Fx 757
 

Hey, has anyone seen the new FX 757, tail # N915FD?

It was sittin over by Hangar 11/12 last night.

I like it, looks like an ex BA A/C.

Here it is in it's last livery:
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0932432/M/


Boeing 757-236 C/N:24120 S/N174 Registration:N915FD Airline:FedEx Remarks:regd 27feb07, delivery 28feb-02mar07 TLV-STN-KEF-BGR-MEM ex reg:4X-EBO

A couple of 757 questions
 

Anybody know if FDX is planning on having winglets put on the 75's during the mod? And did I miss a discussion about wake vortices and how they're going to cram this plane into a typical MEM recovery?

Majority of our outbounds are widebody anyway and the few 727's have to wait behind a heavy more often than not.

Recovery is the same dynamic as above.

Any more rumours out there of a EWR 757 base ??

Talked to one of the gate planners a while back and he said none of our 757 would have winglets. It increases the wingspan 8-10' and the gates will not be set up for them.

Yea...and "none of our MD11 will fly international and require sleep quarters"...we all know what happend to that guy! So they will get the gates all done and THEN a bean counter will deceide that we need winglets to save money! That is the FedEx way...:D

Last word was no way, no how on a EWR domicile. This was about a month ago, straight from the new VP of Flight.

Guess I better start thinkin' of a place to live in northern Jersey.....!

Doubt that, word from our former Central Region CP was that GSO is ramping up to take a lot of flights away from EWR. He mentioned landing fees are twice as much up in Jersey - and it smells terrible......

How many guys are trained and ready to fly the 757? I would think that these are FX crews flying them across the pond to MEM and then on to BFM for conversion. It is my understanding that the A/C will be operational in the FX system come late this year, so I would deduce that there are likely pilots and mechanics trained and ready to go?

Anybody note the fact that this aircraft has Rolls Royce engines...

Delta, Northwest, and Untied all use the P&W motors. AA, USairways, and BA use the RR motors, which are supposed to be quite a bit more reliable than the Pratts. I guess this narrows it down a tiny amount as to where the planes will be coming from.

The vast majority of 757's had the RR motors.

N

According to the news report from the conversion vendor, the deal is for 87(vs. 90) 757 conversions and the sourcing deal that FDX has signed doesn't specify engine exclusivity so they will likely include both types. As you said, the vast majority are RR but I don't think that rules out a large purchase from anybody-especially if mergers and fleet commonality issues arise like AA selling their ex-TWA 757's to DL.

All I want to know is do the RR's start faster than the P&W's? Also known as the "Push & Waits."

757
 

All of the news reports say first revenue flying for the purple 757's in 2008, not 2007. As far as rolls versus pratt, I think you'll have to take what you can get. I'm still wondering where all of the airframes are coming from; who has responsibility for finding 90 used 757's?

JMO

Pilot7576

There are a half dozen guys in the 757 project office that are type rated in the airplane now (trained at DAL in ATL) but only 3 of them are doing the ferry flights. Since we're getting every type of engine and cockpit cofiguration ever made (beggars can't be choosey when buying 90 used airplanes), Flt Stds is keeping the risk down by using a few hand picked guys to move them around.

First revenue flights won't occur before first quarter CY2008. Rumor has it that maintenance and engineering are behind already in their efforts to get the airplane.

P&W vx. RR
 

The Rolls start much faster than the Pratts. Pratts seem to have slightly more guts up high in my opinion and reverse is better but I'll have to say I always liked the Rolls better.

First jet into revenue sevice Feb 08. Then starting in Apr 08 one new jet a month for the next year.


Past....

Sounds like the same info I saw on the MX intranet.

I doubt FDX will be worried about intermixing the fleet engines. They won't intermix engine manufacturers on the same bird but will do so within the fleet. Rumor has it (RHI) that FDX is planning a uniform flight deck with the same layout across the board. I have heard that they desire a 5 or 6 tube EFIS configuration as opposed to the original layout of the 757. There is a company that does it - but FDX wants to ensure that the company will stay in business all the way through the 8 years of mods we have coming. (ie they don't want to see what happened to the 727 conversions (-217) happen to this company. We'll see if that works...soon enough.

I've heard the first 757's have arrived from US and VARIG.

I've got my bid in....

Can anyone make any educated guesses/arguments for or against going to the 757 FO seat versus staying senior in the 727 FO seat?

Other than the obvious walkaround/paperwork/haz can stuff...

I'm a mere mortal (read: line pilot) so I have never heard anything official or unofficial concerning where the airplanes are going to be based, how they're going to be sequenced into the domestic system, etc.

Anyone?

