Looking for some insight...

[jtf]

3 hours once a week sounds reasonable to me. The guys having the hardest time are those who are paying for airline tickets and hotels to commute and those who are driving farther than you would be driving. There are a lot of ex-Indy guys who are driving to TEB from the IAD area and many others driving further. That is what the job takes now if you don't want to move. That is just too much grief for many, so many are leaving. You are in a good position to take the job if offered and I would highly suggest it. Others who won't move and live much farther away I would have to suggest not to come under this contract unless something changes (unlikely). I think this is the best fractional out there, but not if you are tied to somewhere that is not a descent commute.

 

[bosdrx]

Thanks for all the responses guys. I appreciate it. I live in boston, and really cant move so I'll be looking at a 3.5 hour drive to TEB once a week, but compared to what I've been doing, it doesnt seem so bad. I actually sent my resume in last night, so the waiting game begins. I'm pretty excited to see where this goes. Obviously, no company/airline is perfect and they all have problems, but the more i think about not lookin at an airline schedule/lifestyle for the next 30+ years, the better i feel about sending in my res. Thanks again for the info. Fly safe.

 

[CA1900]

How far are most of these guys commuting? I live a three hour drive from cmh. I don't and never have commuted, but I don't think a 3 hour drive once a week would be too bad. But, I don't know if there is more to it than that...

When you have a 3 hour drive for an 10am show, it isn't bad.

When you have a 3 hour drive for a 6am show (which I had last week), it makes for either a very long day, or a hotel the night before. (Eventually you'll earn enough hotel points that those will be free, but I'd much rather use those for vacation, and would prefer another night at home.)

I'll be moving to about a 1:15 drive from my domicile in a couple of weeks; that's going to make life a lot easier.

 

[captain dad]

If you have commuted before it is not a big deal at all. If you are flying you need to find really cheap tickets or it won't work. If you are driving no problem. I commute. With travel, hotel, etc... I spend about $300 a month. It seems like a lot but if you figure that I don't put any miles or gas in my car don't need a car in my base, don't have to deal with room-mates, would be commuting at my old job for about the same price, and don't have to spend $8,000 in moving expenses for me and my family, it is a no brainer. At least for me it is. $8000 buys a lot of $56 airline tickets.

Hopefully, in the next contract we can at least increase the number of cities to be used as bases. The jusry is still out as for if the base thing is really saving any money. Personally I don't think it is saving anyone anything.

 

[HAZ-MAT]

Met a guy from Lynchburg Va that drives 14 hours to and from PBI. Unable to switch domiciles because there has not been a bid for CMH or TEB in his aircraft type. Other people i've met drive from MHT area to TEB and do it day of, so you can tell that they're tired if they're getting a 5 or 6am show. One more case, a person from RDU area gets plane tickets down to PBI and it normally doesn't cost him more than $75 for the ticket, he also has friends to crash with the night before.
You really need to think about these above scenarios if you are looking at NJA and will be traveling a distance to get to work. Will you be able to do this drive/commute for the next 4 years?

 

[fischman]

Met a guy from Lynchburg Va that drives 14 hours to and from PBI. Unable to switch domiciles because there has not been a bid for CMH or TEB in his aircraft type. Other people i've met drive from MHT area to TEB and do it day of, so you can tell that they're tired if they're getting a 5 or 6am show. One more case, a person from RDU area gets plane tickets down to PBI and it normally doesn't cost him more than $75 for the ticket, he also has friends to crash with the night before.
You really need to think about these above scenarios if you are looking at NJA and will be traveling a distance to get to work. Will you be able to do this drive/commute for the next 4 years?

3 years. Having flown for the regionals, I will tell you that I wil NEVER do it again now that I have had a taste of the fractionals.

 

[Ultra Grump]

Actually, more like 7 years. We'll be working under this contract for at least a couple of years of negotiations.