Anybody commuting to a US carrier?

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hawker driver
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Re: Anybody commuting to a US carrier?

Post by hawker driver »

DanWEC wrote:BR? :)

Almost 1.4 km west :D
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DanWEC
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Re: Anybody commuting to a US carrier?

Post by DanWEC »

See you at the Sandbar! :)
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GTF
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Re: Anybody commuting to a US carrier?

Post by GTF »

hawker driver wrote:I have been doing it for over 10 years now.
Living in Canada and working in the US. I am a dual citizen.
I pay all my US taxes first then get a foreign tax credit on my Canadian taxes so after putting some money into a Canadian RRSP it is not much of a tax hit.

I just drive across the boarder to work using my Nexus card.
I work one week on then one week off so the commute is not that bad.
My drive from home to DTW is 50 minutes including customs.

The dollar exchange is a nice bonus.
I fly for one of the fractionals and I am DTW based.
I feel I have the best of both worlds US $ and a Canadian lifestyle and up bringing for my family.

I keep a US address at a UPS store for all of my Company mail.
As for health care OHIP pays for me and my family while in Ontario and I have my family on my US company health insurance in case something happens while we are in the US.

Let me know if you have any other question, it was the best decision that I made for a good quality of life.
This is great info, thanks. Health insurance is one of the big questions I have right now. So from the looks of things, the family and I will be eligible for BC MSP health care after three months. What I'm not sure about is if my company health care requires me to be a resident of the US. If I'm no longer eligible for my insurance in the states, I could be in a world of hurt if something happens while I'm on a trip. Nobody at the company seems to know anything, it seems as though this isn't very common.

I too intend to keep a US address, so should I just give that address for the health insurance and company purposes? I intend to have a professional handle the tax situation, but I really don't want to give up my US insurance, since I'll still be spending a good deal of time there on trips.

How do you handle the US to Canadian currency exchange? Also, cell phones... US or Canada or one of each?
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JBI
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Re: Anybody commuting to a US carrier?

Post by JBI »

GTF wrote: Also, cell phones... US or Canada or one of each?
I have a US T-Mobile that gives free roaming and up to 5GB of Data in Canada and Mexico. I find it's way easier keeping one phone and it's nice not getting dinged for roaming. Not sure if any of the other US carriers have matched T-Mobile's plan.
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GTF
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Re: Anybody commuting to a US carrier?

Post by GTF »

JBI wrote:
GTF wrote: Also, cell phones... US or Canada or one of each?
I have a US T-Mobile that gives free roaming and up to 5GB of Data in Canada and Mexico. I find it's way easier keeping one phone and it's nice not getting dinged for roaming. Not sure if any of the other US carriers have matched T-Mobile's plan.
I currently have a sprint plan that allows free roaming in Canada, but my 3 GB plan only allows 1 GB per month internationally, and I think if more than 50% of the total usage is international, I run the risk of getting kicked off the plan. Anything like that with T-Mobile?
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Stinky
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Re: Anybody commuting to a US carrier?

Post by Stinky »

AT&T prepaid now allows roaming in Canada and Mexico. Much better coverage in the U.S than Tmobile.
$40 a month gives you 6gb of data and unlimited talk and text.
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JBI
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Re: Anybody commuting to a US carrier?

Post by JBI »

Stinky wrote:AT&T prepaid now allows roaming in Canada and Mexico. Much better coverage in the U.S than Tmobile.
$40 a month gives you 6gb of data and unlimited talk and text.
Good to know! Thanks for the info - I'll definitely keep that in mind. I've had good experiences with T-Mobile and I'm living in NYC so coverage is good (except inside some of the older buildings where the reception disappears).
GTF wrote:
I currently have a sprint plan that allows free roaming in Canada, but my 3 GB plan only allows 1 GB per month internationally, and I think if more than 50% of the total usage is international, I run the risk of getting kicked off the plan. Anything like that with T-Mobile?
The T-Mobile plan just changed so that it's a max of 5GB International. They do have the clause of 50% of the time should be in the US, but it seems kind of vague (i.e. didn't seem to be based on a specific timeline when I read it last year - it could have changed). I've had months where I've spent more than 50% of the time in Canada and I haven't heard anything. I think if you NEVER spent time in the US it may start being an issue, but if you're back and forth you should be ok.
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hawker driver
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Re: Anybody commuting to a US carrier?

