Capt. Dad, another thing to figure into your commute is the 7/7 schedule. Most new hires are getting onto that schedule pretty quickly - as in awarded prior to going to IOE. You can look at your schedule as far out as you want and buy advance tickets if you need to at lower costs. Some of my co-horts who have been commuting say that the airlines are pretty good about switching travel dates/tickets if you get to go directly to your home airport instead of the domicile.