Commute Realities

[JAARule]

Is there any commuter from N. America willing to comment on the realities of the commuting lifestyle?

Advice needed for someone considering a commute arrangement for the benefit of 'the cook' who wants to get back home.

Impact of rosters and jet-lag, level of success in the use of sub-load tickets vs full fare, etc.

I think jet-lag will be the decider.

[JAARule]

PS: Commute is to/from Dubai.

[BigGeordie]

I can't comment about America in particular but from the UK it is just about impossible, and that is without the jet lag and with lots of daily flights to choose from.

The thing that will probably cause you most problems is the acclimatisation rules before a ULR flight- you have to be back in Dubai for 3 local nights before your duty starts. That takes a big chunk out of the maximum of five days you can get off in a row. (I assume you are talking about EK and not Fly Dubai?)

If you do try it you will be constantly tired and it will probably take years off your life. I suppose for a year or so it might be do-able, but not long term.

Emirates is not a commuting airline. Never has been, never will be.

[falconeasydriver]

The key to a commute is getting trips back to your home. There are places on the network where it is a doable commute, and with with a bit of clever and imaginative thinking you can get it done.
FWIW, there are ways and means to stay off flight ops radar with respect to FTL requirements (the devil is in the detail) and still be completely legal.
With respect to flights etc, there are a number of excellent subscription websites that offer live information on "Y" class ticketing, EK isn't the only game in town with regards to getting tickets home, particularly if all you want is a seat and aren't a J or F snob.
A chum of mine does it and manages just fine, he is effectively based at home, and views DXB as a layover, he rents an apartment and pockets the allowance.
I think it would be a bridge too far to try it from the US, but I do know of a couple of individuals who do it.

[JAARule]

Yes, it's with regard to EK. For now, my biggest concern is the jet lag although night turn-arounds may not be as bad.

I was wondering if and how well N. American commuters manage this aspect.

[fatbus]

I think anyone is insane to commute for the NA, it will take its toll! There are other employment options.

[canadansk]

Impossible. 12 hour rule and acclimatized make it completely illegal to do. When you finally get enough days off to go, the previous rules make you illegal on return (not to mention the fact the flights are full).

[scandistralian]

What is the 12 hour rule? So many people refer to it but I can't find it anywhere in the books?

[falconeasydriver]

PM sent Scandi :ok:

[TangoUniform]

Don't even try, honestly, it will take a toll. The stress of getting on any aircraft on any airline sometimes will take its toll. And the cost will eventually catch up too. With the rosters as they are now, it will take a toll. Count on four calendar days to do a commute to and from NA.

The minimum twelve hour rule is you must be in place at least 12 hours prior to ANY duty, ground or flight. I'll send you a PM.

[Payscale]

You made a decision to come here together. You should also leave together when the job is done. Doesnt work when the cook cries I WANNA GO HOME, and your life has to be cut short in the other end due to stress and fatigue.
Go home and join a commuting airline.doing it with EK is like fitting a square peg through a round hole... doesnt work

[JammedStab]

Just for info from a different airline for interest sake as an alternative job.....

It all depends on your time off. I commute to a location 12 hours different from my time zone starting with a 1 hour flight followed by a 14 hour flight and vice versa on the way home. But I get a minimum of two weeks off each time I do it, sometimes more.

I know some guys who also do the 12 hour time zone commute but have at least 10 hours of initial travel before their 12 hour long haul flight to work.

The impact of my commuting on work. No worse than having been scheduled as flight crew on the flight I commute on. Probably better as I get a first class seat and more rest than the noisy, shorter rest crew bunks if I was actually flying.

[REMAX11]

Care to name the operator and the fleet?

regards

[The Turtle]

I few years ago when the marriage was on the rocks I tried it......it doesn't work

(neither did the marriage)

[thatwasclose]

The oma says you are acclimatised until a DUTY ends outside the band. I take that to mean on a day off it does not matter. Am I , like so many other things, wrong?

[Dropp the Pilot]

You are absolutely correct. Strict adherence to the OMA says that if you leave Dubai for two weeks vacation in the States you never become unacclimatised - you did no duty that would compromise your legal readiness for work as soon as you return to Dubai.

Unfortunately, your immediate superiors don't see it that way. Surprised?

