Winterking

+1

Well said, even an easy commute, isn't always easy. Driving as a backup is always a nice option.

CaseTractor

Two questions expand on the topic...

For those who have driven as a back up option: what are some of the longest drives?

Are there any traditional reservists who lived with their unit and have commuted successfully balancing both obligations?

Winterking

It is a six hour drive for me to get to EWR. It's a long drive, but nice to have as a last resort. I eventually want to get to IAD with a more manageable four hour drive.

MPAdriver

Any MCO and/or TPA commuters???

Likely re-locating to with in 45 - 90 minutes of both.

Appears that since its mainline service from both and with multiple EWR and ORD flights everyday it seems there "should" be some risk mitigation for a commuter?

Thoughts??? (and yes I know, don't commute if at all possible.)
Thanks for the input - MPA

Hilltopper89

I flew an evening (2300'ish arrival) EWR-MCO leg a few weeks ago on the 73. There were like 40 people onboard. No idea if this is representative. Having the option of either TPA or MCO would be nice although in that case I think you'd have to pick one and hedge your bets.

XHooker

I lived in base and commuted cross country to a reserve job flying heavies, but I knew it was temporary until I transferred units. While for all intents and purposes I've always been local to both my mil and civilian jobs, I've been in both a fighter and heavy unit and have seen it done every way possible. My take... living in base rocks. I never sweated making it to or from either of my jobs (I retired from the mil a decade ago), upgraded sooner and spent more time with my family than a commuter in similar circumstances. If I'm on an airplane I either want to be getting paid or going on vacation. Having said that, there are obviously a lot of reasons you have to commute... spouse's job, live near family, don't want to uproot the kids, are already in a reserve unit at your AD base, etc. I always felt commuting to the military would be less stressful to me because if I don't make it, the reserves are usually a lot more understanding than the airline. Also, the mil career will probably come to an end long before the civilian career, so you're eventually stuck commuting until you retire or move. Finally, remember the reserve motto: "I quit once, I can quit again."

Some general considerations. Heavy units can often block their time together for a stretch, so you might be better able to string reserve days together and commute to the military. Eight days a month seems to be a common mantra, particularly in fighter units where stringing all your reserve days together is more difficult, so that might lend itself to commuting to the airline. Lastly, commuting to both is a last resort, no matter how much you love where you're living. While, I've heard the legend of it being done done successfully, I've never seen it. A family and a double commute usually ends up in a move or the loss of two of the three.

130drvr

There are a ton of EWR commuters that live in MCO area.

John Carr

I've never done a FL-NYC commute, but have known a lot of guys that have. There are a crap-ton of FL-NY commuters. Toss in summer/spring break/holidays and MCO (Disney) can tough, as I understand it.

I haven't looked at flight schedules lately, but many of the guys I've known doing FL-EWR say "thank god for JetBlue".

There are times when mainline frequency is your friend, and other times it's not as good as it can seem. IE; a cacellation. That creates the snowball effect, both for revenue AND standby's/non-revs. Although it's usually worse on a hub to hub commute.

Hilltopper89

Flew with an EWR crew today. One of the FAs is an MCO commuter and I asked him about the commute. Not sure if he's accurate but he said between pilots and FAs there are 800 commuters from MCO to EWR. Sounds high to me. In any event, he said the commute was rough.

flygirl135

As stated above... DO NOT double commute. I did it and ended up quitting the Guard 10 years ago. Back in now and living 30 minutes from my Guard unit. I'll commute to the airline gig... Balancing both can be pretty easy, but that depends on your unit. I usually did a couple trips a month with the airline and took mil leave for a week or two. It balanced quite nicely when I was living either in base or near the guard unit...