Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle
Written by: Mallory Moench / The Chronicle
Every Sunday evening for eight months, Paul Spence drove his 16-year-old daughter, Hayley, to a private air terminal in Sacramento 15 minutes before her flight left. He’d walk her out to the plane, meet the pilot, and watch the preflight security briefing. Then she’d take off alone for the 45-minute ride to her specialized school in Palo Alto, where she spent the week with a family member before flying back Thursday.
“Very easy, very fast, no security,” Spence said. It saved him at least 12 hours of driving time a week.
Super-commuting is nothing new to Californians. When Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor, he took a private jet from Sacramento to his mansion in Brentwood (Los Angeles County) nearly every night. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who lived in Palo Alto, got the city of Richmond to approve a heliport near his Pixar animation studio in 1997. And with the Bay Area’s cost of living rising, commuters will keep moving farther away.