13 ms·

A man who takes a plane to work every day [video]

32 points by zegl 9y ago

roryisok 9y ago
Must have been a slow news day at the bbc. "business man flies in plane regularly"
- fullstackhuman 9y ago
  "Main breaks social norm by taking abnormal mode of transport to work for a ludicrous amount of time each day".
badosu 9y ago
Talk about carbon footprint... I bet he feels great about that.
- macinjosh 9y ago
  Indeed, I am always dumbfounded by the progressive, jet-set class that complain endlessly about CO2 emissions and then go fly across the world. Eating and buying local is good for the environment, but so is staying local. /off-topic-rant
  - melling 9y ago
    My understanding is that if we did everything you say, it wouldn’t make a dent in the problem. It doesn’t really address the core problem with CO2 emissions.
    - mikeash 9y ago
      No individual action will. The problem isn't reducing your emissions, it's convincing everybody to do so. Focusing on air travel is particularly strange, since air travel only accounts for 2-3% of total CO2 emissions.
  - Cerium 9y ago
    I think the world would be better off if more people traveled. Travel is an opportunity to expand your views and get along better with others. I would rather give up cars, meat, most mass produced goods, and single family homes before travel.
    - croon 9y ago
      That's pretty close to a Mark Twain quote: > “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
    - badosu 9y ago
      There's a striking difference between knowing a different culture/region and commuting everyday to work.
    - DrScump 9y ago
      The incremental waste of an additional passenger on a commercial (or full charter) flight is very different from a flight that exists to serve the needs of exactly one individual. That said, I could envision compromising my values if somebody wants to get me a Cirrus Vision[0] for Xmas. [0] https://cirrusaircraft.com/aircraft/vision-jet/ https://cirrusaircraft.com/aircraft/vision-jet/
- Raphmedia 9y ago
  "And, while von Badinski is aware that his flight comes with a significant carbon footprint, the Bay Area leg of his journey is more environmentally friendly. He keeps a plug-in hybrid vehicle at Oakland airport for the drive into San Francisco." Could anyone do the math?
  - melling 9y ago
    Sure, it’s a rounding error. Basically, it’s irrelevant.
  - danielvf 9y ago
    Assuming a PC-12, about 79 gallons of jet fuel, one way. Seats for six, eight or nine people depending on the configuration. Let's say eight, so ten gallons of jet fuel per person per direction. A gallon of jet fuel releases 20lbs of CO2, so 200lbs. PC-12's are really efficient aircraft, both in terms of fuel usage, but also maintenance. Your average business jet costs 5-10 times more per hour to operate (not counting pilots)
    - codefined 9y ago
      How does this compare to, for instance, your average car running for an hour?
      - mikeash 9y ago
        The average car will burn about three gallons of gasoline an hour cruising on the highway, so about 60lbs of CO2.
        mysterydip 9y ago
        If you assume highway cruising to be 60mph, that's only 20mpg. That seems a low average for modern cars.
        mikeash 9y ago
raphdg 9y ago
This guy's life would change radically with the 30min LA to SF Hyperloop.
- sabujp 9y ago
  that's really sad, it would still take me 1hr to get from east bay to svl (via private shared transit :))
Slimbo 9y ago
Getting home at 21:00 and he's up again at 05:00 so most of that time will be spent sleeping. What's the point?
- donald123 9y ago
  Agree, he could just stay over near SF during weekdays and fly back home with family on weekend. Time better spent and more economical.
  - globuous 9y ago
    A lot of consultants do exactly this in Dubai! Most have their families in Dubai, but fly to Kuwait / Saudi / etc for the week and come back for week ends see their families.
    - magic_beans 9y ago
      They're not flying to Kuwait/Saudi/etc every. single. day. of the work-week. The man in the article must really hate his family.
      - mfrykman 9y ago
        Quite the opposite, I'd say.
        vincnetas 9y ago
        21:00 to 05:00 at home. So by face time with family i guess only sleeping face... I would say that he loves his company more ;) [edit] never mind, it's not my business to judge anyone. It's his choice.
    - ghaff 9y ago
      That's pretty standard for a lot of consultants everywhere. Fly to a client site for the week and then back home on weekends. This is talking about daily.
lisper 9y ago
I did a weekly commute BUR<->SJC for a year back in 2000-2001 (before 9/11). It was a PITA. Now I work from home. Life is too short.
amyjess 9y ago
> “The way I justify a six-hour commute is having the ability to have all the things that I want," he explains. I just don't see having the point in having "all the things that [you] want" if you don't have the time to enjoy them. Who has time to enjoy your money if you don't get home till 21:00? I've actually known some people who live in one city and work in another (between Dallas and Austin), but they did it by renting a second apartment in the city where they work and living there during the week, only commuting home on the weekends, which they always did by car.
