This tech exec has a 6-hour daily commute via plane — and he may actually be saving money

While the average American spends 52 minutes commuting to and from work each day, according to US Census data, in an interview with the BBC, the cofounder and CTO of tech company Motiv recently detailed his daily, almost 800-mile commute from Burbank, California, to San Francisco and back, which takes two cars, two plane rides, and six hours to complete.

"Whenever I tell people that I commute to San Francisco every day, they ask me that question three times: They say, 'Every day? Every day? Every day?'" he tells the BBC.

Here's how von Badinski completes his commuting feat five days a week:

Von Badinski isn't the first commuter to take to the skies — as Business Insider previously reported, former-Londoner Sam Cookney figured, with flights costing about $74 a day, it would actually be cheaper for him to rent a two-bedroom apartment in Barcelona and commute to his job in London than to rent a one-bedroom apartment there.

Similarly, von Badinksi's commute could wind up saving him money.

The CTO tells the BBC he pays $2,300 a month for unlimited flights to and from San Francisco with a small airline company called Surf Air. By comparison, commuters in San Francisco pay, on average, about $72 a month in public transportation costs, according to Lending Tree.

But with rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco costing upwards of $3,400 a month, von Badinski saves bundles of money by renting in Burbank, where he tells SFGATE he pays just $1,100 a month.

Surprisingly, von Badinski says he doesn't hate the long commute. In fact, he says it's worth it to be able to stay close to his elderly parents, whom he said he didn't want to uproot and move to the Bay Area when his company moved its headquarters there. "It's really important to be home with my family," he tells SFGATE.

"The way I justify a six-hour commute is having the ability to have all the things that I want," he tells BBC. "I want to have face time with my family, and be able to interact and make sure I'm addressing the needs of my family, but I also want to be able to be there to help my family in LA."

He also tells SFGATE that the commute "isn't for everyone."

In fact, as Business Insider reports, multiple studies suggest commuting can be more stressful than actually working, and that the longer your commute, the less satisfied you may be with your job and with life in general.

"It seems cool on the surface, but it could weigh down a lot of people," von Badinksi tells SFGATE.

Check out the BBC's full interview here, as well as SFGATE's interview here.

Do you have an extreme commute? Email us at careers@businessinsider.com and let us know all about it.

This tech exec has a 6-hour daily commute via plane — and he may actually be saving money

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