Commuting ?'s for a newbie

chrisreedrules said:
Lord knows my wife can barely contain her excitement on the day I leave... I almost think she looks forward to it o_O

I've only been with PSA since the beginning of 2015, and I've only commuted back and forth to/from training events. I can tell you what I've learned:

*joe public will get on your nerves in the worst way sometimes.

*joe public will be some of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet sometimes.

*2-leg commutes are the REAL 7th circle of hell and should be avoided at all costs.

*the seats on RJs aren't as comfortable as the seat on mainline metal. (So if it were me, I'd pick a city to travel out of that had more mainline than regional flights).

*good luck, your going to need it. The loads are tight.
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Joe Public sucks sometimes; yes, but so does your fellow commuters. I'm cool with a simple hello and a hand shake, but I'm not cool with hearing about how much your life sucks because you don't make enough money and spend too much time on the away from your family.

Disclaimer: this happened to me the other day in a hub. I'm not talking about anyone here.
 
Luigi said:
Joe Public sucks sometimes; yes, but so does your fellow commuters. I'm cool with a simple hello and a hand shake, but I'm not cool with hearing about how much your life sucks because you don't make enough money and spend too much time on the away from your family.

Disclaimer: this happened to me the other day in a hub. I'm not talking about anyone here.
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That's when you say "The next time the shock police break into the orphanage and force you off to flight school, tell them you'd rather be a chef instead" :)
 
Luigi said:
Joe Public sucks sometimes; yes, but so does your fellow commuters. I'm cool with a simple hello and a hand shake, but I'm not cool with hearing about how much your life sucks because you don't make enough money and spend too much time on the away from your family.

Disclaimer: this happened to me the other day in a hub. I'm not talking about anyone here.
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Maybe I haven't been dancin the dance for long enough, but all the commuters I've come across have been great. But I can usually tell from someone's demeanor wether or not they are game for a quick convo or not. I've seen many a new regional FO go up to the 60-something CA from a major and start chatting his ear off. It usually doesn't end too well. Or at least not the way they seem to think it will. If I'm talking to ya, it's either about golf, good beer, or good places to get said beer. You would be amazed how many old-timers respond kindly to that conversation.
 
Thank goodness I would only have a one leg commute to deal with, I think its about 1hr into CLT from where Id be coming from. So maybe that wouldn't be that bad of a deal compared to what you guys are dealing with on the two leg plus commutes, or the west coast to east coast deals.. chrisreedrules are you going to be CLT based?
 
Derg said:
That's when you say "The next time the shock police break into the orphanage and force you off to flight school, tell them you'd rather be a chef instead" :)
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That's much better than my standard response of "oh man that sucks...wow I'm really sorry to hear that. Damn this world! I wish I could help."
 
badtransam97 said:
Thank goodness I would only have a one leg commute to deal with, I think its about 1hr into CLT from where Id be coming from. So maybe that wouldn't be that bad of a deal compared to what you guys are dealing with on the two leg plus commutes, or the west coast to east coast deals.. chrisreedrules are you going to be CLT based?
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That's the plan! And my main reason for choosing PSA over other regionals was the CLT base. It's a 45 minute 1 leg commute from home for me and there are plenty of daily flights. The quick upgrade may or may not happen for me and I'm okay with it either way. I just want an easy commute since I'm tied to home for the next few years.
 
L-16B said:
Mem has a mix of mainline and PSA flights, I would do that. Don't know anything about the PSA contract but most likely you only get reimbursed for one airport parking pass.....
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MEM also has FedEx. Great to have in your back pocket as a commuter.

I was on FedEx more often than not when I commuted out of MEM.


edit: MEM employee parking is also fairly reasonable. $90 a quarter.
 
ctab5060X said:
MEM also has FedEx. Great to have in your back pocket as a commuter.

I was on FedEx more often than not when I commuted out of MEM.


edit: MEM employee parking is also fairly reasonable. $90 a quarter.
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I wound up bidding my schedule when I was based in JFK and commuting from MEM around FedEx's schedule. Sure, it sucked getting up at midnight to head to the airport for a 2 am flight, get in around 6 am for a 7:30 am show, but it was cheaper than a crashpad or a hotel room the night before. Plus, I could be done at 9 pm and still manage to make it home that night.
 
