6 ms·

Key quotes: > I was living in LA, rent free. > I love flying and I have a lot of frequent flyer miles/points from credit card sign up bonus/flying over the pa

Key quotes: > I was living in LA, rent free. > I love flying and I have a lot of frequent flyer miles/points from credit card sign up bonus/flying over the past few years. > I booked all my tickets for Fall 2022 back in April and May 2022. Then I booked all my tickets for Spring 2023 back in Nov 2022. Most tickets were booked using Alaska miles or Southwest points > I have elite status with Alaska and Southwest, both offer a valuable perk called same-day change. I always book the cheapest flight of that day and call them when the check-in window opened to change to other flights of that day free of charge. > Spent 45972 minutes on my commute, equivalent to 31.93 24-hr days. So basically, if you're rich and have already spent several times the cost of rent on travel in your gap year(s), willing to spend over 20 hours a week commuting for 3 days of class, and have literally no concept of the value of your time, you too can afford the miserable commute from LA to Berkeley for university!

tempestn 3y ago
I guess it's not necessarily a poor use of time if you can study in the airport and/or on the plane. Or if you just enjoy flying.
- akiselev 3y ago
  The LAX-SFO flight averages to around an hour and a half one way. It sounds like he really liked commuting to and from the airport more than flying. He would have been better off with a PPL and a Piper that takes off from the nearest small airport. It would have cost a little more but the bulk of it would have amortized better over the course of a four year degree (frequent flyer miles and elite status vs life time of PPL and resale value of the plane)
  - Karrot_Kream 3y ago
    Well you're still at the mercy of weather and airspace restrictions in your Piper. Flying IFR helps, but there's going to be days you'll need to scrap your flight because of winds or days you'll have to fly in pattern for a while waiting for clearance to land, potentially making you late for class.
    - dotancohen 3y ago
      > scrap your flight Scrub the flight )) It's the Piper that is scraped ))
  - alwayslikethis 3y ago
    Small planes like that burn a lot of gas though which isn't cheap. You also can't nap while flying your own plane.
  - manarth 3y ago
    > it would have amortized better over the course of a four year degree "I got accepted into a one-year MEng program (technically 10 months)"
- tsuujin 3y ago
  I genuinely can not imagine enjoying flying. Airports are a form of living hell.
  - vidarh 3y ago
    For a year and a half I was doing LHR<->SFO every 6 weeks or so. I wouldn't say I enjoyed it much, but it soon became a weird sport to optimize everything. I got it down to ~16 hours door to door, by e.g. ensuring I never needed to check anything in and trying out several options on either end of the flight. I maximised my upgrades by carefully picking flights, and so rapidly got up the tiers of the reward program (I was flying United, because while their standard was low compared to e.g. BA or Virgin, their reward program was far more generous, so if flying often it was a better experience back then). I found great headphones, sleeping masks, pillows. At that point it was close to enjoyable. But that was with transatlantic flights. Having experienced domestic US flights, I can't imagine doing that regularly. Difference even within the same carriers at least used to be awful. To the point where I'd insist on direct flights over stretching my legs on the east coast because the domestic flights were so awful.
  - kennethrc 3y ago
    I used to commute (weekly) SoCal/NoCal for a while and still fly quite often. Between airline status and perks like PreCheck and CLEAR and lounge access (all of which one of my CCs gives me for "free") flying is a lot less hassle than it used to be; I can usually show up at the airport only 5 mins before either bag cutoff, or boarding start nowadays, with the biggest hassle usually getting to/from the airport(s).
- snapetom 3y ago
  I'm getting close to a similar situation. I live in Washington and negotiating with my employer about doing a weekend MBA program in Texas. Most, if not all, tuition is covered, I'm staying with family there. However, it's not nothing money-wise. I'm my own with flights. What I see as a pro, though, is that I'm highly productive on planes and airport lounges. At home, I'm distracted by spouse, pets, Netflix/Hulu/Amazon, etc. I've always been able to focus much more while traveling. I'm confident I can do most of the work for the program in the air, plus I get to hang out with extended family once a week.
  - WalterBright 3y ago
    I've tried many times to work on flights, and failed miserably every time.
- ulfw 3y ago
  Oh yea those TSA lines and cramped boarding gates and the endless cramped narrowbody planes that take forever to board and deboard. Doing the same route over and over and over again. Must be joyful!
  - tempestn 3y ago
    Didn't say I would enjoy it, but I'm sure there are some out there who would. I can more easily imagine it being productive though.
- itronitron 3y ago
  Reminds me of hearing one of my classmates in college complain about how their boyfriend (at the same college, but a junior or senior) was having to fly back to Hong Kong every weekend to help run the family business. I can only hope that they were able to spend those hours sleeping or studying.
coding123 3y ago
meh - it's not the destination, it's the journey. Why is doing all the stuff any different than getting in your car and doing stuff. Just because it's different stuff than what you do during your day doesn't mean it's not an enjoyable life.
tbrake 3y ago
What's with the indignation over this on HN? I didn't see them suggesting anyone/everyone would be able to do it, or that it was practical. It was just a funny set of cirucmstances that allowed for an attention catching headline and a mildly amusing tale. Yeeeesh.
- atleastoptimal 3y ago
  I think some people on here default to a highly comparative/competitive mindset. When they see titles like the one here, they assume there's a subline reading And because I found this hack and executed on it, I'm more resourceful, capable, and smarter than you, and if you can't keep up with me its your fault if you don't succeed Not saying everyone here thinks it but the emotional reaction to these kinds of things makes it seem this is how it feels to some people.
  - prepend 3y ago
    I agree with part of your assumption, but, for me, the second half is more “and here’s how I can learn from it, internalize, and improve my processes to be better.” So it’s not so much competitive to exceed others but competitive to improve methods to improve self.
    - CactusOnFire 3y ago
      Yeah. The title is a misdirect. The unspoken promise of the article that this is about a more cost-effective/practical/efficient process of commuting.
- usui 3y ago
  Exactly, what's with the critical and defensive reactionary response here? This story is hilarious! And the amount of effort it took to execute and maintain it. And to keep full track of commute time and expenses on a spreadsheet no less? Bravo.
  - uoaei 3y ago

tempestn 3y ago

I guess it's not necessarily a poor use of time if you can study in the airport and/or on the plane. Or if you just enjoy flying.