[givemewings]

Hang on, you mean this whole time I've been coming back 2 days before a ULR duty and I didn't strictly have to??? Dammit....

[NG_Kaptain]

I return on the last day of my leave. Why should I come back two days early because they want to send me on a ULR. My lot normally gives you an off day after your leave.

[fliion]

FYI - a CC told me there is a Facebook page (Loads etc? Can't remember) that is purely dedicated to load checks that is meant to be very good. You go there and ask for specific flights and then respond to the same amount of flight queries for others on EK. The round robin honor system works well.

Good luck - I wouldn't try it unless It was a short bridge to get to the "Seven year" point and then just go for a proper commuting contract..

f.

[UAV3]

Hello,

I work for a private company in Africa. Commute from KLAX (2 legs) outbound and back.

Friend of mine whom is employed by EK does the same from KLAX to Dubai.
Like the earlier messages takes trips back to LAX and out of LAX.
Careful review and getting on the good side of Crew Scheduling. He is 777 FO.

[Dirigible]

Careful review and getting on the good side of Crew Scheduling:=
Load of nonsense. Any preferential treatment is likely to get the pilot and the scheduler disciplinary action. I don't believe a commute to LAX is possible on a 777 roster.

[GoreTex]

EK invented stupid rules that make it impossible to commute to Sharjah

[40&80]

I wonder if HMRC could be interested in the number of nights you spend in the UK if you are British?

[falconeasydriver]

They are 40&80, and they do, which is why it's best to visit on another passport:E

[BYMONEK]

falconeasydriver

I hate to burst your cunning plan but your passport has little to do with it. Customs and immigration along with the Police use other methods as well as just passports to monitor movements between Countries. I will often visit UK without my passport being swiped. Names and other details are used along with Airline data, all stored on your ticket.

So, unless you're actually travelling under a different alias,which I doubt you are, you're in the system mate.

[777boyo]

If you're making frequent trips to/from UK either working or "commuting", and/or your immediate family reside permanently in UK, or even if you simply have accomodation kept available for your use on visits, you really need to get advice on your Non-Resident status, or, at the very least, visit the HMRC website and read the rules about the new HMRC definitions of Non Resident. The rules changed very significantly in April this year, the intention being to "tailor" them to an individuals specific circumstances and move away from the previous "blanket" rules which relied primarily on the number of days spent in UK. There are now many potentially very expensive traps for the unwary, and your nieghbour or best buddy who thinks, or sounds as if, he knows all about it, is probably the last person you should listen to (unless he's an HMRC Inspector or Tax Accountant).

On the topic of HMRC not being able to trace your visits to UK, I was advised several years ago that Gen Dec and Pax Manifest copies all find their way to HMRC. That was pre-911 and at a time when electronic information, monitoring and coordination was much less sophisticated than today, so I'd think it reasonable to assume that there's a very high probability that HMRC can trace your visits without difficulty.

7B

[Mr Good Cat]

If you have major 'connections' in the UK as part of the new criteria (houses, family etc) you could be eligible for tax spending as little as 45 days in the UK... Or even worse only 23 days business activities there. I'm not sure whether a layover constitutes a working in the UK for 2 days.

If you enter on a different passport it's simply not that easy, as stated above.

[falconeasydriver]

First of all I think you are giving HMRC a little more credit than they deserve, but fine, make of it what you will.
Regarding different passports, it's quite simple really, I look at the queue's and decide which one I'm going to use, hence the comment.
As for tax, the answer is pay some! don't try and rig the hand in your favour too much.
There are plenty of legal ways to AVOID, not EVADE tax, you just need to know the rules, and more importantly how they are applied. And before anyone asks, no I'm not talking about dummy corporations in Guernsey or any of that self employed rubbish.
Last year HMRC effectively sent me a cheque for about 800 quid, all thanks to depreciation, works and improvements and of course me following the rules, after I had spent about 100 days there, this year I will owe then about 600.

[KLMGringo]

I commuted GDL-AMS for 2 years. 2 legs, 15 hours plus or minutes each way with connections, 8 hours time difference. Needless to say, I now commute out of BCN. The jet lag and loss of sleep turns you eventually into a raging arsehole. Couple a long haul schedule with this, it does not end happily.