I have talked to some CLT based folks, and it seems like it is doable. With that said, I think if I want to try the same day commute, its gonna make for a long first day. Which sounds similar to what you did kellwolf. Im looking at leaving home at 0430 to make it to CLT by 1000 for a 1100 show, then prob ending the day at 2100-2200. Which is only slightly longer than what Im doing now. I am up the same amt of hrs, but on duty for 12hrs.
 
adk said:
Do the US Airways Airbuses have two jumpseats? If yes, that is a huge reason to make Nashville your choice. Is Memphis served mostly by CRJ-200s? If yes, that's a great reason to avoid it.
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They do and that second jumpseat has saved my skin more times than I can count.
 
badtransam97 said:
I have talked to some CLT based folks, and it seems like it is doable. With that said, I think if I want to try the same day commute, its gonna make for a long first day. Which sounds similar to what you did kellwolf. Im looking at leaving home at 0430 to make it to CLT by 1000 for a 1100 show, then prob ending the day at 2100-2200. Which is only slightly longer than what Im doing now. I am up the same amt of hrs, but on duty for 12hrs.
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Yep ... nothing is worse than failing to look at the details of your trip before you commute in. Then you get there and realize you're working 5 legs until midnight and you let out a big, long sigh ...
 
badtransam97 said:
I have talked to some CLT based folks, and it seems like it is doable. With that said, I think if I want to try the same day commute, its gonna make for a long first day. Which sounds similar to what you did kellwolf. Im looking at leaving home at 0430 to make it to CLT by 1000 for a 1100 show, then prob ending the day at 2100-2200. Which is only slightly longer than what Im doing now. I am up the same amt of hrs, but on duty for 12hrs.
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An extra night at home is great, don't get me wrong, but sometimes it's just not worth the fatigue and stress to get there same day. If my trip starts even as late as eleven I am seriously considering if it's worth it to get up at 0330 so I can be at the airport for my commute, or just come in the night before and enjoy a calm night of porn and netflix. it's a tough call.
 
poser765 said:
An extra night at home is great, don't get me wrong, but sometimes it's just not worth the fatigue and stress to get there same day. If my trip starts even as late as eleven I am seriously considering if it's worth it to get up at 0330 so I can be at the airport for my commute, or just come in the night before and enjoy a calm night of porn and netflix. it's a tough call.
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Porn in a crashpad just seems creepy to me.....
 
Hacker15e said:
No weirder than what happens in most of the college dorm rooms across the country nightly...although there's also a fair amount of 3rd-wheel-roomies in the room pretending to be asleep while the other guy is having actual two-person sex.
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I thought you were a Zoomie? :)
 
adk said:
Do the US Airways Airbuses have two jumpseats? If yes, that is a huge reason to make Nashville your choice. Is Memphis served mostly by CRJ-200s? If yes, that's a great reason to avoid it.
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All aircraft have the second jumpseat with the exception of the 190 and a few 757s.

MEM is served by a mixed fleet. CRJ-200s mostly run from MEM to PHL and DCA. MEM to CLT is a mix of CRJ-700/900s and A319s. Occasionally, you will see a few E175s, but mostly CRJs.

Furthermore, regional feed to PHL and DCA are primarily served by Air Wisconsin, whereas CLT is primarily PSA.
 
badtransam97 said:
I have talked to some CLT based folks, and it seems like it is doable. With that said, I think if I want to try the same day commute, its gonna make for a long first day. Which sounds similar to what you did kellwolf. Im looking at leaving home at 0430 to make it to CLT by 1000 for a 1100 show, then prob ending the day at 2100-2200. Which is only slightly longer than what Im doing now. I am up the same amt of hrs, but on duty for 12hrs.
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Just remember, just because the flights make it possible, doesn't mean you're going to actually get on them. Especially being the bottom guy of the standby list going into a hub. Always give yourself at least two options to get to work on time (at a BARE minimum) because, 70% of the time the flight will either cancel, be late, or most likely, be full.
 
Having had to take care of an ailing parent, here is the hard truth:

Taking care of a loved one that needs daily care WILL kill you if you let it, and It's not going to get any better.

IMHO, a 2 leg commute to sit reserve for a regional job is a non-starter. Commuting off line is 10x worse. Commuting with more than one leg also has it's own improbability multiplier. You will NEVER be home, and if you are, you will be so dog tired and stressed out you won't be able to think straight.

Something bad will always happen when you are away from home. Always.

I've seen a lot of these situations. Guys and gals conjure up improbable Rube Goldberg solutions where A-B-C-D-E-F have to occur in order for everything to work, and when one part of the plan falls apart (which when you look at the individual steps, is very probable), the whole world falls apart, and now it's crisis mode for you and everyone around you. It's unfair to your significant other, and it's unfair to your co-workers and unfair to everyone that has to deal with your situation.

My 0.02. Get your family situation in order. Hire someone to come in and help your folks. If that's not doable, stick with your current flying job, or if you don't have a flying job, look for one that is closer until your situation resolves itself.

This job IS NOT WORTH what you will put yourself through.

I took couple years off of work to help my parent out, and my work situation wasn't anywhere near as complex as the one you're thinking about doing. Best thing I ever did.

Richman
 
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