Very well said above.
Curious on a different note but parallel to commuting for UPS. Crashpads aside, what if your 3 or 4 attempts to get to work are not successful? Will that be chalked up to a sick day or something else on a scorecard somewhere at Brown? Probably not a good way to start 1st year, but it probably happens rarely so often... Have no idea, just wondering how that is handled.

While I see your point and agree to a certain extent, I’d argue if one’s intent is to stay home as much as possible, being an airline pilot might not be the best career choice. One MAY get lucky at certain companies with things like not getting called on reserve, abundant turn line availability, desk job options, etc., but by and large pilots are a travelling bunch. That being said, my kids have adjusted to my schedule and absences; accordingly, I don’t pickup any extra or JAs.

As far as commuting goes, I think the cost isn’t as bad as it appears. Example: 2 guys have identical
trip. In-domicile guy has evening with family, goes to
bed early then heads to work the following am for a 3am sign in. Commuter takes late afternoon nap, has dinner with family then heads out to jumpseat into a trip. Not much difference there. If the commuter takes an afternoon pax carrier option instead all he’s lost is a few hours with the fam. On the back side of the trip, domicile guy goes home in afternoon, sees kids for dinner after they are done with sports/activities and maybe a little time before bed. Commuter gets home late that night or early next am on ups flight. In-domicile guy wins but we are talking a difference of hours vs days.

On turn lines, locals, whatever you call them, these don’t really give you a significant amount of time with the kids either. PM turns let you see your kids before school. Am turns give you the afternoon but if you want to try to get decent sleep considering that at home you’ll have a 1-something wake up alarm to make a 230 show, you’re hitting the sack really early. Again, factoring in after school activities/sports, you’re not getting that much quality time with them on duty days.

Also consider that we get a good chunk of time off as it is with vacation options, conflict bidding, displacement, etc., even with commuting we are getting a ton of family time, maybe even more than 9-5ers...? Perhaps it is a good career choice for family???

You don’t miss a commute your first year at UPS. It’ll likely get you fired or put you on a very short leash depending on the circumstances and how you handle it. Off probation, if you are covered by the commuter clause then it’s a “non disciplinary” loss of pay for the trip missed.

First year makes sense at UPS, but that’s like most everywhere else. Appreciate the trip missed clarification. Only asked as I sat awaiting my ticketed flight one day and two United Captains rolled up hunting for the jump or whatever. First one said, “XXXX it, I’m sick” and left. Second one followed suit 5 min later... Didn’t look fun dressing up and going nowhere.

Commuter clause sounds like a good deal if not abused/or becomes a trend. Meaning you probably can’t miss many trips in a month and just collect guarantee. Just not ethically sound. Thanks again for the UPS specific info.

I don’t think it’s possible to hammer this point hard enough. Probationary year, do not highlight yourself. It is true that most people who don’t make it through probation egregiously violated normal expectations. However, some simply showed a track record of struggling to be on time to work.

Commuter clause at UPS is different than many pax carriers. You can’t use the commuter clause for offline jumpseats. Also we have quite a few trips that start Sunday or Monday afternoon. Depending on which gateway you are commuting from it can be difficult to impossible to commute on company metal.

Another thing to think about if commuting.

You wont be collecting guarantee. You wont get paid for trips you didnt fly. I would say miss more than 1 trip in a month and you would get to visit chief pilot and explain your commuting practices.

Nor can you pick up open time or trip board trips (pilot posted trips to give away) over the footprint of the missed trip - big financial disincentive. The company may put you on something else when you finally make it to base but it is hit or miss and likely won’t recoup 100% of lost earnings - I’m basing this off experiences when calling in well after a sick call. Obviously the bigger the trip the more arse-pain.

Specifically, the commuter clause protects you if you are on a UPS jumpseat or a commercial flight which means a company paid or self paid ticket (mileage points tix too).

Now that is a good capture of the UPS commuting issues one might come across. Thanks for piecing together a more refined picture of the commuter clause impacts, trip trade, trip drop, $ loss, etc. All good points and well defined information.

*Totally agree - Probation is a no brainer common sense lay low period, that’s a given and being on time is everyone’s business model. If one hasn’t figured this out at this juncture of your career, it’s been dumb luck and a pink slip is inevitable.