- jccc 9y ago
  I would guess because he's in the middle of building his company and raising his kids, and doesn't plan to keep this arrangement forever.
  - mfrykman 9y ago
    I would also guess that he can actually afford a house for his children to grow up in down in Burbank. I wonder if Motiv subsidies the Surf Air membership. Moving a company from LA to SF is expensive - maybe that was part of the price payed to keep the CTO. I'd also point out that it possibly was not his decision to move the company.
    - jccc 9y ago
      He addresses this in the video: For whatever personal reasons, uprooting his family and moving them is just not an option right now.
gumby 9y ago
"The"? In the 1990s I had an employee who commented by plane from Sonoma to Palo Alto every day. She and her husband "planepooled" together in a small prop plane. It seemed weird to hear of it but her commute wasn't that big a deal, especially since their home and jobs were close to small airports.
- awjr 9y ago
  That's a 2 hour commute at the best of times. I suspect that makes huge financial sense and they probably get there in 30 minutes.
  - Eugr 9y ago
    The flight itself will take around 30-40 minutes depending on the plane and the winds, plus 30 minutes for pre-flight, run-up and parking at destination, plus whatever it takes to get to/from the airport.
    - gumby 9y ago
      Though when you planepool with your sweetie that's not lost time!
dfsegoat 9y ago
Keep in mind this is business as usual for the folks that work at the Nevada National Security Site including 'Area 51' & the Tonopah Test Range... They have their own small 'airline' of 737s called "Janet" that runs shuttles in and out of McCarran and those sites several times a day: Janet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_(airline) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_(airline) Janet 737 flight history: https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n319bd https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n319bd
- MrMember 9y ago
  There's a mission in Flight Simulator X that has you flying a 737 from McCarran to Area 51. I never knew it was based on a real shuttle service.
jccc 9y ago
Interesting comparison/contrast, linked from right in the middle of the article: http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20170221-the-gruelling-six-hour-commute-of-beijings-workers http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20170221-the-gruelling-six-... * Six hours <-> six hours * Try to use the downtime <-> try to use the downtime * Go home just to sleep <-> go home just to sleep
the_arun 9y ago
Some people love traveling. Their obsession can find all the excuses to travel. Not sure if his company funds the travel or he funds it himself.
corford 9y ago
In the nineties, a distant uncle of mine (I'm from the poor side of the family haha) used to commute to central London each day by helicopter from his farm in Buckinghamshire. That's sensible (if the company is paying!). 6hours by plane each day... not so much o_O
kzisme 9y ago
I know of a few people that commute weekly (has a rental property) by plane live/work at HQ for the week and fly home on the weekends....I can't believe people _want_ to do things like this
m23khan 9y ago
From what I was told by my friend who worked at Bombardier - the company would fly their Toronto-based employees (who needed to work at Montreal) everyday from Toronto to Montreal and then back at the end of day. He had to fly 5 days a week MON-FRI. And this is about 10 years ago.
Yetanfou 9y ago
This man need to learn one word, and learn it well: Move That is, move closer to your work. Keep the other house if you will, he has enough money for two houses. But, move closer to your work. Alternatively, move your work closer to home. Your family will love you for it, especially as they won't have to explain why their husband/partner/father insists on having a carbon footprint big enough to show up as a thin line visible for future geologists.
nunez 9y ago
I fly weekly between Dallas and wherever the work is. I've been doing this for a year and absolutely love it. I love airports. I love airport drama. I love flight. I love fighting to get through the mobs of people waiting to board. I love listening to the ATC while taxiing and looking up my route info and weather while doing so. I love FlyerTalk. I love it all. Right now, there is no better feeling than the lift from a good takeoff. I would fly more if I could. I'm not sure if I would get burnt out from flying every day. Especially on a single turboprop. Those are the lawnmowers of the skies and the wind loves pushing them around. (I also LOVE turbulence.) The biggest reason why I love it: weekends with my fiancee are amazing, especially since I don't have to spend money during the week. Time together is more meaningful. (Note that we didn't have a long distance relationship; we lived together daily for three years before I started doing this crazy travelling business.)

