FedEx Seeks Common Type Rating For B-777F/B-757F
UPS – April 1, 2011 10:15 am EDT
FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX – News) has initiated talks with Boeing (NYSE: BA – News) in a proposal with the FAA to generate a ‘common’ type rating between the new B-777F and the B-757F. FedEx Express operates both aircraft as freighters in [their] overnight express freight business.
FedEx is the largest operator of the Boeing 777 freighter, and is rapidly acquiring the Boeing 757s to convert to freighters as replacements for the aging B-727 fleet. In 2000, FedEx Express began the conversion of their DC-10 aircraft to MD-10s. This conversion allowed FedEx to rapidly expand their wide body fleet and efficiently use the same crew members trained on the much more complex MD-11, an aircraft that weighs nearly 200,000 lbs (90,500 kg) more than the much lighter MD-10-10 aircraft. FDX Corp acquired many of the DC-10-10s from UAL and American Airlines that had reached their passenger service life efficiency limits and were in long term storage at different desert locations in the southwest.
With approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a common type rating would allow the efficiency of commonality between crews. Both aircraft are virtually the same within the cockpit, with only differences in weight, and some minor flight characteristics. These same differences were considered, but ultimately approved by the FAA with the MD-10 certification and common [MD-11] type rating. This commonality of training and type rating certificates would enhance training efficiency and allow FedEx Express to use typical international crews in the domestic environment during periods of system stress, such as holiday periods.