
A man who takes a plane to work every day [video] - zegl
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20170712-the-man-who-takes-a-plane-to-work-every-day
======
dfsegoat
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
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.

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jccc
Interesting comparison/contrast, linked from right in the middle of the
article:

[http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20170221-the-gruelling-
six-...](http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20170221-the-gruelling-six-hour-
commute-of-beijings-workers)

* Six hours <-> six hours

* Try to use the downtime <-> try to use the downtime

* Go home just to sleep <-> go home just to sleep

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Slimbo
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
Agree, he could just stay over near SF during weekdays and fly back home with
family on weekend. Time better spent and more economical.

~~~
vvanders
I don't even know where to start with this comment, only seeing your family on
the weekends? Doesn't seem like much a life to me.

~~~
nilkn
He's only going to really see them on the weekends either way with his current
schedule. The commenter was suggesting that, given this, it'd be more
economical to just stay in SF during the week.

However, the funny thing is that apartments in SF are so expensive that the
$2300/month he's paying to fly on the small commuter jet is actually not that
horrible of a deal compared to renting a small place in the city. So maybe he
just enjoys the commute. I've flown on a private jet like this (Cessna
Citation CJ2+ in my case) and it's definitely a fun experience.

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gumby
"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
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
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
Though when you planepool with your sweetie that's not lost time!

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

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

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amyjess
> “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
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
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
He addresses this in the video: For whatever personal reasons, uprooting his
family and moving them is just not an option right now.

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badosu
Talk about carbon footprint...

I bet he feels great about that.

~~~
Raphmedia
"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?

~~~
danielvf
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
How does this compare to, for instance, your average car running for an hour?

~~~
mikeash
The average car will burn about three gallons of gasoline an hour cruising on
the highway, so about 60lbs of CO2.

~~~
mysterydip
If you assume highway cruising to be 60mph, that's only 20mpg. That seems a
low average for modern cars.

~~~
mikeash
The average MPG of a new car is only about 25, and the average age of cars
actually on the road is over a decade. And 60MPH is a slower highway cruising
speed than I've seen anywhere outside of big cities or congested areas. 75+MPH
is far more common.

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lisper
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.

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nunez
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.)

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corford
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

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Yetanfou
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.

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m23khan
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.

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kzisme
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

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the_arun
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.

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roryisok
Must have been a slow news day at the bbc.

"business man flies in plane regularly"

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

