If you are sick of the daily commute to work in public transport, frustrated with the delays and rush, this story is for you. For a woman in Malaysia, a mom of two, a daily work commute means flying 400km every morning and every evening for 5 days a week just for work-home balance. Do you see the struggle? Does yours feel less now? Well, here’s why she chose this routine.
Racheal Kaur, an Indian-origin woman, residing in Malaysia works as an Assistant Manager in the Finance Operations Department at AirAsia. She has received the title of ‘super commuter’ which has made her go viral on social media. Kaur resides in Penang, Malaysia whereas her office is in Sepang. She has to fly nearly 400km between the two destinations as a part of her daily commute. The flight takes about 30-40 minutes on each side. Kaur earlier rented a home in Kuala Lumpur near her office and would visit her family on weekends but she has now chosen this lifestyle due to some reasons.
The woman has two kids – the elder one, 12, and the younger one, 11. She started feeling a stronger need to be there for her kids as they are getting older. This arrangement of commuting to work every day – not by road but by flying – makes it possible for her to go home and see her kids every night. Staying away from home the entire week used to take a toll on her work-life balance earlier. She then thought of considering flying daily and has been doing so since early 2024. Surprisingly, it hasn’t been hard on her pocket either.
Kaur recently shared that all her expenses including her daily commute by flight, food, and accommodation, combined together are significantly lower than renting a place near her office. This new travel routine has in fact saved her a good amount of money. Her monthly expenses have come down to nearly $316 which used to be around $474 earlier. It is only the routine that gets exhausting for the woman. She has to wake up at 4:00 AM every morning and leave at 5:00 AM to board a flight at 5:55 AM. And after work, she gets home at around 8:00 PM following the same route. She shared her honest opinions on how it does “feel exhausting but is all worth it” once she reaches home and sees her kids.
The changing times are demanding a lot from women, especially working moms who feel the urge to maintain a balance between their personal and professional lives. After all, it is not easy being a mom who makes her own money!
