2018 FedEx Expo

@Maurus

I've been here since July. I fly the 757 which has the most night flying of any of the fleets... the most traditional "hub turning."

For March (at 35-day bid month), I work 16 of 35 days for 95/hrs pay.

I hub turn (so arrive Memphis around 11-midnight, depart around 3-4am) 5 times. I do 2 day-time hub turns (arrive Memphis around 8-noon, departure around 2-4pm). The rest are trips that start during the afternoon launch, layover for 24hrs and return to Memphis the next evening. They go something like this...

Day 1: MEM-LAX 3pm departure
24hrs layover
Day 2: LAX-MEM 6pm departure (arriving around midnight)

A more specific example of my March day flying is-

Day 1: airline DH on Delta home-SLC a 3pm ( I booked a flight to get me in around 3pm as I have family I can go visit)
Day 2: SLC-MEM 9am dep, 1pm arr (2hrs ground time, hub turn) MEM-LAX 3pm dep, 5pm arr.
24hr layover downtown LA
Day 3: LAX-MEM 645pm dep, midnight arr.

Pays a little over 17 hours. 9.5 block.

More specific night trip-

Day 1: airline DH to ATL... I live here. So I'm just hanging out.
Day 2: ATL-AFW-MCI leave Atlanta at 2235 arrive AFW at midnight, dep for MCI at 0330. About 18hrs layover
Day 3: MCI-AFW-SEA leave MCI at 2300 arrive AFW at midnight, dep for SEA at 0315. About 24hrs layover
Day 4: SEA-IND leave SEA at 0630 arr IND at 1330. Airline DH IND-MEM... I cancelled that, booked a FDX jumpseat home to ATL. The 550 bucks they used for that ticket goes into my bank to use for Uber, other airline tickets (can buy a ticket to commute to MEM even), hotel, etc.

4 day trip (sorta, I say 3)... pays 23hrs. Block 10.5

One thing to to remember about night hub turns. You're not up ALL NIGHT like some may lead you to believe. Only if you want to be. FedEx has invested a great deal of money at the hubs building sleep rooms for the turning crew force. When I land at 11-midnight I wonder into the hub... get a room. It's a private room with a bed, desk, lamp, etc, etc. Think tiny, tiny hotel room. There are larger bathrooms/showers essentially on each row of rooms. I change into shorts and a shirt and crash out. We have a wake-up program that the flight coordination desk manages. When I got my room I told them my outbound flight number and how soon before my showtime for that flight (1hr prior to departure) I want to be woken up at. I do 30 minutes. So for a 4am departure, we have a 3am show. The phone rings at 2:30. If the flight is delayed, they push my wake-up to reflect the new wake-up time. I get dressed, grab a coffee, and head out to meet the other pilot. You can get anywhere from 1-3 hours (usually**) in a sleep room. That nap is GOLD. It truly does wonders. By the time we land at the next city, I'm not even tired... I go get breakfast, watch the news, and put in ear plugs, crank the AC down, and the best part.... no setting an ALARM. I usually can get a solid 6hrs. I've slept more hub-turning at FedEx than I ever did on a a 4 day trip at the regionals/UAL with all early AM wake ups.

Also-- half of my trips start/end with a commercial airline DH. I'm a commuter and with the deviation bank funds I get, I purchase tickets from the cities I start/end at right to my home city. I also use the funds for Uber, which picks me up right in front of the airport and goes directly to my house. Piece of cake, hassle free. The other trips I commute in on a FedEx flight which is almost as easy.

I know that probably makes little sense. What I'm getting at is that for March my PURE night flying accounts for less than half of all my flying. I was able to drop crappy trips that had me hub turning for nice one leg day-time flying out to the west coast, or 24hr layovers with an AM launch for a PM return, which go something like this...

Day 1: MEM-MDT 3am departue
24hrs layover
Day 2: MDT-MEM 7am departure.

Pays 8.5, block 4.5.

I came from a regional and flew 4-leg days with 3-5am wakes regularly... I've found those were harder than a solid week of night hub turns. I also flew 737's at United before FedEx and found an 8pm departure from EWR to the west coast (I live on the east coast) to be incredibly tiring when we landed there at 11pm local... or 2am my body clock time for an 11hr layover to fly a 3 leg day the next day. Honestly, flying for FedEx has been the EASIEST flying I've ever done. I absolutely, positively would NEVER go back to flying for the passenger carriers. The stress-free, hassle-free, low-drama lifestyle here is not something to overlook, and something you truly don't understand until you get a taste of FedEx life. I soon realized the most tiring/fatiging part of the job were the many legs, short layovers, and the hassle of dealing with the flying public and the many customer service issues that arise because of it. My other half flies the -88 for Delta and comes home after a 4 day trip exhausted... usually every single time. And they bid trips that start in the afternoon.

Don't get me wrong... this airline flies at night! You'll have some long nights, and some even longer nights during your career. With that being said, the flexibility to move things around and to find the type of flying that suits is easily attainable with a little seniority. Don't count FedEx out of your career end goal-- it's actually quite nice on dark side!
 
