Suggestions for Using AS for 3X Weekly Super Commute?
Hello everyone,
I recently got admitted to a master's program in the east bay area, and I live in LA. The program will last for 2 semesters, from August 2022 to May 2023. After checking the academic calendar, class schedule, and degree requirement, here is my tentative schedule:
Fall semester (Aug 24th-Dec 13th):
Class1 MWF 12pm-1pm
Class2 MWF 1pm-2pm
Class3 W 1030am-12pm
Class4 F 1030am-1130am
Class5 Design Project (Probably weekly meeting after class, schedule pending)
Spring semester (Jan 17th-May 10th):
Class1 TuTh 1230pm-2pm
Class2 TuTh 2pm-330pm
Class3 W 9am-6pm (only twice throughout the semester)
Class4 W 9am-6pm (only twice throughout the semester)
Class5 Design Project (Probably weekly meeting after class, schedule pending)
Based on the preliminary estimation and removing holidays in between, I will take a minimum of 45 same-day trips in fall semester, and a minimum of 39 same-day trips in spring semester. I have roughly 850k miles in my account, and most of those dates I can book same day return for 10k miles (5k each way), with the exception of Monday LA going to SF and Friday SF coming back to LA. But I can buy one 2X monthly roundtrip, and one 1X monthly roundtrip flight passes, which is available at $390/month in total after adding taxes. I'm 100k, so I can book the cheapest award ticket or monthly pass ticket with standard copay for that date, either to/from SFO or SJC, and SDC to the SFO flight with the right timing for my class. And if I have any campus activities and stay late, I can always catch the last 10pm flight back to LA.
I know it sounds insane, but I did my research and evaluated the cost benefits. Bay area rent is expensive, and I plan to stay in LA after graduation because my previous workplace would hire me back once I get my master's. My industry isn't tech, so I wouldn't get a significant pay increase if I stay in the bay area, also most (if not all) of my connections are in the socal region, so there is no reason for me to stay in the bay area after I graduate. I can get parking near LAX at $3/day (10min free shuttle ride which operates 24/7), I can get discounts on BART, and I have AS lounge membership so I could eat breakfast in the lounge.
Now my major concern is :
1. Schedule change. Now there are 2 flights to SFO which I can take (6am and 8am). Given it's a hub-hub route, AS usually deploys smaller aircrafts to maintain the frequency, and most of those flights are skywest E175s so even if the mainline has issues, those skywest flights should not be impacted.
2. Irrops and weather. For irrops, I could still make it work by mass booking southwest revenue tickets and UA award tickets and keep rebooking them if my AS flight operates as normal. Since I don't have any checked bags, I could also just call AS to rebook me on the next available AA/UA/DL LAX-SFO flight, but granted it would be exhausting. SFO has completed the runway repave, but if the weather goes bad, my flight would likely be impacted, so there is a risk missing my classes for that day.
3. The effort. I know it sounds both cool and crazy doing same-day super commutes like this 3 times a week for 8 months. I've never done that before, and I can't give up halfway when I'm burnt out, because I couldn't simply find an apartment midway. Last minute apartments won't come cheap and most of them have minimum lease requirement. Although I could stay at home 4 days a week in fall, and 5 days a week in spring, I'm not sure if I can make it that far on top of courseload.
4. Unforeseen events. For the occasions I need to stay overnight due to courseload, I could burn my hotel points and have a place to stay, but those occasions should be rare.
I'm asking for suggestions from my dear AS FTers. Have any of you done same-day super commutes for 2-3 times a week for a similar distance (25 mile drive to airport, 330 mile plane ride, and 25 mile subway ride EACH WAY)? I can save roughly $10k in total by doing the super commute, I can adjust my sleep schedule and study more efficiently, but is it worth it? Any suggestions is appreciated. Thanks.