Originally Posted by
Perm11FO
The Western Airlines post that TonyC shared is the proverbial "putting lipstick on a pig" IMHO....
Are you hatin' on Western GLOBAL specifically, or MD-11s in general?
I'll bet Western Global has some numbers to back up their claims. What do you have?
Have you noticed the new fleet of ULDs (cans) around Memphis? All those shiny new aluminum boxes were acquired specifically for the B-767. They're AADs, and they conform perfectly to the upper deck of the B-767.
The MD-11 uses AMJs. Except for one corner, they're a big cube. On the MD-11, they leave room along the side to walk from the aft to the front and back, and they leave room on the top for a fire suppression system.
The AADs leave about 4 inches around the contours -- not enough room for anything.
And here's the thing. While the AMJs hold about 590.3 cubic feet of freight, the smaller AADs only hold about 502 cubic feet. Since we usually bulk out before we hit weight limits, that's a significant loss of capability. And it doesn't end on the main deck.
The MD-11 carries half-width ULDs, LD3s, which carry about 159 cubic feet of freight, and full width LD6s, which carry about 316 cubic feet of freight. The B-767 carries LD2s and LD8s, which carry about 120 and 243 cubic feet of freight respectively. Every can on the B-767 carries less than the corresponding can on the MD-11.
How efficient are two engines if you're leaving freight on the ramp?
Take a look at FedEx's Charter Website -- they don't even list the B-767 as a player.
FedEx Express Container Guide
.