January 14, 2011 Three day trips

Well, I normally fly 4-day trips because it works better as a commuter.  What is a commuter?  Well, in my job a commuter is someone who is based out of one city or state and lives in another who has to fly to get to work.  I am based in Minneapolis, MN but I live in Chicago. I also do not drive so my commute turns into about four hours of work if include my ride on CTA.  Such is my life...

Anyway, commuters don't want to have to be flying everyday to get to work, then have to fly all day for work, and then have fly to get home after work.  Most trips in a schedule don't make that possible, for one.  And for two, you would have to be really senior to pull something like that off.  You see, seniority is everything in this business.  You get some kind of say is what flights you work, where you go, your layovers, you days off, and for how long you are away.  My seniority makes it possible for me to have a bit of say in my schedule but as a commuter, getting as much flying done as possible in one trip makes 4-day trips ideal.

Also, you want trips that start late and end early.  That way you don't have to leave the day before a trip starts just to be there on time.  When you start late, you can leave the day of the trip.  Now for some people this may sound risky but for people in this industry (specifically commuters because I know many people who would never commute for this job), it's the most convenient thing.  Grant it coming up the day before of trips start can ensure less stress and fatigue, it can also put a hurting on your finances and personal life.  Unless you have someone you can stay with in your base city (and a way to get to the airport), you have to pay for a hotel or worse, a crashpad.  You get less time with friends and family at home too since you are using your days off to get to work which in my book, is essentially working.  Getting done with a trip early is great because you can get home and attempt to have a life.  It also helps you have all day to get home rather than one or two flights at the end of night.  Sucks to get stuck.  Unfortunately, most people aren't so fortunate to get trips that are commutable.

Yet, I am tired of 4-day trips.  Seriously, I feel so tired by day two.  I know this sounds ridiculous but they just go on for way too long.  And now that Luis is here, I would rather get home as soon as possible.  I hate leaving him.  I wish I could have him every night.

So, for my schedule bid for next month, I am hoping to get shorter trips, hell even day trips!  That would be great.  Commutable of course.  Ideally, I would love to start at like 3pm and end at 8am for trips over two days.  That would be sweet! Well, gotta get some sleep.  Early wake-up tomorrow.  I still have to catch up on my blogs.  Workin on it.

Peace