Do pilots need to live by company hub?

Question

hi,

I am wondering because i plan on becoming a pilot for continental and they have a hub 30 miles from my house.....but, i do want to move to california for a few years once i start making more money. so could i still fly for them even though i wouldent live by a major hub. by the way it wouldent matter if i was only home half the month. thank you!!

Answer 1

No, you do not need to live near a hub.  A lot of pilots commute to their base.

Answer 2

no you don't have to likve close you can commute to the hub but it would make it alot easier if you live close

Answer 3

Each airline is different in their rules but in most cases no you do not need to live by the hub.  Just check with the airlines Human Resource department to see if they have any requirements.

Airlines used to have requirements for their employees (pilot's) that they needed to be able to report to work within a certain time frame if called in to cover a shift - which required being close to a hub.  

If you can hold a line move to California and have fun.  If your low man on the totem pole, I would serious consider watching my p and q as you want to look like the good guy to your employer - especially now days with the economic issues airlines are having and the layoffs.

Answer 4

As mentioned, there are many, many pilots that commute from home to the city that they are based in.  Some pilots will even commute thousands of miles (i.e. Atlanta to Anchorage, Hawaii to New York City).  So, no, you do not need to live in the city that you are based.  In your particular situation, if you ended up flying for Continental based out of Houston (you can also be based out of Cleveland and Newark), you could catch a flight from California to Houston right before you are scheduled to start your trip.  There can be problems with commuting though.  Sometimes you may not be able to make the flight you need to in order to arrive at your base in time to start your trip.  Also, there may be times when you will need to arrive at your base the night prior to your trip.  When this happens, you will either need to shack up in a "crashpad," stay at a hotel room, or have other plans to get you through the night before starting work.  FYI, a crashpad is a hotel room or something similar that several pilots and flight attendants use to spend the night before starting a trip or heading home the next day.  It is very common.  The other downside to commuting is that you will spend much less time at home due to the time it takes to commute to and from your base.

Answer 5

Yes it is possible to commute and many flight crews do. But commuting is time consuming and expensive. And it can be very tiring and frustrating. There aren't too many things more maddening than arriving at your base an hour or two late and finding that your commuter flight is long gone and there aren't any more until the next day. This always seems  to happen around the holidays or when you have plans made.

You should also be aware that having a goal of working for one specific airline is fine but the odds are it won't happen that way. Airlines only hire a very small percentage of the people who apply. Continental may not be hiring at the time you apply, or for one reason or another you don't match their requirements, or they may not even exist at that time. The reality is that you go to work for the first decent airline or charter company that will have you, wherever that is, and then move near there. If you still want to commute to the west coast and the work rules and your seniority will permit it, then by all means commute.

I flew for a major airline for nearly 40 years and the company I worked for had been my absolute last choice, but because of bankruptcies and mergers that is where I ended up. I hope you can work for Continental but don't narrow your view to the extent that you miss other fine companies who may be willing to hire you.  

Answer 6

i think they recommend that u live near a hub but if you dont thats fine you can fly on continentals own flights to ur hub and then work as a pilot from there. if u want to live in california and be a pilot u might also want to consider united since they have hub/focus cities in sfo and lax.