Post by hawker driver »

GTF wrote:
This is great info, thanks. Health insurance is one of the big questions I have right now. So from the looks of things, the family and I will be eligible for BC MSP health care after three months. What I'm not sure about is if my company health care requires me to be a resident of the US. If I'm no longer eligible for my insurance in the states, I could be in a world of hurt if something happens while I'm on a trip. Nobody at the company seems to know anything, it seems as though this isn't very common.

I too intend to keep a US address, so should I just give that address for the health insurance and company purposes? I intend to have a professional handle the tax situation, but I really don't want to give up my US insurance, since I'll still be spending a good deal of time there on trips.

How do you handle the US to Canadian currency exchange? Also, cell phones... US or Canada or one of each?

My suggestion is to keep a US address for all of your company business. I use a UPS store since I can get in to get my mail and packages 24 hours a day. It costs $365 per year.
With the US address the company can send you uniforms, documents etc... without having to mail to Canada and having customs problems.
You will have to put your Physical address in Canada on your FAA documents.

As for phones, I have a company issued phone for use in the US and I have my Canadian one for when I am at home. Plus my Canadian friends don't want to call long distance to a US phone if they want to reach me. Calling home I use Facetime audio for free or text.

As for banking, I keep everthing seperate, US bank account, Credit cards, Debit cards all linked to the US address. ( Only Canadian Phone number)
In Canada I have seperate bank accounts.

When you move to Canada you must fill out a FBAR form when you do your US taxes, They will want to know all of your account information and the maximum amount you have in each account.
You should consider keeping money in the 401k or Roth in the US. You should avoid the Canadian TFSA since the IRS considers it a trust and your accountant will charge you a lot more to fill out those forms.
You can still put money into a Canadian RRSP since it is recognized by the IRS as a retirement fund and they will not give you any problems with it.

As for transferring your money from US to Canada.
I use direct deposit to my US bank from the company. Then I just write myself a personal cheque for the amount and go to my Canadian bank to deposit it into a US dollar account and then just transfer as necessary.
Lately I have been exchanging with a friend who needs US money for a home in Florida, we split the bank rate and each save over $100 a month in bank exchange fees.

Let me know if you need any more info.
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Richmond454
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Re: Anybody commuting to a US carrier?

Post by Richmond454 »

I'm in the process of doing the same thing as GTF moving from the US to Canada and commuting back into the US to fly for a US carrier. My wife lives in Ottawa and I have a choice between crew bases out of Chicago, Philadelphia, Newark, and Washington DC. I'm trying to figure out the specifics of commuting. Will I be able to commute to work on any airline flying into those cities ie US and Canadian airlines? What are the fees associated? I spoke to a gate agent at YOW and they said I cannot jumpseat at all flying from US to Canada or vice versa. Do the US and Canadian airlines have any agreements that allow me to travel on Canadian airlines while commuting ie YOW to YYZ to ORD?

I've searched everywhere on the internet and this is the first place that even mentions something like this. Thanks for everyone's help.
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hawker driver
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Re: Anybody commuting to a US carrier?

Post by hawker driver »

You might want to contact the union and ask them or call ALPA in Canada since I did hear of some Canadian pilots living in Florida and commuting to work. I also heard of some living in Europe and commuting to Canada.

It can be done.

As for bases look to see where the most flights go out of Ottawa to and that would give you more flexibility.

I would guess Newark since you could commute to JFK, LGA or even drive from PHL if you had to then take Uber.
I did the drive from PHL to EWR and it is not that bad, plus there is a train.

Good luck and let us know what you find out.
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Richmond454
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Re: Anybody commuting to a US carrier?

