Ugh! Looks Like a Transcon Commute for the Capn!

CapnJim

CapnJim

Well-Known Member
OK, so I passed up upgrade on the last two perm bids to hold out for my EWR. Thing is, word round the campfire is that EWR upgrades are not going to be coming along for quite some time. So, long story short, if I am to move on in this career before the next Big Slump, I gotta upgrade pronto. The bases I can hold captain in? LAX and ONT. Left coast. All the way across. Lucky me.

Upswings:
-One bazillion flights a day between NY and LA.
-Jet PIC. (and all that that entails)
-Nearly a 200% raise. (and all that that entails)

Downswings:
-6 hour commute across four time zones. (and all that that entails)


So the pros are significant and far-reaching, and the con is pretty much the one thing, and temporary at that. But.... ugh. I'll be going from being 20 minutes to 6 hours from the airport. Still and all, it's gotta be done.
 
Well a pre congrats on Captain, Capn'!

And I know there are probably a bazillion reasons why not, but why not just move?
 
SpiraMirabilis said:
I don't mean to be a nitpick but that wouldn't be transcontinental.
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No?

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source trans·con·ti·nen·tal
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/ˌtræns
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kɒn
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tnˈɛn
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tl/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[trans-kon-tn-en-tl] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –adjective 1.passing or extending across a continent: a transcontinental railroad. 2.on the other, or far, side of a continent.
 
ok hoboken or lax? not too hard of a choice if you ask me, but then again you didnt ask me. just my 2 centavos.
 
I've been saying for months "I'm not gonna commute to DTW to upgrade." Well.....uh....yeah. After talking it over with my wife and a lot of CAs, I'm putting in for CA when I've got the mins (later this year). Probably be able to hold DTW right away, POTENTIALLY ATL (IF that's where the -900s go and if it doesn't go super senior) and MEM a few months later. I can suck up the commute if it gets me moving a bit faster career wise.
 
777forever said:
And a 200% raise.:) Im surprised many people are willing to stay FOs until they get the base they want and forgo the huge raise!
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QOL, baby! Commuting involves a lot more time away from family. If you've got small children like Kell and Capt. Bob, it makes a lot of sense. Just depends on personal priorities.
 
777forever said:
And a 200% raise.:) Im surprised many people are willing to stay FOs until they get the base they want and forgo the huge raise!
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It's actually a tough decision. First thing you need to realize is it's not always about the money. Commuting means I'm going to lose probably at LEAST 3 days off a month. That's three fewer days I have to see my wife and my kid. It also adds a headache that I don't have living in base, and that's "Am I gonna make it to work and back home?" That huge raise? Yeah, I'm gonna be giving some of that up to pay for a hotel or crash pad in a city I'm not based in. Toss in eating in that city as opposed to eating at home, and that raise starts to get a little smaller. Bigger money also means more taxes and union dues coming out.

So, in reality, it's not a 200% raise. There are other factors and opportunity costs to consider. Look at Jim. Sure he's gonna be making more money, but it's taken him a while to weigh the pros and cons of commuting across the country for it.
 
777forever said:
And a 200% raise.:) Im surprised many people are willing to stay FOs until they get the base they want and forgo the huge raise!
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killbilly said:
QOL, baby! Commuting involves a lot more time away from family. If you've got small children like Kell and Capt. Bob, it makes a lot of sense. Just depends on personal priorities.
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:yeahthat:

kellwolf said:
It's actually a tough decision. First thing you need to realize is it's not always about the money. Commuting means I'm going to lose probably at LEAST 3 days off a month. That's three fewer days I have to see my wife and my kid. It also adds a headache that I don't have living in base, and that's "Am I gonna make it to work and back home?" That huge raise? Yeah, I'm gonna be giving some of that up to pay for a hotel or crash pad in a city I'm not based in. Toss in eating in that city as opposed to eating at home, and that raise starts to get a little smaller. Bigger money also means more taxes and union dues coming out.

So, in reality, it's not a 200% raise. There are other factors and opportunity costs to consider. Look at Jim. Sure he's gonna be making more money, but it's taken him a while to weigh the pros and cons of commuting across the country for it.
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:yeahthat: too... ;)
 
kellwolf said:
It's actually a tough decision. First thing you need to realize is it's not always about the money. Commuting means I'm going to lose probably at LEAST 3 days off a month. That's three fewer days I have to see my wife and my kid. It also adds a headache that I don't have living in base, and that's "Am I gonna make it to work and back home?" That huge raise? Yeah, I'm gonna be giving some of that up to pay for a hotel or crash pad in a city I'm not based in. Toss in eating in that city as opposed to eating at home, and that raise starts to get a little smaller. Bigger money also means more taxes and union dues coming out.

So, in reality, it's not a 200% raise. There are other factors and opportunity costs to consider. Look at Jim. Sure he's gonna be making more money, but it's taken him a while to weigh the pros and cons of commuting across the country for it.
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Captain_Bob said:
:yeahthat:

:yeahthat: too... ;)
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Yeah that makes alot of sense. I understand if you don't live in base you have to get a crashpad for your commute because duty starts early in the morning.
 
GaTechKid said:
He meant a 100% raise. 200% would put the CA wage at around $99/hr.
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:yeahthat: $34/hr multiplied by 200% is $68... which is spittin' distance from 3rd year CA pay... but in order for it to be a 200% increase... then you would need to add that $68/hr to the $34/hr.

A 100% increase would simply be double the $34/hr... which is more correct.

:tmyk:

;)

Bob
 
Good luck on the commute. EWR-LAX is almost always full (I take that flight once or twice a month) and there is no nonstop flight to ONT... and the EWR-IAH-EWR trunk route you'll take to ONT is always full of last-minute re-routes and deadheads, so that flight is a nightmare too.

My advice... move to California. You can find plenty of cheap places within a 2 hour drive to ONT. I'm in New Jersey as I type, and I can't wait to fly back on Saturday! (Delta 757 JFK-LAX... Doug, I'm waiting for my auto-upgrade!)
 
In reality Jimmy... I'm thinking you should bid the last upgrade training date on this bid which should put you sometime in mid-late august according to the FIL. Then... factor in 2 months for upgrade training and UOE... and now we are talking about about actually hitting the line about 5 months from now.

Within that time... I'm willing to bet that another perm-bid or two will be out in which you may be able to hold someplace a bit more commutable before you even finish UOE... thus allowing you to never even step foot in the west coast bases... but allowing you to start and hold the upgrade sooner than you otherwise would have.

It's a risk... works for some... not for others... just depends on where you ultimately want to be. Besides... if I remember from our previous talks... you may want to be somewhere a bit more south... :)

Bob
 
Jim, I think I will be joining you on this one. Wife and I talked about it, and I think its a matter of where do you want to be when the dust settles. Time to get some turbine PIC but I'm going to do ONT though. Since I will be on reserve, I hope they don't fly me that much. And I'm also hoping we will be able to get released early on the last day like when I was CLE based.

Smokey
 
smokey1 said:
And I'm also hoping we will be able to get released early on the last day like when I was CLE based.
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Well... the contract hasn't changed in that regard... If they don't use you by 6:00pm... then you are outta there on your last day of reserve.

I'm with ya though.. I had the R4 noon call time when I was in Newark... and I was on the phone with Scheduleing at 12:05, at the airport, in uniform, bags packed... asking to be released early for the 2:00 flight home on AA! ;)

Bob
 
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