akiselev 3y ago
The LAX-SFO flight averages to around an hour and a half one way. It sounds like he really liked commuting to and from the airport more than flying. He would have been better off with a PPL and a Piper that takes off from the nearest small airport. It would have cost a little more but the bulk of it would have amortized better over the course of a four year degree (frequent flyer miles and elite status vs life time of PPL and resale value of the plane)
- Karrot_Kream 3y ago
  Well you're still at the mercy of weather and airspace restrictions in your Piper. Flying IFR helps, but there's going to be days you'll need to scrap your flight because of winds or days you'll have to fly in pattern for a while waiting for clearance to land, potentially making you late for class.
  - dotancohen 3y ago
    > scrap your flight Scrub the flight )) It's the Piper that is scraped ))
- alwayslikethis 3y ago
  Small planes like that burn a lot of gas though which isn't cheap. You also can't nap while flying your own plane.
- manarth 3y ago
  > it would have amortized better over the course of a four year degree "I got accepted into a one-year MEng program (technically 10 months)"
tsuujin 3y ago
I genuinely can not imagine enjoying flying. Airports are a form of living hell.
- vidarh 3y ago
  For a year and a half I was doing LHR<->SFO every 6 weeks or so. I wouldn't say I enjoyed it much, but it soon became a weird sport to optimize everything. I got it down to ~16 hours door to door, by e.g. ensuring I never needed to check anything in and trying out several options on either end of the flight. I maximised my upgrades by carefully picking flights, and so rapidly got up the tiers of the reward program (I was flying United, because while their standard was low compared to e.g. BA or Virgin, their reward program was far more generous, so if flying often it was a better experience back then). I found great headphones, sleeping masks, pillows. At that point it was close to enjoyable. But that was with transatlantic flights. Having experienced domestic US flights, I can't imagine doing that regularly. Difference even within the same carriers at least used to be awful. To the point where I'd insist on direct flights over stretching my legs on the east coast because the domestic flights were so awful.
- kennethrc 3y ago
  I used to commute (weekly) SoCal/NoCal for a while and still fly quite often. Between airline status and perks like PreCheck and CLEAR and lounge access (all of which one of my CCs gives me for "free") flying is a lot less hassle than it used to be; I can usually show up at the airport only 5 mins before either bag cutoff, or boarding start nowadays, with the biggest hassle usually getting to/from the airport(s).
snapetom 3y ago
I'm getting close to a similar situation. I live in Washington and negotiating with my employer about doing a weekend MBA program in Texas. Most, if not all, tuition is covered, I'm staying with family there. However, it's not nothing money-wise. I'm my own with flights. What I see as a pro, though, is that I'm highly productive on planes and airport lounges. At home, I'm distracted by spouse, pets, Netflix/Hulu/Amazon, etc. I've always been able to focus much more while traveling. I'm confident I can do most of the work for the program in the air, plus I get to hang out with extended family once a week.
- WalterBright 3y ago
  I've tried many times to work on flights, and failed miserably every time.
ulfw 3y ago
Oh yea those TSA lines and cramped boarding gates and the endless cramped narrowbody planes that take forever to board and deboard. Doing the same route over and over and over again. Must be joyful!
- tempestn 3y ago
  Didn't say I would enjoy it, but I'm sure there are some out there who would. I can more easily imagine it being productive though.
itronitron 3y ago
Reminds me of hearing one of my classmates in college complain about how their boyfriend (at the same college, but a junior or senior) was having to fly back to Hong Kong every weekend to help run the family business. I can only hope that they were able to spend those hours sleeping or studying.

coding123 3y ago

meh - it's not the destination, it's the journey. Why is doing all the stuff any different than getting in your car and doing stuff. Just because it's different stuff than what you do during your day doesn't mean it's not an enjoyable life.

tbrake 3y ago

What's with the indignation over this on HN? I didn't see them suggesting anyone/everyone would be able to do it, or that it was practical. It was just a funny set of cirucmstances that allowed for an attention catching headline and a mildly amusing tale. Yeeeesh.

atleastoptimal 3y ago
I think some people on here default to a highly comparative/competitive mindset. When they see titles like the one here, they assume there's a subline reading And because I found this hack and executed on it, I'm more resourceful, capable, and smarter than you, and if you can't keep up with me its your fault if you don't succeed Not saying everyone here thinks it but the emotional reaction to these kinds of things makes it seem this is how it feels to some people.
- prepend 3y ago
  I agree with part of your assumption, but, for me, the second half is more “and here’s how I can learn from it, internalize, and improve my processes to be better.” So it’s not so much competitive to exceed others but competitive to improve methods to improve self.
  - CactusOnFire 3y ago
    Yeah. The title is a misdirect. The unspoken promise of the article that this is about a more cost-effective/practical/efficient process of commuting.
usui 3y ago
Exactly, what's with the critical and defensive reactionary response here? This story is hilarious! And the amount of effort it took to execute and maintain it. And to keep full track of commute time and expenses on a spreadsheet no less? Bravo.
- uoaei 3y ago