Originally Posted by
BAe3100FO
Zero resentment or negativity. I respond to questions with my personal experience during my time their.
And just think…For reference, I can hold 320/737 Capt at several bases here. And will be a fairly senior 75/76 FO (767 is a wide body, no?) once I’m activated in the next month or two.
All this, without having to do the middle of the night hub turns with that dreaded 3-4 hour sit between the hours of 10pm - 2am. Only to have to go back out just as one hits their circadian low.
The 757 at FDX is the mule of the fleet over there, almost exclusively night hub turns and a lot are multi-leg. There’s a reason guys bid off that airframe ASAP. (at least that was my experience from guys in my newhire class and while browsing thru the bid pack)
But as others have said, some are able to manage and make it work, I wanted more from my career than “I make it work and find a way to suffer through my flying schedule” because -and let’s be honest here, night hub turns are brutal.
We do red-eyes here but I mostly do them at the end of a 4-day trip (makes commute very easy) and almost always with a 30+ hour layover before doing them. A simple all-nighter is cake vs having to sit for 3+ hours before having to start up and do it all over again. Any pilot on here can attest to the fatigue that one can get after having a sit for 3-4 hours during their normal work schedule, and for most of us that’s during daylight hours.
But I’m happy that you’re happy, If reposting 3 year old comments on here make you happy, then knock yourself out. I wouldn’t change a thing in my aviation career and I’m truly very blessed.
The 757 schedules are pretty tough. Not many of them are multiple legs though. But if you are not able to take a 2-3 hour nap in the sleep room, then I can see how it would be a nightmare for that first year. It’s not for everyone. But you are only required to be junior once. And once you are off the 757 (usually within a year or so), there are many choices as to the types of schedule you can bid.
Originally Posted by
C2078
While definitely not the best culture, you make it sound like it is a total nightmare. It has gotten much better through the years, not Southwest happy happy better, but better nonetheless as old school managers have retired. One thing I have found about UPS vs Fedex… at UPS you know the knife is coming straight at you, and you are prepared (as can be)… at Fedex, you are being pat on the back for a nice job, stroking your ego, while the knife is coming as well, just more subtle. There is a reason the Fedex CBA passes with just over 50% of the vote while UPS passed with 95%. The IPA membership has to be strong to deal with UPS. Nothing gets handed for free, even little things like blankets on long haul flights sometimes is a fight. But like any job, you show up, do it to the best of your ability, and go home without any issues.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to make it sound so bad. But having to fight for blankets sounds really bad from the outside.