Commuting policies
 

Hi all, is there any policy that allows for commuting internationally for any major carriers. Will be moving into the USA at some stage, but looking to get things moving beforehand if possible.

aware that things are slowing down/ have slowed down. I’m not in a rush, currently flying for my national carrier, and happy to stay here until I can make a move.

Jordan,

I'd say it depends on a few factors which makes a functional answer complicated. I'd take a shot at it but have been retired a bit too long to have recent knowledge.

Try asking in a couple of more US-centric forums:

https://jetcareers.com/forums/

https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/

I work for one of the big 3 and there’s some people who commute from Europe. The policies are different at each company. Most require you to have 2 flights arriving before your report time. If you don’t get on on those flights you are protected by the commuter policy. Your trip will be dropped without pay. The problem as a new hire on probation (1 year ) will be to not use this commuter policy too often. People have been fired over that. Additionally, it might be hard to get longer stretches of days off to make a cross Atlantic commute work. I would say you can definitely do it but it’s easier with more seniority, meaning getting more control over building your own schedule. I’m not sure but i think ATLAS has a worldwide commuter policy that is pretty good. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you more about that.

Thank you both, will keep investigating! Hopefully would only be for a year - 18 months so not a long term thing. Thanks for the recommendation on other places to ask, will have a search there.

have looked at atlas, waiting on them to open up again. I would like to end up at one of the legacies, so would be ideal if I could get there sooner rather than later.

Jordon,

Sunrig pretty much covered the issue.

I'd suggest a few additional considerations.

For discussion's sake, let's say you work for XYZ Airlines:

Do they have routes to the city where you want to commute? With what frequency ? Is it seasonal or been in place forever ? It's always easier to ride on your own airline.

Do you have seniority to manipulate your schedule to get long stretches of time off to make the commuting hassle worth the effort ?

Assuming you'd be using your travel privileges as a new pilot, what is the boarding priority as a pass rider...date of hire ? Some other protocol ?

Do you have access to the cockpit jump seat on XYZ Airlines ?

Do you have access to the cockpit jump seat on other airlines ?

Can you use your pass privileges on another airline or get a discounted ticket on another airline ?

Sunrig is right that people commute from all over the world but they have to have some seniority horsepower to make it work.

Atlas has a system worth investigating but they aren't a "major carrier" if you're referring to the likes to Delta, American, United, JetBlue, etc. But an ACMI carrier may be exactly what you need.

Good luck. You've got your work cut out for you.