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MtnFlyer00 said:
@Maurus

I've been here since July. I fly the 757 which has the most night flying of any of the fleets... the most traditional "hub turning."

For March (at 35-day bid month), I work 16 of 35 days for 95/hrs pay.

I hub turn (so arrive Memphis around 11-midnight, depart around 3-4am) 5 times. I do 2 day-time hub turns (arrive Memphis around 8-noon, departure around 2-4pm). The rest are trips that start during the afternoon launch, layover for 24hrs and return to Memphis the next evening. They go something like this...

Day 1: MEM-LAX 3pm departure
24hrs layover
Day 2: LAX-MEM 6pm departure (arriving around midnight)

One thing to to remember about hub turns. You're not up ALL NIGHT like some may lead you to believe. Only if you want to be. FedEx has invested a great deal of money at the hubs building sleep rooms for the turning crew force. When I land at 11-midnight I wonder into the hub... get a room. It's a private room with a bed, desk, lamp, etc, etc. Think tiny, tiny hotel room. There are larger bathrooms/showers essentially on each row of rooms. I change into shorts and a shirt and crash out. We have a wake-up program that the flight coordination desk manages. When I got my room I told them my outbound flight number and how soon before my showtime for that flight (1hr prior to departure) I want to be woken up at. I do 30 minutes. So for a 4am departure, we have a 3am show. The phone rings at 2:30. If the flight is delayed, they push my wake-up to reflect the new wake-up time. I get dressed, grab a coffee, and head out to meet the other pilot. You can get anywhere from 1-3 hours (usually**) in a sleep room. That nap is GOLD. It truly does wonders. By the time we land at the next city, I'm not even tired... I go get breakfast, watch the news, and put in ear plugs, crank the AC down, and the best part.... no setting an ALARM. I usually can get a solid 6hrs. I've slept more hub-turning at FedEx than I ever did on a a 4 day trip at the regionals/UAL with all early AM wake ups.

Also-- half of my trips start/end with a commercial airline DH. I'm a commuter and with the deviation bank funds I get, I purchase tickets from the cities I start/end at right to my home city. I also use the funds for Uber, which picks me up right in front of the airport and goes directly to my house. Piece of cake, hassle free. The other trips I commute in on a FedEx flight which is almost as easy.

I know that probably makes little sense. What I'm getting at is that for March my PURE night flying accounts for less than half of all my flying. I was able to drop crappy trips that had me hub turning for nice one leg day-time flying out to the west coast, or 24hr layovers with an AM launch for a PM return, which go something like this...

Day 1: MEM-MDT 3am departue
24hrs layover
Day 2: MDT-MEM 7am departure.

I came from a regional and flew 4-leg days with 3-5am wakes regularly... I've found those were harder than a solid week of night hub turns. I also flew 737's at United before FedEx and found an 8pm departure from EWR to the west coast (I live on the east coast) to be incredibly tiring when we landed there at 11pm local... or 2am my body clock time for an 11hr layover to fly a 3 leg day the next day. Honestly, flying for FedEx has been the EASIEST flying I've ever done. I absolutely, positively would NEVER go back to flying for the passenger carriers. The stress-free, hassle-free, low-drama lifestyle here is not something to overlook, and something you truly don't understand until you get a taste of FedEx life. I soon realized the most tiring/fatiging part of the job were the many legs, short layovers, and the hassle of dealing with the flying public and the many customer service issues that arise because of it. My other half flies the -88 for Delta and comes home after a 4 day trip exhausted... usually every single time. And they bid trips that start in the afternoon.

Don't get me wrong... this airline flies at night! You'll have some long nights, and some even longer nights during your career. With that being said, the flexibility to move things around and to find the type of flying that suits is easily attainable with a little seniority. Don't count FedEx out of your career end goal-- it's actually quite nice on dark side!
Click to expand...

You make it sound very, very appealing...
 
bimmerphile said:
You make it sound very, very appealing...
Click to expand...

Everyone is different and it's just one opinion of many. Some guys find flying at 3am to be absolutely atrocious and never get used to it, some put up with it, and some love it. It's not for everyone, and there are a lot of appealing things about flying for the passenger airlines too. I miss nice terminals with real food (albeit, a paycheck for a sandwich, but I digress.) I won't lie, I commuted into MEM one night, got about 2 hours and then flew 4 hours to Reno at 3am... it was long and I was pretty zonked when we finally got to the hotel. So it's not always hunky-dory. AM outbound flights under 1.5hrs are a joke. You're at the hotel by 5-6 and in bed before the sun comes up. It's just... different. For some people it's better and suits them. For others, it's not as ideal as flying people. Good thing is that times are good and people may have a choice of 2, 3, 4 airlines to end up at.
 
Copied from APC. A good discussion of FedEx's current hiring practices.

"My experience here shows that quite a few of our new hires are arriving with both an entitlement mentality, and, as the saying goes, "Writing checks there bodies can't cash." It seems to be among the younger crowd (twenties and early thirties) coming from a year or so as captain at their previous outfit.

