I know I said "CAL" in the title, but many could probably offer input on this question.

From the experiences out there, what are some cities/counties/nice-places-to-live-in-general that are known for easy commutes to the hubs? (EWR, DFW, IAH, CLE, JFK, etc etc)

I ask this because back in the old days, the big plus you heard from your buddy's dad who was a crusty old Airline Captain was "you can live wherever you want!"

Well, we all know that's still somewhat true, but it don't sound too practical nowadays with all the birds being booked to capacity...

Anybody live in a great place that always seems to have room to get ya to work?

And another question to add, how hard is commuting on reserve with Continental? They they have a long call? I live in DFW, so there are lots of flights.

The answer to that question is found on another thread, but I can't remember which: they have "A" & "B" reserve, one of them being a 9-hour call. Should be a breeze from DFW if you get called in off that one.

First off, all commutes suck, just a matter of how much. I don't work for CAL, but I don't personally recommend DEN-EWR. Blows.

DEN-IAH wasn't the "mission impossible" that everybody make it out to be. Of the 7 differnet places I have commuted to, it wasn't the "worst" per se. Guys that did SoCal-IAH or PHX-IAH would tell me they had a hard time on occasion. I did at times have some long days trying to get home. Maybe got bumped off of 1 or 2 flights and got home later than I would have liked, but still got home none the less. Not uncommon to look at the non-rev list and see 40-50 of them, as well as the flight being oversold. Many of the non-revs having hire dates from before you were born. You do have a lot of options.

18 months of doing it, 15 as a line holder. After dumping my crashpad as a line holder, I was only forced into getting a hotel a handful of times. And that was because I couldn't trade for a late show but was always able to get an early release. So I always had the hotel lined up prior and never had to sweat it because I got bumped off the last flight home and may have been competing with other commuters trying to get a hotel or displaced passengers getting hotels because of bad weather, etc.

The guys I know that did DAL/DFW-IAH didn't complain too much either. I heard that although DFW-EWR is a looong flight, the loads are not too bad. Not sure if it's true, just what I heard from a few guys that did it.

CAL reserve is HORRIBLE. A reserve is a 9 hour call out, paid 72 hours per month and are assigned trips first with a 24hour on call. B reserve is 76 hours (usually more junior) with a 3 hour call out. That's the basics of it. In typical fashion of any large carrier the senior guys sold out the junior guys with the latest contract hence the numerous terrible scheduling issues. The only good thing for new hires is they can bid off whatever plane they're on to 73 ASAP and will hold a line faster - but still be abused. All that being said, still beats my old job 24/7/365 on call. The commute is all about where you're coming from. Mine is tough, but I can drive if I get in a jam. Good luck.

Oh Sure, that last contract was filled with so many goodies for me that there wasn't anything left over for you reserves.

That last contract sucked, period. It never should have been ratified and if your an F/O on reserve I'll bet you didn't have a chance to vote it down.

Trust me theres no gems in Contract '02 for me either.

You ask a vauge question..... Where do you live? Do you have an interview? Only CAL bases are IAH, EWR, CLE and GUM. If you were more specific on where you want to live I could help. Having now commuted to both coasts, lived in several bases and now commuting again here is what I can offer.

I'm a new guy at CAL an commute from Colorado. Commuting eats time and energy and takes away bidding flexibility. Unfortunately it is a cost of business at CAL due to the poor base selection (IMO). That being said, it is possible with a few things in mind. Going to EWR sucks. Guys that drive, guys that fly from all over the country, it sucks. Ask around. It takes quite a bit of planning and anticipation due to the horribly jacked ATC/weather delays make that place hard to count on. It also is the junior base (almost no time on 737 reserve), has the best/most varied flying in all fleet types. Give and take with EWR.

My advice is if you don't want to live within a drive to a hub find a place with lots of frequency, no more than 1 time zone away with large airplanes and multiple airlines offering service. Even better would be to do what many CAL pilots do. Live in PA, upstate NY, or MA or CT and go to EWR or AUS, SAT, DAL and go to IAH. Those commutes can be driven which takes away some of the pucker factor, esp while you're a new guy and trying to remain under the radar.
Good luck.

how about MCO-EWR?

I used to commute out of RSW and MCO was my backup. Shouldn't be a problem, lots of flights with several 75's that have two jumpseats.

And about a zillion commuters who do it. I rode the JS of an XJT CA who did the MCO-EWR commute a few months ago. Those flights are usually packed, and she said JetBlue's MCO-EWR service is the saving grace for many CAL & XJT EWR-based folks. Not uncommon to have 5-10 gold-stripers in cabin, FA JS, and flight deck JS. But apparently doable.

I am IAH-based and know a lot of MCO commuters going that way, and they say it is doable. Most flights on the 757 with 2 JS, and our guys say they're usually up front but don't get bumped too much, FWIW.