Jumpseating on UPS

JaceTheAce

JaceTheAce

Well-Known Member
I flew my JFK to SAN commute via SDF on UPS Airlines :D

I had nothing but a wonderful experience when jumpseating with them. First leg was on an A300. Very comfy jumpseat quarters and super comfy jumpseats. The second leg was in a 767. Same comfy jumpseats as well. The jumpseats recline more than a coach seat and have side-bolster headrests. What I was so thankful about most was the fact that UPS set up a crew meal for me with catering once they knew I listed for the jumpseat. The layover in SDF was nice - there is a cafeteria that has food at extremely cheap prices. I had biscuits and gravy with sausage for $1.39 (I know, bad for my health...but I needed some comfort food for the long commute).

What I found was:
No TSA to deal with.
No crying babies.
No drunk passengers.
No periodic PA announcements.
No passengers dinging the loud FA service chimes.
Etc...etc...etc...

It was a way to get me home earlier, even though it was not the shorter non-stop flights I'm used to taking.

Thanks to the pilots and UPS for the ride!
 
Don't forget about the veteran cargo commuter that showed you the ropes! :D

Seriously, UPS and FedEx are awesome to jump on!
 
The only problem with riding UPS or FEDEX is getting from the cargo ramp to the passenger ramp in large airports like O'Hare is nearly impossible.. or will be a hefty cab fee. Our ramp guys used to sneak us over in the baggage trucks but that is no more.. stupid TSA.

Other than that major hassle they are awesome to deal with. Call the # and they list you and get you taken care of. They treat you very well.

SAN is definitely easy though since they park about 50' from us on the Eagle/Skywest ramp.
 
ERfly said:
Don't forget about the veteran cargo commuter that showed you the ropes! :D

Seriously, UPS and FedEx are awesome to jump on!
Click to expand...

Hey! haha, I forgot you were on here! It was a nice surprise seein' ya in the UPS cafeteria! How was your commute that night?

Thanks again for showing me what to do. I was a bit clueless once I got to SDF... in how to connect to the next flight. The van I hopped onto for my airplane actually had another UPS pilot commuting to San Diego, so he helped me out as well. It all fell into place perfectly by finding good people by chance!
 
Always good to see the offline guys/gals. We're not the easiest to find or get to or from the pax terminal but generally speaking there's always an open jumpseat or two.

Welcome aboard!:hiya:
 
JaceTheAce said:
Hey! haha, I forgot you were on here! It was a nice surprise seein' ya in the UPS cafeteria! How was your commute that night?

Thanks again for showing me what to do. I was a bit clueless once I got to SDF... in how to connect to the next flight. The van I hopped onto for my airplane actually had another UPS pilot commuting to San Diego, so he helped me out as well. It all fell into place perfectly by finding good people by chance!
Click to expand...

It was a pretty nice ride home. The crew even asked the van driver to drop me off at the parking lot in LAX. It was pretty awesome! Glad you made it back ok, too.


A300Capt said:
Always good to see the offline guys/gals. We're not the easiest to find or get to or from the pax terminal but generally speaking there's always an open jumpseat or two.

Welcome aboard!:hiya:
Click to expand...

You guys are an absolute joy to jump on. You make the transcon commute so much more bearable. Plus, your catering on the flights is pretty good, too! If I didn't have to worry about being bumped in SDF on the way to EWR (happened once and almost made for a really bad day), I'd use you guys exclusively. When I can, I try to choose UPS as a commute. Most of the time, we're so late getting back into EWR, I've already missed the last SDF flight. Gotta love ground stops. Any time we can help any UPS or FedEx guys out, you're always more than welcome on my jumpseat. You guys have helped me immensely!
 
RPM said:
The only problem with riding UPS or FEDEX is getting from the cargo ramp to the passenger ramp in large airports like O'Hare is nearly impossible.. or will be a hefty cab fee. Our ramp guys used to sneak us over in the baggage trucks but that is no more.. stupid TSA.

Other than that major hassle they are awesome to deal with. Call the # and they list you and get you taken care of. They treat you very well.

SAN is definitely easy though since they park about 50' from us on the Eagle/Skywest ramp.
Click to expand...


Oh man, I can picture it now: The ramper gets to the ramp checkpoint. The guard opens up the curtain on one of the foreman carts in the string he is pulling and suddenly a mob of pilots dart out, in full uniform with they're bags! :D
 
Haha.. yeah, i should have been more clear.. I meant the beat up ford rangers.. not the actual trailer carts lol.
 
CirrusMonkey said:
...pilots dart out, in full uniform with they're bags! :D
Click to expand...

They're=A contraction of the word, "They are."
Their=Correct spelling and possessive interpretation of the quote, "Their bags!"

:banghead:

You send resumes out with that language? Let's get America to spell correctly again, one word at a time, no pilot left behind! :panic:
 
Agreed to all. I just jumped on UPS a few weeks ago DEN-SDF-ORD. Great experience, great people, different world (a preferable one, IMO). Just make sure you know how you're getting from the cargo ramp to the terminal. Denver has a shuttle every 1/2 hr. ORD, not so much.
 
I was trying to get through ORD to BMI to visit my brother, and I was too late to make the last ORD-BMI connection for the evening, so I figured sleeping in the crashpad for a few hours, then jumping on UPS to get to ORD in the morning for the early connection was better than getting to ORD at 10:00 and trying to sleep in the terminal (which I've done before).
 
nocturnalaviator said:
They're=A contraction of the word, "They are."
Their=Correct spelling and possessive interpretation of the quote, "Their bags!"

:banghead:

You send resumes out with that language? Let's get America to spell correctly again, one word at a time, no pilot left behind! :panic:
Click to expand...

Are you serious? What are you an English professor or a pilot? This is an internet message board....honestly who cares! To insinuate he fails to proof important correspondence just becuase the guy could care less about syntax on a forum is ...."juuuuuuussst a bit outside."

Just silly silly silly....

Jace, thanks for sharing the experience. UPS or Fed Ex don't really work for my commute but they can get me to SAN to see pop. Sounds like the way to go.
 
Anyone every flown on FedEx or UPS into Atlanta? If so, how did you get from the North Cargo back to the terminal?

I'm debating taking them tomorrow night on my commute home...sounds like it would be a much better ride!
 
JaceTheAce said:
What I found was:
No TSA to deal with.
No crying babies.
No drunk passengers.
No periodic PA announcements.
No passengers dinging the loud FA service chimes.
Etc...etc...etc...
Click to expand...

the reasons many people fly cargo for a living
 
I would like the add that although there's no TSA, most of the larger freight hubs have security screeners. But there's never any long lines and the most of the screeners aren't really ever paying attention anyways.:)
 
I used FedEx to get home after my last trip. A300 direct from EWR to ORD. It was outstanding! Now I no longer fear late shows. I'm still leery of taking them in the morning of an early showtime, but I will use cargo whenever I can now.

The ride actually has opened my eyes to the world of cargo, which was the primary reason I wanted to try out jumpseating on FedEx. I think it may have adjusted my career goals just a bit.
 
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