Commuting by air is something that many crew members do. For those who don't know, it basically just means that we are based in one city but live somewhere else. For example, I might live in Oklahoma City but be based in Dallas. Being based in Dallas means that all of my trips would start in Dallas, so I have to catch a flight from OKC to Dallas in order to start a trip. There's a lot of flexibility here, but also an increase in stress. Let's get into the pros and cons of this lifestyle.
Note: I live in the US so this is written based around my experiences here.
Pro: You Can Live Anywhere
You can live almost literally anywhere in the world that you want. I once flew with a flight attendant who commutes from the UK. I once also flew with a captain who lives in Canada but is based in Chicago. A friend of mine is based in Chicago but lives in Phoenix. I myself live in a completely different state than my base city. Being able to take advantage of this is a fantastic perk of the job. Always wanted to drop everything and move to the east coast? Go for it. Want to move from a big city to a small town in the midwest? Can do. The options are endless as long as you have flights that can get you to where your trips start.
Con: You'll Probably Need a Crashpad
A crashpad is an apartment or house that has been set up with several bunk beds for commuting crew members to use while on reserve or right before/after a trip. Occasionally, hotel rooms will even be set up as a crashpad. The bunk beds allow the rooms to be used by multiple people at any given time, so it keeps the monthly rates low. It is still an additional monthly expense, and at a minimum they seem to go for about $200 a month. If you want a nice one, they can be found but you'll obviously pay more per month. Some of them can be awesome, but others are not so nice (I've heard stories). The one I used for my time on reserve was decent and I had it to myself far more often than I expected. The other guys that were there were awesome and we would all hang out sometimes, but it could get a little crowded if there were more than a few of us there because there was only one bathroom. Fortunately, I am not on reserve anymore and I can almost always bid for trips that start late in the day and end early. This allows me to catch flights to and from work on the same day that my trips start and end. When I started getting these trips I got rid of the crash pad, but it does mean that occasionally I will need to rent a hotel. The good news here is that the hotels close to the airport often do discounted rates for crew members, so talk to your fellow commuting crew members about which ones to call.
A good resource for finding a crash pad is this FaceBook group called Crewmates Crashpads. You can post here and search for a crashpad in your base city, and people who run crashpads will also post about available room.
Pro: Most Companies Are Supportive of Their Commuters
My company is pretty relaxed about commuting. If I was to be late for a trip due to a missed commute, they would simply pull me off the first part of the trip and have me catch back up to the trip as soon as flights allow. Some airlines have a set up where if you give yourself two flights but can't get on either of them, you're let off the hook for the whole trip. It varies from company to company, but there's almost always some support for commuters so you don't have to feel bad if you miss a flight here and there. Obviously we just want to avoid making a habit out of it!
Note: I can only speak to how the Part 121 world operates; I'm not entirely sure how the Part 135 operators are set up.
Con: Getting To and From Work Requires Time and Planning
I currently live about an hour's drive from the airport, and the flight from my home airport to my base airport is about two to three hours depending on winds. Add in some time to get ready and some time to get from the parking lot to the gate, and we're talkin' potentially five to six hours of transit time. I obviously have to choose flights that will get me to my base before my trip starts, and I have to give myself a backup option as well. I also have to be reasonably confident that I will get on the flight which can get tricky if the flights are full. As a result of this extra time and planning, my days sometimes wind up being somewhat long before I even start working for the day.
Pro: You Know Pretty Much Exactly When You'll Be Gone
This is a little confusing so let me explain using my situation as an example. I've got two dogs at home (this could also apply if you have kids), so on the days where I'm gone and my lady works, we have someone come to the house and visit them and take them outside for a bit. If I lived in base and was on call, this could potentially be tricky because we would need to have someone available that could come by the house super last minute if I got called out at a time that would leave them home by themselves for a long time. Living away from base means that I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I'm going to be gone the entire time I'm scheduled to fly, so it's easier to plan accordingly.
The only tricky part with this is that flights can go from wide open to jam packed at the last possible second, so you may wind up getting home way later than you originally planned. Ask me how I know!
Con: You're Away From Home More
As I mentioned above, commuting adds several hours to my day. When I was on reserve, I had to be in base for the duration of my reserve period whereas people who live in base can stay home while on reserve until they get a call (unless they're on airport reserve, AKA airport appreciation day). Now that I have a normal line schedule, I can almost always commute to work and back home again on the same days that my trips begin and end, but every once in a while I'll have to stay an extra night in base and spend time commuting on one of my days off. At the very least, I have to leave my house several hours before a trip starts, and I get home several hours after my trips end. If I lived close to the airport in base, finishing a trip at noon could mean that I still have half a day at home after work. Living out of base means that if I finish a trip at noon, I won't get home until about 6 or 7pm. And that's if the flights aren't full. The additional time spent traveling also can make it difficult to fully recuperate if I've only got two days off in a row.
Pro: You Get Good at Napping
Sometimes I have to leave pretty early in the morning in order to catch a commute to work. I was never much of a napper before I started this job, but I've since gotten pretty good at it and can usually knock out for a bit on plane rides. This helps me conserve my energy and be fit for duty when I get to my base.
Con: It Adds Another Level of Stress
Commuting may be awesome because of the flexibility it allows on choosing a place to live, but it still adds another level of stress to life in general. Even if you have a ton of flights to choose from every day. In our increasingly fast-paced society, it's important that we try and eliminate sources of stress as much as possible, so it will be up to each individual to decide if the added stress of commuting is worth the potential flexibility.
Summing Things Up
The general consensus is honestly that commuting is something better avoided, but if you find that you need to commute, just be sure to give yourself as many options as possible. Where I live, there are 4 to 8 direct flights a day depending on the season throughout the entire day that go both to and from my domicile. Not great but certainly not the worst. If you have access to a secondary airport, that'll just give you even more options and allow you to spend significantly more time at home on travel days. It's not the most glamorous lifestyle, but I do hope that this article has shed some light on the more positive aspects of it!
Notes
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