32 points by zegl 9y ago

roryisok 9y ago

Must have been a slow news day at the bbc. "business man flies in plane regularly"

fullstackhuman 9y ago
"Main breaks social norm by taking abnormal mode of transport to work for a ludicrous amount of time each day".

badosu 9y ago

Talk about carbon footprint... I bet he feels great about that.

macinjosh 9y ago
Indeed, I am always dumbfounded by the progressive, jet-set class that complain endlessly about CO2 emissions and then go fly across the world. Eating and buying local is good for the environment, but so is staying local. /off-topic-rant
- melling 9y ago
  My understanding is that if we did everything you say, it wouldn’t make a dent in the problem. It doesn’t really address the core problem with CO2 emissions.
  - mikeash 9y ago
    No individual action will. The problem isn't reducing your emissions, it's convincing everybody to do so. Focusing on air travel is particularly strange, since air travel only accounts for 2-3% of total CO2 emissions.
- Cerium 9y ago
  I think the world would be better off if more people traveled. Travel is an opportunity to expand your views and get along better with others. I would rather give up cars, meat, most mass produced goods, and single family homes before travel.
  - croon 9y ago
    That's pretty close to a Mark Twain quote: > “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
  - badosu 9y ago
    There's a striking difference between knowing a different culture/region and commuting everyday to work.
  - DrScump 9y ago
    The incremental waste of an additional passenger on a commercial (or full charter) flight is very different from a flight that exists to serve the needs of exactly one individual. That said, I could envision compromising my values if somebody wants to get me a Cirrus Vision[0] for Xmas. [0] https://cirrusaircraft.com/aircraft/vision-jet/ https://cirrusaircraft.com/aircraft/vision-jet/
Raphmedia 9y ago
"And, while von Badinski is aware that his flight comes with a significant carbon footprint, the Bay Area leg of his journey is more environmentally friendly. He keeps a plug-in hybrid vehicle at Oakland airport for the drive into San Francisco." Could anyone do the math?
- melling 9y ago
  Sure, it’s a rounding error. Basically, it’s irrelevant.
- danielvf 9y ago
  Assuming a PC-12, about 79 gallons of jet fuel, one way. Seats for six, eight or nine people depending on the configuration. Let's say eight, so ten gallons of jet fuel per person per direction. A gallon of jet fuel releases 20lbs of CO2, so 200lbs. PC-12's are really efficient aircraft, both in terms of fuel usage, but also maintenance. Your average business jet costs 5-10 times more per hour to operate (not counting pilots)
  - codefined 9y ago
    How does this compare to, for instance, your average car running for an hour?
    - mikeash 9y ago
      The average car will burn about three gallons of gasoline an hour cruising on the highway, so about 60lbs of CO2.
      - mysterydip 9y ago
        If you assume highway cruising to be 60mph, that's only 20mpg. That seems a low average for modern cars.
        mikeash 9y ago

raphdg 9y ago

This guy's life would change radically with the 30min LA to SF Hyperloop.

sabujp 9y ago
that's really sad, it would still take me 1hr to get from east bay to svl (via private shared transit :))

Slimbo 9y ago

Getting home at 21:00 and he's up again at 05:00 so most of that time will be spent sleeping. What's the point?

donald123 9y ago
Agree, he could just stay over near SF during weekdays and fly back home with family on weekend. Time better spent and more economical.
- globuous 9y ago
  A lot of consultants do exactly this in Dubai! Most have their families in Dubai, but fly to Kuwait / Saudi / etc for the week and come back for week ends see their families.
  - magic_beans 9y ago
    They're not flying to Kuwait/Saudi/etc every. single. day. of the work-week. The man in the article must really hate his family.
    - mfrykman 9y ago
      Quite the opposite, I'd say.
      - vincnetas 9y ago
        21:00 to 05:00 at home. So by face time with family i guess only sleeping face... I would say that he loves his company more ;) [edit] never mind, it's not my business to judge anyone. It's his choice.
  - ghaff 9y ago
    That's pretty standard for a lot of consultants everywhere. Fly to a client site for the week and then back home on weekends. This is talking about daily.

lisper 9y ago

I did a weekly commute BUR<->SJC for a year back in 2000-2001 (before 9/11). It was a PITA. Now I work from home. Life is too short.

