom I love)is out here so to me it’s a small price to pay to work here. Maybe I’ll be singing a different tune after my class is over.

Easiest commute = Online, 1 leg, 6-8 flights a day to domicile, 30-45 min flight.

Nightmare commute = Offline, 2-3 options the entire day, connecting through a hub, 2 legs at best, 3 legs sometimes. 1.5-2 hr legs. Add a bump in there and it’s an entire day affair.

And there is everything in between. As mentioned, if you are not in base, it limits your options for earning potential, which is hard to quantify with all the factors.

Man 300k Is tough to give up and will take several years to make that up . But to truly say this gig will last another 20 years at 300,000 large each year is tough to imagine.

I have had some pals maikijg that type of money flying corporate that thought they were set for their career , in one guys case he was there for 18 years .

Company ended up going belly up and all of the guys I refer to above (every single one ) are all at the airlines now .

God luck with your choice

MHT is one of the better commutes at SWA. Plenty of frequency, early and late arrivals, and quite a few trips that are commutable on BOTH ends. Not all, of course, but more than most BWI commuter cities. Tons of flexibility at this airline. Good luck.

Two thoughts -

Respect the commute. If you choose to commute, get six hours of sleep at a minimum wherever you stop for the night. Heard that from a crusty senior el capitan.

If you decide to turn down SWA, you will not have another opportunity to work for SWA. The company remembers your decision. Even with the shortage of available pilots today. And no matter how many times you apply and interview afterwards. Be careful, this bridge will not be rebuilt.

Good luck.

Personally, I think it comes down to time. The money is important but at the end of the day time is all we have. The total compensation packages will be in the same ballpark within 5 years regardless of what you do, so the question I would ask is what job will give you the most time off.

Just based on a quick passrider.com search, MHT has ~7 flights a day to BWI and BOS has 16. Little bit farther but PVD has 7 flights. In the commuting world I would say this set-up is as close to the oxymoron of "Good Commute" that you will find. SWA it is!

It's definitely as close to a "good" commute as you can get, which is why it also a very popular one. I rarely don't have commuting pilots in the jumpseat between MHT and BWI, which is something else to consider.

Our flights are almost always full or close to it, which means in places with lots of commuters, lots of competition for the 2 or 3 jumpseats on the airplane.

Excellent point.

Great points. What is the jumpseat policy in terms of reserving it? Is it first come, first served at the gate or is it seniority based? What’s the policy for commuting in terms of what happens if you can’t get on the flight or if it cancels etc?

Why would they interview him afterwards if they were just going to reject him. Seems like a waste of resources.