Originally Posted by
C-17 Driver
Completely concur with you. I'm a junior NB captain now. The WB flying is fantastic except for the backside of the clock. It was taking a incremental toll on me. I definitely felt chronically fatigued most of the time. I am sleeping through the night which is nice. The EWR trips leaving Europe were difficult on me. I was waking up at 0630 local time (0030 body clock) for a 0730 local time van to the airport. When I was flying out of IAD, I recall the trips leaving a couple hours later and that made a huge difference for me.
If and when the new Fifi aircraft show up, I am looking forward to a near-Europe / domestic mix of flying. I'm relatively new to the NB flying (did a short stint in '08 as a half-winger before I was furloughed) and so far...I'm enjoying the pace. I understand that some of this enjoyment is coming from flying a different aircraft and the feeling of almost being at a different company, but I am enjoying it nonetheless.
Bottom line is that the phrase "Different strokes for different folks" is very applicable. One is not better than the other. One is just a better "fit" for someone than the other.
This is why I love the 756 flying because you get the best of both worlds. I just fear that when they retire the fleet there goes the diversified awesome flying by one fleet.
here’s hoping Boeing gets off its collective arse and makes a 797 to replace the 756!