Can anyone make any educated guesses/arguments for or against going to the 757 FO seat versus staying senior in the 727 FO seat?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sounds like a lat move to me????
Personally, I would never consider going to training unless it incurred a pay raise.

IMO the only reasons to go to the 757 right seat,
1. you can't hold a wide body are still an FE.
2. You're an FE and want to upgrade but want a little more seniority than you would have in a wide body.
3. The 757 will be based in your hometown and you can hold the trips
4. You think you will get trained early and not fly the rest of the year due to training bumps
5. you have model 757s, stuffed 757 planes, and a tatoo of the 757, named your dog 75, 757 sheets, etc...

Unless you're sure the 757 will fly your preferred trip - to home, a vacation spot, girlfriend's house, your girlfriend's sister's house. etc.....;)

727 FO here ... Waiting as well for THE PLAN ... I think you would have more seniority in the right seat of the 757 then the right seat of the 727 given the pay rate/training requirement/added duties. No glass experience here ... so there is a benefit too spend time in the right seat of a 757 (2 years for lateral move), with a plan too move too the left seat of the 757 ... that would be a benefit from my view point and something I am thinking about.

It is.

Past.....

Someone posted a couple of weeks ago about the possibility of a 757 base at AFW...anymore news on that? Or was I dreaming?

My guess would be dreamimg.

Past...

what are the chances of all or most of the busses coming back to the U.S. and the 757s taken their place over in Europe?

That's one of the ways I heard it when in indoc...of course I heard it 3 other ways from 3 different people as well. No one knows as far as I can tell.

The Europe thing went like this...The Bus is too big for Europe and the 72 is too small. 75 would fit nicely but they want to keep it here until they get enough a/c to send over there all at once. I forgot the number but I think it was around 20 or so.

The number I heard was 8 airframes to start up the 757 European operation. It will also be where they go first (early 08) with the first Memfo-based airframes showing up in early 09. The location of the European domicile is what's holding up the next big bid - the training letter for that will include 757s to Europe so they have to have everything nailed down before they let the crazy masses bid on it.

This info is almost two months old, so it's probably been changed 7 times since then.

"The number I heard was 8 airframes to start up the 757 European operation."

So where will FedEx base them?

TH1

A 300 in Europe
 

While it's true that the 'Bus is too big for some of the markets in Europe, it's also a fact that they had to send 2 A-300's over to SIBA-land for a couple of the bigger markets. I've heard that the SIBA fleet will be a mix of the 2 types(A-300/310 and B-757) and that a domicile in Europe won't work until there are big enough numbers of crews to justify, again, probably both types.

Uh, two sentences later I said that they are still trying to nail down the location of the domicile so that it can be included on the bid. But if you want rumors, I'll give you rumors: Zurich, Frankfurt and Prague. Zurich is wicked expensive and they're probably looking at some sort of COLA to base guys there. Prague is cheap but the infrastructure outside the city is strictly third-world, so some concerns there as well. Frankfurt might have the fewest headaches. Believe it when you see it on the bid (or when the first guy moves!)

I don't remember them ever mentioning a COLA when they were thinking of a Paris domicile. Is Zurich that much more expensive than Paris? Frankfurt, however, would be the perfect place, if for no other reason than that's where Manfred is. He could run the entire show, more efficiently, with fewer staff, less disruptions, and still supply adult beverages to the transiting crews.:D

I'll let the SIBA Bus boys chime in here.

Aren't the SIBA (CDG) Buses the A-310's? (smaller buses)

What is the payload difference /fuel burn difference between the A-310 and the 757? Is it really so different as to make a reaal cost savings?

The A-310 carries Big cans that are compatible withe the MD-11, the 757 does not.

It would seem to me, with all the Airbus's flying around europe, that it would make more sense (maintenance and parts and supply wise) to have Airbus equipment over there, not to mention the politically correct intra Europe.

The company already has a very flexible SIBA system. I am still curious as to what the Real Cost savings would be putting 757's there? If the business grows over there in a few years, the company could simply replace the A-310's with A-300-600's with no training costs or additional Bid requirements. Not to mention the training costs involved if they really decide to put a base over there...........(We have been hearing that for over 12 years now what has changed).

I'm voting for Prague!:D

Who's Manfred again?

He provides our transportation to/from the hotel/airport in FRA.

Just got back from two weeks of SIBA. Flew A300 all 90% of the time and was full, there are still A310 here also. From the CDG people the 757 are going to ADD TO the Airbuses. They are going to replace the ATRs and smaller planes that are serving smaller markets. The problem is getting the freight over the pond due to lack of lift. Apparently sales have stopped pushing fedex in europe due to lack of lift. JL & DM were in paris a few weeks ago looking at the domocile issue. No answer on that, CDG is still in the running from what I hear.