Post by Richmond454 »

Thanks Hawker Driver. I'll try and find a phone number. I actually haven't started work yet but just trying to figure out what Im in for commuting from YOW. This will be my first airline job (was a helicopter pilot in the army) before I made the switch over. Looking forward to starting but trying to figure out the logistics of commuting from Canada. Thanks for any help I can get.
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Stinky
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Re: Anybody commuting to a US carrier?

Post by Stinky »

The gate agent misunderstood. You can't actually sit in the Jumpseat between Canada and the US but you can use the reciprocal Jumpseat agreement.
I've operated a flight out of Ottawa before and had a guy Jumpseat (in the back) to the US. Same situation as you, living in Ottawa and married a Canadian.
There's a Spirit guy commuting out of Toronto using Jumpseat. I've had a guy out of Laguardia, another out of Chicago.
There's a bunch doing it.
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Richmond454
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Re: Anybody commuting to a US carrier?

Post by Richmond454 »

Thanks Stinky. Were you flying for a Canadian Airline when this happened? Do the recipricol jump seat agreement apply between US and Canadian airlines as well? I know a lot of United and American Airline fly into Canadian cities but it would be nice to hop on an Air Canada or West Jet flight into NY or Chicago as well. Thanks for the information.

Also, moving to Ottawa is it a requirement that I root for the Senators? I grew up in New England and a Bruins fan.
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Stinky
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Re: Anybody commuting to a US carrier?

Post by Stinky »

It was Air Canada. You'll actually travel for free while Air Canada and AC express guys are paying.
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SuperchargedRS
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Re: Anybody commuting to a US carrier?

Post by SuperchargedRS »

Dude, you're going to live in BC (aka Bring Cash) and work at a regional (guessing horizon)?

That commute only makes sense if you're working at a major and making over a quarter mil USD a year, but hey, your life.

Only way that might make sense is if you lived out of town and had a small plane to commute, but even then, between hangars and ice... yeah I wouldn't do that if I worked at a regional.
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Last edited by SuperchargedRS on Sun Jan 28, 2018 9:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
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x-wind
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Re: Anybody commuting to a US carrier?

Post by x-wind »

Point Roberts brother. I'm considering it but I'd work in YVR.

I didn't read many of the responses so apologize for any ignorance in the suggestion.
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Richmond454
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Re: Anybody commuting to a US carrier?

Post by Richmond454 »

Thanks for the information Stinky. This really makes my commute a lot easier.
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Re: Anybody commuting to a US carrier?

Post by GTF »

Richmond454 wrote: Wed Jan 24, 2018 7:11 pm I'm in the process of doing the same thing as GTF moving from the US to Canada and commuting back into the US to fly for a US carrier. My wife lives in Ottawa and I have a choice between crew bases out of Chicago, Philadelphia, Newark, and Washington DC. I'm trying to figure out the specifics of commuting. Will I be able to commute to work on any airline flying into those cities ie US and Canadian airlines? What are the fees associated? I spoke to a gate agent at YOW and they said I cannot jumpseat at all flying from US to Canada or vice versa. Do the US and Canadian airlines have any agreements that allow me to travel on Canadian airlines while commuting ie YOW to YYZ to ORD?

I've searched everywhere on the internet and this is the first place that even mentions something like this. Thanks for everyone's help.
I've done the commute from YVR-SEA a couple of times now. It's really not bad at all, a Nexus card definitely helps though.

As far as the jumpseat, I know US carriers have different policies than Canadian carriers. I checked in on this, and I think generally, if you are employed by a US carrier, you may occupy the actual jumpseat on international flights, but ONLY on your own metal. Than's how it works with my company anyway. So, if your own airline flies between your city pairs, that may make things easier for you if the flights fill up. Jumpseating on a Canadian carrier has not been easy for me so far. I tried once to get onto Air Canada, but it seems that Air Canada has recently changed how they require you to list for the reciprocal agreement, and my company hasn't kept up with the software on their end. I'm working on sorting that out, but even if it worked, it's limited to a seat in the back, and there are fees, though they aren't much.
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