Commute from SEA and stay with SWA?

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07-25-2023, 06:34 PM

jameswanderson1

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Commute from SEA and stay with SWA?

Thinking of moving to Seattle area. As a 7 yr SWA FO, finally about to upgrade (OAK is a junior base), trying to decide to ditch the commute and go DL in SEA, or commute for 22 yrs to OAK and stay SWA. Haven’t minded the commute from LIT to DAL for the last 6 yrs, because I like living in LIT. I doubt the commute from SEA to OAK could be any worse.

thoughts?

thanks

07-29-2023, 11:53 AM

SlipKid

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If you're gonna move, move to a domicile. Completely different job.

I can't imagine commuting to the goatrope this job has become.

IMHO, of course.

07-29-2023, 12:00 PM

at6d

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Quote:

Originally Posted by jameswanderson1

Upgrade in Dallas isn’t far off for you if you wanted to stay in LIT.

Whats the upgrade look like for DL in SEA?

07-29-2023, 12:25 PM

Excargodog

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Quote:

Originally Posted by at6d

Whats the upgrade look like for DL in SEA?

For narrow body? Pretty quick. For widebody, not so much.

07-29-2023, 12:57 PM

jetset

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Quote:

Originally Posted by jameswanderson1

Delta. For sure.

Mostly because you are senior to me though. Although if you had the choice to live in base then your qol would be increased 100 fold.

07-29-2023, 01:41 PM

Lewbronski

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Quote:

Originally Posted by jameswanderson1

Good friend of mine did that commute for years. To say that he hated it would be a mild understatement. Wife was sold on PNW though. He took the early out because he couldn’t put up with that commute anymore - and he was completely over working here in general.

He frequently mentioned the number of competing commuters headed to OAK from SEA as a major pain point. Also, the traffic in the SEA area to/from the airport could be horrendous unless you lived very close, according to him.

Living in SEA not worth it if it means a commute, (at least if working for SWA) would be the lesson to take from his experience. So, if living in SEA is that important to you, I’d go Delta. Otherwise, I’d move to a SWA base. Or stay in LIT if you like it and don’t mind your DAL commute.

07-29-2023, 03:05 PM

CA1900

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Lewbronski

He frequently mentioned the number of competing commuters headed to OAK from SEA as a major pain point.

I did that same commute, and it was awful. I didn't even last a year before my wife and I agreed we should move to a base. Seattle's beautiful, but the commute from it is most certainly not.

07-29-2023, 03:35 PM

Lileskimo

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Quote:

Originally Posted by jameswanderson1

Seattle is a dump and the airports no better. Commuting out of that place to anywhere is hell on earth, I did it for over a year then bailed. Even if you live close to the airport like say 20-30 minutes that can easily turn into 45-1 hour based on traffic and that’s whether you live north or south of the airport. I5 is a huge bottleneck and it was awful coming home, going to the dungeon to catch the bus, then sitting in gridlock for 1.5 hours.

07-29-2023, 03:59 PM

golfandflows

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Quote:

Originally Posted by CA1900

I did that same commute, and it was awful. I didn't even last a year before my wife and I agreed we should move to a base. Seattle's beautiful, but the commute from it is most certainly not.

just stepping foot in the SEA airport brings on depression. Dark , low ceilings, stuffy, crammed. Horribly designed.

07-29-2023, 05:43 PM

#10

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Lileskimo

I commuted out of sea for 15 yrs to places all over the US. I took the bus to save me the road rage on I5.
when I got the job with SW I moved to a base as that was the plan with any airline I was trying for at the time.
Years later I thought about trying for delta and moving back to sea as that's where my entire family is but whe I ran the numbers it didnt make sense.
If I would have made the gamble I'd be so far ahead right now. But who knows the future?
lots of commuters from sea for sw. OAK, LAS, DEN, PHX are the bases they go to in that order. I wouldn't say it's a horrible commute but after driving to work for the last 5 yrs I'm still shocked how my car is always on time, the temp is perfect, I can listen to my own music and chose who sits next to me.
I'll never commute again