Commuting to Sydney - Good or bad idea?

[chicken or fish 2]

I am thinking about commuting to Sydney from Melbourne (if I get the "yes" phone call from V Australia in the next few weeks)..

Is it a good or bad idea?

[Trojan1981]

Depends where you are coming from.

[chicken or fish 2]

I have just edited my last post...I will be commuting from Melbourne to Sydney.

[overhere]

As someone else from DJ said to you on the other site where you posted the exact same question, yes it's possible as VB staff travel isn't based on seniority.

The only questions you've got to ask yourself are:

1. Where will you stay when you need to be in SYD (reserves or night before early departures etc) & how much will this cost,
2. How much will the airfares cost before you have staff travel access,
3. How much will staff travel cost,
4. How much will it cost long term as staff travel won't always be an option due to loads - what will happen if you get offloaded etc.
5. How do you feel about extending your day - so leaving MEL to get to SYD while the SYD based staff are still in bed resting for the flight & then spending 16 hours plus on duty after that. How fatiguing will that be long term.

V Aus isn't paying a great wage for CC so you'd have to ask yourself if commuting will be worth the expense (both financial & health) in the long term.

I commuted for almost 4 years & would only consider doing it again if I was on a commuting contract with the airline - it wasn't worth the extra stress & money.

[chicken or fish 2]

It was good to hear your opinion Overhere after commuting for 4 years......I think I'll be better off moving to Sydney and then visiting friends/family in Melbourne when I have time off or do it for a while and see how I go.

Thanks guys......now I realise commuting does sound VERY costly and stressful.

[overhere]

No offence but you're wrong - the order of VB staff travel is based on the order the staff travel bookings are made in, there is no staff travel seniority for DJ staff. If you book before someone more senior you get on first.

chicken & fish - no worries, good luck with your application.

[chicken or fish 2]

Thanks Dixsons-son that would be great!

[Somerset]

There's definately no seniority for staff travel at DJ - whoever books first, gets on first.

[I Just Want To Fly]

I have heaps of friends who commute! When I was based in London, people were commuting from as far as Boston and Greece!

There was no chance of commuting from SYD, so I had to live in London. Long haul can get very lonely, and if you don't have your close friends and
family around you, it can be very difficult. In the end, I gave up flying to amazing places like Mauritius, Dubai, Las Vegas and Shanghai, just so I could be home with the people I love and truely care about.

Here in SYD, half our base commutes from BNE or MEL, most of whom have gotten to the same stage as you ad I have with V. And they all intend to commute.

The consideration at V is more about whether or not you want to add an exra three hours to what will already be a 17 hour duty!

You need to sort out someone to stay with, when you're on standby or have a really early start or a late finish. Asking people during training is the best bet. In london, I had a quiet spare room, and offered it to commuters for about $40. I was booked solid within a week of the roster being published. Not so lucky here in SYD, so I personally can't help you out. But if you don't mind crashing on peoples sofas and offer a little cash, then you'll have no problems finding a bed. Most of the airport hotels also offer commuter rates.

The problem is the ultimate cost.

Flights $85
Accom $40
Based on 5 trips per month, that's $600 per month just to get to work.

Perhaps not on a Juniors salary, but once you get CL/FM and things become more settled, and you've achieved your 5% increase each year, then maybe you'll be able to afford it. Depends on your financial situation.

I think the best bet is hooking up with other crew during training and trying Sydney out for a while. Say the first six months. By then, you'll have staff travel, and you can make your decision.

Lot's to think about ... Hope we hear soon!

[chicken or fish 2]

Good advice I Just want to Fly....I'm lucky that I can stay at a friends house in Sydney for the 7 weeks of training......

Thanks somerset....that's great news.

[urok]

No airline I know of makes special provisions for people who commute. All that I've worked for (3 now) have required that crew be within 90 minutes from their base airport. Extra time/stress/cost aside, this could really screw you up on standby or reserve days.
All the airlines have also had very strict policies in regards to what happens if you no-show due to a commute - that being usually an instant termination, i've seen a final written on one occasion for very extenuating circumstances (death in the family, so compassionate more than anything else.) Be it a delayed flight/mechanical issue/full flight/missed connection/ANYTHING out of your control in regards to a flight.
I've done it myself, when I was young and cocky. Rationally, I'd never do it now... Too risky, and I'm too grown up!

[smartalec888]

Alot of Q-SH people seem to get away with it but they are able to build their own rosters and most are very senior.

I have worked with numerous commuters and they have had no worries but it tends to pull alot of the crew down when they constantly go on and on as to how tired they are because they "commute" and HAVE to go on their rest breaks before anyone else because their "commuters". Alot of the snr crew (esp the old B707 girls) will tell you where to shove it if you whinge about commuting. Also keep inmind that it can and will build resentment amongst your crew if you make it common knowledge that you were a commuter.

So yes it is possible but keep it under wraps and don't whinge.