What some of these guys fail to understand is that their 1000 PIC Turbine is the MINIMUM requirement for getting an interview. Most of the guys on the property here had 3000+ PIC Turbine to get the interview prior to this hiriing wave. Those were the competitive numbers back then. Moreover, I've had to counsel some of these Millennials to tone down their bragging. I tell them they'll be flying with guys/gals with combat experience, air medals, years of bush pilot flying, and thousands of hours 121 PIC Turbine. And while their box work is often very good, their hand flying and decision making are more in line with a young, inexperienced pilot.

I prefer the old way: pilots hiring pilots."
 
Kekistan said:
Copied from APC. A good discussion of FedEx's current hiring practices.

"My experience here shows that quite a few of our new hires are arriving with both an entitlement mentality, and, as the saying goes, "Writing checks there bodies can't cash." It seems to be among the younger crowd (twenties and early thirties) coming from a year or so as captain at their previous outfit.

What some of these guys fail to understand is that their 1000 PIC Turbine is the MINIMUM requirement for getting an interview. Most of the guys on the property here had 3000+ PIC Turbine to get the interview prior to this hiriing wave. Those were the competitive numbers back then. Moreover, I've had to counsel some of these Millennials to tone down their bragging. I tell them they'll be flying with guys/gals with combat experience, air medals, years of bush pilot flying, and thousands of hours 121 PIC Turbine. And while their box work is often very good, their hand flying and decision making are more in line with a young, inexperienced pilot.

I prefer the old way: pilots hiring pilots."
Click to expand...
That guy needs to realize that this is happening everywhere. A guy from my regional just got hired at Delta... 23 years old and < 3000TT and no TPIC. I’d say our competitive minimums are still higher than anywhere else. Nobody is stepping foot in the door without 1000 TPIC.
 
Derg said:
That's about what I had when I got hired. Am I a bad person? :)
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Good for you! And good for the dude that just got hired with that time. Hard work and determining go a long way and I saw... if you can get hired with those times you deserve it.

All I’m saying is that FedEx guys should realize that people are getting hired with a lot less than what was traditionally thought of as competitive, everywhere. If airline A hires you with those times... do you just stay out and build more time because you don’t want the captains you’re about to fly with at the new airline to think you’re entitled? Hell no! Lol
 
Of course. But hiring a pilot is well, well beyond simple numbers.

If I had a dime for every time my recruiting friend heard "You didn't hire my buddy Jim and he had 10,000 hours and two type ratings! THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN!" he'd be drunk, on the deck of his yacht, as the empty bottles of Dom Perignon roll back and forth with the waves. :)

I need to retire. That sounds amazing.
 
Derg said:
Of course. But hiring a pilot is well, well beyond simple numbers.

If I had a dime for every time my recruiting friend heard "You didn't hire my buddy Jim and he had 10,000 hours and two type ratings! THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN!" he'd be drunk, on the deck of his yacht, as the empty bottles of Dom Perignon roll back and forth with the waves. :)

I need to retire. That sounds amazing.
Click to expand...
Haha! It does.
 
Kekistan said:
Why is FDX ALPA wanting to get rid of their A plan pension?
Click to expand...
The current A-plan is capped at 130k per year. Sounds great but it's been 130k for awhile and 130k won't go very far in the future. Something needs to be done, the new plan they are researching is being discussed with the company and the membership but the situation is a lot more complicated than just the union is trying to get rid of the a-plan.
 
mikecweb said:
The current A-plan is capped at 130k per year. Sounds great but it's been 130k for awhile and 130k won't go very far in the future. Something needs to be done, the new plan they are researching is being discussed with the company and the membership but the situation is a lot more complicated than just the union is trying to get rid of the a-plan.
Click to expand...

Understood. Seems like the vast majority on APC are vehemently against the proposed new plan. They say the proposed plan will make the pension vulnerable to market forces and will no longer differentiate FedEx from the other legacies by having a classic A plan defined benefit.
 
Kekistan said:
Copied from APC. A good discussion of FedEx's current hiring practices.

"My experience here shows that quite a few of our new hires are arriving with both an entitlement mentality, and, as the saying goes, "Writing checks there bodies can't cash." It seems to be among the younger crowd (twenties and early thirties) coming from a year or so as captain at their previous outfit.

What some of these guys fail to understand is that their 1000 PIC Turbine is the MINIMUM requirement for getting an interview. Most of the guys on the property here had 3000+ PIC Turbine to get the interview prior to this hiriing wave. Those were the competitive numbers back then. Moreover, I've had to counsel some of these Millennials to tone down their bragging. I tell them they'll be flying with guys/gals with combat experience, air medals, years of bush pilot flying, and thousands of hours 121 PIC Turbine. And while their box work is often very good, their hand flying and decision making are more in line with a young, inexperienced pilot.

I prefer the old way: pilots hiring pilots."
Click to expand...

That guy is 100% a republican-voting union member mouth breathing idiot.

I bet his favorite word is “snowflake”. I hate that stupid word lol.
 
Kekistan said:
learhawkerbe400 said:
Agree. That’s precisely why i used it.
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What do you hate about it?
Click to expand...

9f3ea1ccc969bb1419e282bffa985151.jpg
 
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