757,

We can agree to disagree all day until the wings fall off this. All I asked was do you a specific example of a dispatcher that told you they are the sole authority of one of your flights. Your lack of specifics shows that your posting was rhetorical, rather than factual.

You may think that I will have this great religious event when and if I ever upgrade at UPS. No offense, but I doubt it seriously. After flying as a former 747 Capt and 757 Capt (just like you), the only thing that will change will be which rest break and paycheck I get. After 6 airlines prior to this, this is the easiest place to work, with the most support. How many airlines have you worked at before here, please don't tell me, this is your first.

Do you really think at UPS they pressure you as a Capt to fly broken airplanes like they do at some of the scum bag outfits that don't have any money to fix them. At least UPS has the money to maintain their stuff. You said you flew worldwide, was that with a scum bag outfit like the last two that I was Capt at.

Maybe this was the case in 1988, when I presume you were hired, but I haven't witnessed it in the time I've spent here. And really, if you have all this experience with UPS, how do you know what it's like to work at American, Delta, United, TWA, USAir. After working at American/TWA and the regional for USAir, I can tell you examples of Capt's being fired for not taking broken planes and for not violating FARs and the contract. Our MEC Chariman was one of them at Allegheny.

You can question my experience until doomesday, its all listed in my APC profile, type ratings, planes, etc. However, it still doesn't support your paranoid claim that UPS dispatchers, gateway individuals, ACPs are out to get you or that they are the sole authority over your flight. I have never witnessed this at UPS. I've actually witnessed quite the opposite. The other day in HKG Flt 61, the Capt asked for more fuel, and the gateway ordered more fuel and the dispatcher sent an ARTR for the incresed fuel burn and planned weights...factual event.

At the ACMI, if I ordered more fuel it would have taken at least 3 hours. We didn't have our own employees working the ground staff it was a handler, that really didnt give a poop, we didnt have satcom, ACARS, CPDLC, or an office where we could get our own paperwork, we would have to go to another airline and borrow their SITA address to get our paperwork, and it never came out in the clean form we get it at UPS, it was always had pages that went on past the page break so the info was all over the place. Do you think our paperwork was right ? Usually not, it was not uncommon to be on Amendment 5 or 6 before we even took off.

Do you think our flights plans ever made it to flow control in Brussels. Usually not.

When UPS started flying into Almaty a year and half ago ACPs called new hires and FDX ACPs in to help them plan it, because a handful of new hires used to fly thru Almaty, Biskek, Tashkent, and Urumqi before. With all the experience in SDF, why would UPS waste their time talking to us inexperienced new hires about ops into these cities ?

We had flight followers, not rated dispatchers, who were Embry Riddle interns as our worldwide dispatchers. At UPS the dispatchers have certificates and are accountable to the FAA. Are you really sure being a Capt at UPS is harder than it was at any ACMI...puhhleease. Untill you see how the poor live, don't tell them what's it's like to be poor.

I'll never say I've seen it all, but here at UPS this is a cake walk, and our dispatchers and the support we get in comparison to other places makes it work just fine.

I gotta ask, are you really that unhappy working for UPS and think this is a crummy outfit ? I find that hard to believe since many of the very experienced here have decided to fly past age 60 instead of leaving so they must think this is a good gig too.

I'm very lucky and very thankful I'm not working at some of the other places, and if I left today there would be 10,000 applicants that would happily step into my spot.

I've said my peace...this is a good gig. Your mileage may vary.

Over and out, I'll go back to my igloo.


FF