A 26-year-old super commuter working in tech sales recently revealed how she regularly takes a 90-minute flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco to reach her office by 8:30 am.
Angelique Khieu lives in Los Angeles, while her job is based in San Francisco. Since her company follows a hybrid work model that requires employees to be in the office three days a week, she frequently travels between the two cities to meet the requirement.
In an interview with People, Khieu explained that her commute on office days begins at around 4:30 am, when she drives to the airport to catch a 6 am flight. She said that with TSA PreCheck and CLEAR, getting from the airport entrance to her gate is usually quick. The flight takes roughly an hour and a half, after which she uses public transport to travel directly to her office in San Francisco. She is often ready to start work by 8:30 am, she said.
“As for the commute back, I do everything again, just in reverse,” Khieu told People. She added that she has residences in both cities and often stays overnight in the Bay Area when she has to work from the office on consecutive days before flying back to Los Angeles.
{{/usCountry}}“As for the commute back, I do everything again, just in reverse,” Khieu told People. She added that she has residences in both cities and often stays overnight in the Bay Area when she has to work from the office on consecutive days before flying back to Los Angeles.
{{/usCountry}}‘Everyone thought I was crazy’
Khieu said that she followed this routine almost every week during the first half of the year, taking between 6 to 10 flights a month. But she added that she is flying a bit less now.
For Khieu, travelling by air has never been particularly daunting. She said that she has always enjoyed being on planes.
“Even when I was a kid, I’d be so excited to go to the airport on vacation that I wouldn’t sleep the night before,” she said, adding that she still enjoys travelling and no longer thinks twice about spending so much time at airports or on planes.
However, she admitted that arranging flights at short notice can be challenging. Khieu said that she often books tickets just a day before travelling, although she sometimes plans ahead when she knows she will need to spend more time in either city. She also has to account for delays and cancellations, particularly because there are limited nonstop flight options between San Francisco and Los Angeles with certain airlines.
Recalling one particularly difficult journey, Khieu shared that a flight delay eventually turned into a cancellation, with the next available flight not scheduled until 3 pm the following day. She then had to find an alternative way to get home, renting a car with four other passengers and driving the roughly 7-hour distance between the cities.
“It was crazy because I had an 8 am meeting and literally got back to my place with 30 minutes to spare. I didn’t even sleep that day,” she recalled.
The 26-year-old shared that while “everyone thought I was crazy,” to her, it feels “so normal”. In fact, she noted that “there are so many people who are doing this same commute.”
“Once you get a schedule, you start to notice the same faces, and they recognize you, so y’all start to chat and lowkey become travel friends,” she said.
(Also Read: Indian super-commuter who travelled 200 km every day for work says ‘I am the sole earner in family’)
Why she chooses to commute by plane
Khieu believes her unusual commute reflects her determination to pursue professional opportunities without giving up her personal life in Los Angeles.
“I realized that the bigger theme here is people will always find a way to compromise or make things work if they’re dedicated and actually want to. I didn’t want to uproot my personal life, but knew that taking a new job in a new city was the right move for my professional career,” she explained. “My loved ones understood that and did anything they could to try and meet me halfway and I appreciate them so much for that,” she said.
She also pointed out that many parents make similar decisions, travelling long distances for work rather than uprooting their children from their existing lives.
Khieu does not believe her lifestyle should be criticised. She argued that people are willing to make significant compromises when they are committed to their goals. “Everyone has 24 hours in a day; the only thing that makes us different is what you do within those hours,” she said.
For Khieu, the frequent flights allow her to maintain her life in Los Angeles while pursuing career growth in San Francisco, giving her what she described as the best of both worlds.