PHX to LAX Commute
 

I know everyone says live in base for QOL. I plan on living in DEN for the next few years, but once the kiddos are out of the house, we’re thinking about moving to PHX. We love Colorado but want to explore different options to be closer to our aging parents. Anyone out there that has been doing the commute from PHX to LAX that can give any insight on how it’s been working out for you? Appreciate any input you may have.

To be honest, it was awful for me. Way too many other airlines based there which makes the commute rough. Worst was AA. Don’t even bother going to AA was my MO. So many former AWA guys doing the commute that reserve the jumpseat. While often times senior enough to get a seat as a non rev, they still take the jumpseat leaving you behind. DL was mostly if not all RJ’s just like us and there was always 1-3 Delta pilots shooting for jumpseat. Next is Southwest which is Thunder Dome. No real concerns for any SWA Pilots on the jumpseat so everyone seems to head to SWA when their respective airline is full. The Virgin now Alaska guys seemed to be the main offenders for camping out at the gate podium around 1.5 hours or so before departure. So even though it’s 1 hour prior for check in, if you weren’t at the gate 1.5 prior then you’d likely have 2-3 other pilots standing around waiting. This got very old constantly seeing this same scenario play out week after week.

It’s been maybe 2 years since I was based there so this information might still be valid or it might be obsolete. SFO has some nasty GDP’s from time to time but it has only burned me 1-3 times in the last 2 years. Besides that I’ve been in the physical jumpseat maybe 3 times since I lateraled up. Hope this helps.

What he said.

Also, I'm in the second jumpseat on Southwest a lot lately(with an SWA pilot commuting to LA to fly HI in the other), or bumped by a Skywest pilot with :30 min till push. Oh, and during spring training I try to bid vacation...

Appreciate the input and glad I asked. So based on both of these responses I should really think about possibly SFO? Best case scenario we stay in Denver and move my aging parents up here. I just want to make sure I have a plan in case my family wants to pull the trigger and move to Arizona.

or you could just buy $39 southwest tickets to get to work, and not have to worry.

I've commuted from Phoenix to both LA and SFO. They're both pretty easy if you leave yourself with 3-4 backups. In LA I would often have to go to my first backup, sometimes my second. In SFO I don't have to use my backups too often, but I have flown into San Jose and Oakland when the clouds are over SFO. My seniority goes further in SFO on the 777, that's why I commute there. You do have to have a good mindset though, commuting isn't for everyone.

Sage advice for commuting to LAX, especially since even the cheapest WN tix can be rebooked (they keep your money, but you can use the credit on a future flight).

Lots of PHX guys commute to SFO for seniority, plus SFO is a much bigger base than LAX so more trip and equipment options. The new UA PHX Flight Attendant base should remove some super senior commuting FAs from the mix. If SFO based, you can still look for opportunities to pick up out of base trips from LAX, DEN and even IAH. If you are really sneaky, you can even pick up occasional trips that start or end with a PHX deadhead.

SWA guy here, we had seven jumpers on last week LAX-PHX (last flight), none of which were our own folks.

Don’t forget you also have last resort options from PHX for SNA, BUR, and ONT, which of course involve a drive of some kind, or a two-leg commute through LAS.

Good luck!

Awful commute. My worst was after missing 7 flights (seven!) I jumped in my truck and drove to LAX only to find my truck doesn't fit in the employee parking garage.

You missed seven flights to LAX, then drove and made your flight on time? Did you go to sky harbor 24 hours before your show time?