Commuting
This is my second job that I have had to commute for. My first job involved a 120mi round trip 5-6 days a week. It wasn't so bad when I first started, gas prices were still around the $2.00 mark, but when prices started getting over $3.00, that's when I decided that it was just too expensive to drive everyday. I absolutely loved my job, but spending $600 in gas a month was really putting a hurt on my wallet and moving up to the city where I was working was not an option anymore, so I had to find another job closer to home.
My current job has me even farther away from home. Its a 330mi, 6 hour trip, one way. Not fun. With my guzzler, its mega bucks in gas to go home, over $150. So I'm pretty much forced to play the commuter game. Thankfully I have had some experience with non-reving. I worked for an airline as a bag tosser which allowed me to learn how to play the non-rev game. It basically comes down to being super nice to all the gate agents, ticket agents and anyone else involved with the flight. Bribery gets you everywhere. Its the American Express of the non-rev world. If you make a good impression on the gate agents, they will help you out and make an effort to get you on the plane. On the other hand, if you make one mad, you'll have a snowballs chance in hell of getting them to help you out. I've seen first hand the power of the almighty gate agent. I was a lowly bag tosser with a really low seniority number. I was last on the list for a full plane going to MCO (Orlando). I knew who the gate agent was from previous trips and I had bribed her quite well with some Cinnabuns (another gate agent favorite). The flight was pretty full and I didn't look like I was going to get on, but I got my chance when the gate agent recognized me and bumped me up the list. I was the only non-rev on the flight.
Thankfully the company I work for now has what are called "Jumpseat Agreements" with some of the other airlines out there. JA's are agreements between companies that allow pilots to either ride in the cockpit or in the back of another airlines aircraft. Jumpseating is what pilots use to commute from home to the airport where they are based. I myself have to jumpseat from DTW to MKE. This past weekend was my first attempt at jumpseating with Air Tran. It went great. I met some really cool pilots and flight attendants and made all of my flights. This was the first time that I have ever worn my "monkey suit" (the full pilots uniform) in the terminal. I must say, the amount of respect you get from people (passengers, employees, TSA, ect...) is way more than you get when just wearing regular clothes. I noticed that fellow pilots give the head nod and smile, gate agents were nicer than usual and the TSA didnt bug me on my way through security. Completly different from non-reving with regular clothes. I still have no desire to be an airline pilot, but wearing the uniform at the airport is pretty cool.
My current job has me even farther away from home. Its a 330mi, 6 hour trip, one way. Not fun. With my guzzler, its mega bucks in gas to go home, over $150. So I'm pretty much forced to play the commuter game. Thankfully I have had some experience with non-reving. I worked for an airline as a bag tosser which allowed me to learn how to play the non-rev game. It basically comes down to being super nice to all the gate agents, ticket agents and anyone else involved with the flight. Bribery gets you everywhere. Its the American Express of the non-rev world. If you make a good impression on the gate agents, they will help you out and make an effort to get you on the plane. On the other hand, if you make one mad, you'll have a snowballs chance in hell of getting them to help you out. I've seen first hand the power of the almighty gate agent. I was a lowly bag tosser with a really low seniority number. I was last on the list for a full plane going to MCO (Orlando). I knew who the gate agent was from previous trips and I had bribed her quite well with some Cinnabuns (another gate agent favorite). The flight was pretty full and I didn't look like I was going to get on, but I got my chance when the gate agent recognized me and bumped me up the list. I was the only non-rev on the flight.
Thankfully the company I work for now has what are called "Jumpseat Agreements" with some of the other airlines out there. JA's are agreements between companies that allow pilots to either ride in the cockpit or in the back of another airlines aircraft. Jumpseating is what pilots use to commute from home to the airport where they are based. I myself have to jumpseat from DTW to MKE. This past weekend was my first attempt at jumpseating with Air Tran. It went great. I met some really cool pilots and flight attendants and made all of my flights. This was the first time that I have ever worn my "monkey suit" (the full pilots uniform) in the terminal. I must say, the amount of respect you get from people (passengers, employees, TSA, ect...) is way more than you get when just wearing regular clothes. I noticed that fellow pilots give the head nod and smile, gate agents were nicer than usual and the TSA didnt bug me on my way through security. Completly different from non-reving with regular clothes. I still have no desire to be an airline pilot, but wearing the uniform at the airport is pretty cool.
posted by Windsor at 11:34 AM
2 Comments:
Hi Windsor. Interestring new blog. Hopefully fill the gap now that freightdogtales has gone, actually should be interesting to compare your 135 flying in a jet to feightdogs in a cessna caravan. BTW, your link to the milwaukee harlequins is spelt wrong. I think you got the a and u in milwaukee the wrong way round. How popular is rugby in the US?
Thanks for the heads up on the link. Fixed it. Rugby isnt very popular here. If you know a player or are one yourself, you can find people that know about it, but most people dont know too much about rugby. I get some really funny faces from people when I tell them I play.
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