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Extreme Commuter: Planes, trains and automobiles

By Marlene Naanes, amNewYork Staff Writer
More stories | MNaanes@am-ny.com

5:55 PM EDT, June 15, 2008

Kevin Crowley travels almost 500 miles to work everyday.

The fact that he works for JetBlue helps speed up his lengthy commute from Buffalo to the airline's headquarters in Kew Gardens. As an employee, Crowley, 36, hops on a plane for free every morning, but his entire commute isn't that simple.

"I take a car to the airport. I take an airplane down here. I get on a train," he said. "So it's trains, planes and automobiles everyday for me."

For the past four years, Crowley has traveled from Buffalo for his job as a JetBlue safety analyst. He usually begins his commute with a drive to the airport at 5 a.m. to catch a 5:45 flight from Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Once he arrives in the city, he takes the JFK AirTrain to the E train and arrives in Kew Gardens by about 7:30 a.m.

"There's a lot of people that I work with that commute in from Long Island or that commute in from New Jersey and their commute is almost as long as mine except I live 500 miles away and take an airplane to work," Crowley said.

While he get to ride on a comfy leather seat and can watch direct TV, read the newspaper or nap on his way to work, storms can exponentially add to his 2-1/2 hour commute. Crowley said he's been stranded at the airport for up to six hours a couple of times.

He admits that typically by Wednesday, he's waiting for the week to end.

If his commute was shorter, he could devote more time to his family, remodeling his house, or playing hockey, Crowley said. He keeps his home in Buffalo to benefit from the reduced cost of living. He currently owns a 3,000-square-foot home in a historical district.

"We may not have two professional baseball teams, and two professional football teams, and two professional basketball teams and everything else, but it's that closer community feeling that you get living up there that's enjoyable," Crowley said.

Share your extreme commute with us. E-mail mnaanes@am-ny.com.