amyjess 9y ago

> “The way I justify a six-hour commute is having the ability to have all the things that I want," he explains. I just don't see having the point in having "all the things that [you] want" if you don't have the time to enjoy them. Who has time to enjoy your money if you don't get home till 21:00? I've actually known some people who live in one city and work in another (between Dallas and Austin), but they did it by renting a second apartment in the city where they work and living there during the week, only commuting home on the weekends, which they always did by car.

jccc 9y ago
I would guess because he's in the middle of building his company and raising his kids, and doesn't plan to keep this arrangement forever.
- mfrykman 9y ago
  I would also guess that he can actually afford a house for his children to grow up in down in Burbank. I wonder if Motiv subsidies the Surf Air membership. Moving a company from LA to SF is expensive - maybe that was part of the price payed to keep the CTO. I'd also point out that it possibly was not his decision to move the company.
  - jccc 9y ago
    He addresses this in the video: For whatever personal reasons, uprooting his family and moving them is just not an option right now.

gumby 9y ago

"The"? In the 1990s I had an employee who commented by plane from Sonoma to Palo Alto every day. She and her husband "planepooled" together in a small prop plane. It seemed weird to hear of it but her commute wasn't that big a deal, especially since their home and jobs were close to small airports.

awjr 9y ago
That's a 2 hour commute at the best of times. I suspect that makes huge financial sense and they probably get there in 30 minutes.
- Eugr 9y ago
  The flight itself will take around 30-40 minutes depending on the plane and the winds, plus 30 minutes for pre-flight, run-up and parking at destination, plus whatever it takes to get to/from the airport.
  - gumby 9y ago
    Though when you planepool with your sweetie that's not lost time!

dfsegoat 9y ago

Keep in mind this is business as usual for the folks that work at the Nevada National Security Site including 'Area 51' & the Tonopah Test Range... They have their own small 'airline' of 737s called "Janet" that runs shuttles in and out of McCarran and those sites several times a day: Janet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_(airline) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_(airline) Janet 737 flight history: https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n319bd https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n319bd

MrMember 9y ago
There's a mission in Flight Simulator X that has you flying a 737 from McCarran to Area 51. I never knew it was based on a real shuttle service.

jccc 9y ago

Interesting comparison/contrast, linked from right in the middle of the article: http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20170221-the-gruelling-six-hour-commute-of-beijings-workers http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20170221-the-gruelling-six-... * Six hours <-> six hours * Try to use the downtime <-> try to use the downtime * Go home just to sleep <-> go home just to sleep

the_arun 9y ago

Some people love traveling. Their obsession can find all the excuses to travel. Not sure if his company funds the travel or he funds it himself.

corford 9y ago

In the nineties, a distant uncle of mine (I'm from the poor side of the family haha) used to commute to central London each day by helicopter from his farm in Buckinghamshire. That's sensible (if the company is paying!). 6hours by plane each day... not so much o_O

kzisme 9y ago

I know of a few people that commute weekly (has a rental property) by plane live/work at HQ for the week and fly home on the weekends....I can't believe people _want_ to do things like this

m23khan 9y ago

From what I was told by my friend who worked at Bombardier - the company would fly their Toronto-based employees (who needed to work at Montreal) everyday from Toronto to Montreal and then back at the end of day. He had to fly 5 days a week MON-FRI. And this is about 10 years ago.

Yetanfou 9y ago

This man need to learn one word, and learn it well: Move That is, move closer to your work. Keep the other house if you will, he has enough money for two houses. But, move closer to your work. Alternatively, move your work closer to home. Your family will love you for it, especially as they won't have to explain why their husband/partner/father insists on having a carbon footprint big enough to show up as a thin line visible for future geologists.

nunez 9y ago

I fly weekly between Dallas and wherever the work is. I've been doing this for a year and absolutely love it. I love airports. I love airport drama. I love flight. I love fighting to get through the mobs of people waiting to board. I love listening to the ATC while taxiing and looking up my route info and weather while doing so. I love FlyerTalk. I love it all. Right now, there is no better feeling than the lift from a good takeoff. I would fly more if I could. I'm not sure if I would get burnt out from flying every day. Especially on a single turboprop. Those are the lawnmowers of the skies and the wind loves pushing them around. (I also LOVE turbulence.) The biggest reason why I love it: weekends with my fiancee are amazing, especially since I don't have to spend money during the week. Time together is more meaningful. (Note that we didn't have a long distance relationship; we lived together daily for three years before I started doing this crazy travelling business.)