Commuting ?'s for a newbie

badtransam97

badtransam97

Well-Known Member
I am considering making a move to the 121 world, and looking at PSA in particular. I was hoping to get some realistic opinions on whether or not this job is in the cards for me. I live in a town that is about 2hr drive from 3 airports that are served by airlines (BNA,MEM,HSV). Due to having parents that are in need of daily care, and a wife who has a decent job(approx 50k yr) I am really not able to move in base.
With all that said, I was looking at flying out of one of the three airports into CLT. I think that would beat a 5hr drive into TYS?? Are the lines in CLT commuter friendly? Is it totally unreasonable to think that I can consistently commute in the day my trip starts and fly home after the trip ends? I realize that it may not always work out, but if I always have to come up the day before, and stay a day after, it may not be feasible for me to do this job. I don't want to use up all my days off trying to get to/from work.
Keep I'm mind, I will have a 2hr drive from the airport, and although I don't mind driving, or waking up early, I wonder if that's something a lot of people do...thanks for all the advice, it's appreciated. I don't want to get myself into a bad situation for myself or family.
 
I commuted out of BNA to ORD. There are a lot of commuters in BNA and quite a few options to CLT. Commuting is tough no matter where you live but if I had to make a choice, Id go with BNA.
 
Commuting is hell...

Commuting to a reserve schedule is the 3rd circle of hell....

I commuted for 5 years, never willing to move to base, and it takes its toll. Seriously, for a happier life and experience, find an airline that has a base somewhere you've always wanted to live at, and go!

Just my .02...
 
Commuting is stressful, but it's doable if you go into it with the right mind set. It's just part of the job. I've commuted for three years and have come to terms with it. I know I am missing time at home, but i just don't let that bother me. The "ive got to get home RIGHT NOW" mentality so many people have is what wears you down. I know I'll get home when I. Now having a two hour drive on top of the commute is going to make it hard to be as "meh" about the whole process I am.
 
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.....
 
I guess one thing that "might" make the BNA deal better is I have a couple aunts and uncles that live there, it wouldn't be a problem to stay with them the night before the commute if need be.
 
badtransam97 said:
I guess one thing that "might" make the BNA deal better is I have a couple aunts and uncles that live there, it wouldn't be a problem to stay with them the night before the commute if need be.
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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.
 
badtransam97 said:
I guess one thing that "might" make the BNA deal better is I have a couple aunts and uncles that live there, it wouldn't be a problem to stay with them the night before the commute if need be.
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I commute from BNA, but to DTW.

All else being equal, this would make BNA a good choice as you could drive in the day prior, then fly out.

As to your other questions.
1. Fly in/out the day of your trip. Depends on your seniority and bidding process. I am able to hold this, still get trips worth 5-6 hours of credit/day meaning I work about 12-15 days/month. I am, however, senior.
2. While on reserve you will need a crash pad in CLT. Check airbnb.com for a general idea of what is available, though once you get to PSA you may find something better.
3. Check the PSA commuter clause. Heck, check the contract period. This is something often overlooked by pilots moving to 121. They don't realize how important this is until they are hired.
4. Sometimes I fly in the night prior for trips, especially if weather/loads look bad. We have a pretty good commute clause, but I try not to use it unless I have to. Most airports have hotels with airline discounts. At DTW there is one about $45 out the door with free hot breakfast.
5. Commuting is not for everyone. Personally I would much prefer to live closer to base, but wife's current employer (Army), won't do it.

Good luck.
 
I know their clause requires you schedule yourself on 2 flights, and then if you still can't get there it's a sick day. I am not sure about the jumpseats on the Airbus. I think a lot of the flights are in 7/900 types out of BNA. Although we can't really move right at the moment anyway, we still really enjoy living where we do because we have most all our family here, our friends, and like the home we have and the low(er) cost of living we have here. So I would imagine I will always be a commuter, even at the major level, if I go this route.
 
I know you need to be with your family, but then you'll probably see your family the same amount of you move to base and visit home, and way less stress.

I know its not what you want to hear, but a jr RSV FO at a regional commuting? Expect 4-5 uninterrupted days per month at home for the first few months. After a that it should slowly improve...
 
I think it's more reasonable to plan that you'll likely have to fly up EITHER the day before OR fly home the day after rather than have a commutable trip on both ends. I don't know PSA's schedules, but unless you've got a lot of flights to choose from, the odds are good you won't have both ends commutable until you're pretty senior. Even then, you're at the mercy of how the pairings shake out month to month. I wound up with MOSTLY commutable trips on both ends from MCO-JFK after a year of seniority, BUT there are about 10 flights a day just on my airline between the two cities. When I was commuting to BOS, I had to make the choice on whether I wanted an early show with a commute the night before or a late release with a commute home early on my day off. The pairings weren't as commutable in BOS (not many late start AND early finishers) and there were about half as many flights a day. It's do-able for sure, but you might have to make some tough choices.
 
Thanks guys for the feedback! I usually work a 7/7 schedule, with 12hr shifts. Rotate from days to nights. Been short handed this month, so I will have worked 22 of 31 days for March. My wife Is a RN, who works 12's as well. We usually see each other in passing, or long enough to say hi/bye I'm going to bed because I'm tired lol. I'm not sure, but it might be to where an airline schedule allows us to be off more whole "days"!together than we have now...? I attached a pic of the usual number of flights coming out of BNA-CLT. Give me some feedback on what you think. I only included company flights.
 

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Traditionally if you are based in a hub (like CLT) you can plan on commutable schedules, at least more so. Typically at a hub like CLT, the first bank comes in around 6 AM-7 AM meaning most leave around 5 AM at their outstation. For example, looking up TYS-CLT, it leaves TYS at approx 5:30 AM. The first flight back to TYS is a 9:30 AM dept out of CLT.

Not saying that's always the case, but from what I remember pulling into CLT on an overnight on the Express side, the place was a ghost town after 11 PM. No overnighters means you need to wait for the inbound airplane to start your trip. Same with going home. Very few will get in after the last bank leaves. Living at an outstation means early flights into base and late flights back home.

Being based at an outstation is the exact opposite. You're most likely going to start at upteen thirty AM and finish late at night on the last day. There is a reason why the outstations tends to be junior (unless most folks live there). It's actually a nice gig if you live in the outstation, cheap cost of living normally.

If your trips are starting at 5AM-9AM, and you have a 5 hour drive, realistically you're still going to have to come in the night before.
 
What about once off reserve? Supposedly rsv is about 2 months or so in CLT, less in the other bases. We don't see each other much now as it is, but that's nothing out of the ordinary. She has stuck with me through the years while I've been off and gone flying these whirlybirds
 
HVYMETALDRVR said:
I wouldn't plan on seeing your wife much as a jr reserve commuter.
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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.
 
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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so much this. As ok as I am with my one leg 2 hour commute I was stuck doing a 2 legger for the first 4 or 5 months at my current gig. I can attest...I hated the world and everything and everyone in it.
 
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