Originally Posted by
bikeva
Really interested in living in the same area. How easy is it to get EWR as a layover? Are you able to spend some nights at home during a trip?
I lived down the shore. Brick/Toms River area. Door to Ops was 1+15 and that included the bus ride from the employee parking lot. Getting Newark layovers is never hard, the question is, how much sleep are you willing to sacrifice to go home? With a Newark layover, it was 30/70 whether I went home or not. Realize that at FedEx, you are parking the plane at 6-8 in the morning after being up all night. Sometimes the last thing I needed to do was go home. Even though my wife and kids were understanding about my needing sleep, internal pressures are always there to take care of things around the house, spend time with the kids, etc. If the kids had a school function, big sports game or something like that, I'd go and do the layover at home. Other than that, I'd just go to the crew hotel. It becomes easier the older your kids get, as they understand that Dad can't play right now because he's napping.
Sometimes my family would drive up for dinner with me. The best thing about Newark it that it's usually pretty easy to get a weekend layover there. Then you can go home and enjoy time with your family on Fred's dime. Or, even better, double-deadheads to and from Newark.
Just realize that for every FedEx pilot that says they bid their home town and sleep in their bed everyday, there are just as many that don't due to sleep/rest constraints.