UPS commute
 

Can anyone give me an idea how a ANC commute from SEA or PHL would be?

Don't know but you may be competing w/ me from PHL in ~6-9 months. :eek:Unless the lines improve, it will be tough. Short trips w/ short blocks of days off for most.:mad:

How well do you handle STRESS?

I had a jumpseater that lived in ABE and commuted to ANC. He said it wasn't too bad and certainly better than at his last job. We have non stops from EWR to ANC and once a week from PHL. A little tougher in the other direction

This will get harder as more people try to commute. Had a J/S'er in RFD a couple of weeks ago miss a trip out of ANC because we had a few hour mechanical. I imagine this will happen more often when we add another 150+ crews in ANC. Lots of Pri3's....

You really have to go up the day before your trip in order to be safe.:(
fbh

Agree. I think he missed the flight the day before because of some car problems....and a commercial was out, because all the flights were sold out!!:eek:

Bad day I guess

Sea
 

I flew w/ a captain last week who was living in Seattle and said it wasn't bad at all on Alaska Airlines. Apparently, they're very accommodating w/ the UPS/FDX folks trying to get up there & back. As far as PHL is concerned, I'd happily pass on that. I have a hard enough time trying to get outta' there and somewhere w/in the lower 48!!

NE vs NW Commute
 

I think your question boils down to this: do I want to commute one leg or two (or possibly more)?

There are options daily out of EWR/PHL area, but there are far more options out of SEA. It's a lot closer, too. If you can, in any way, swing the move and fly Barney out of ANC, life will be very, very good. I commute from the northeast and it's been doable so far, but the time away costs are significant. You would likely be able to J/S home after a trip to SEA and go to bed with the family, instead of J/S home and arrive when the family is waking up.

PM if you want more details.

See you on the J/S

Thanks all for the comments

Beaker. C-17's are full in ANC...but I agree that would be great.

The commute from SEA to ANC is not too bad, I just ride on our company. The other direction is even easier,...I normally buy a ticket on Alaska Airlines to get home.:(
fbh

Another question about commuting - wasn't the jumpseat matrix that limits the amount of jumpseats the company can use only a temporary deal? In other words, once it expires (I thought a year or so after the domicile opened up?) will it get even more difficult to ride on us?

the jumpseat matrix is for keeps. There was a temporary deal to not DH guys up on the MD or something like that.

Rumor has FDX will be starting the SEA ANC round trip after new years. Welcome aboard!

"The commute from SEA to ANC is not too bad,"

My crash pad room-mate was trying to commute on that route.. took him all day to get to ANC. He started on a 8 or 9 AM flight and didn't get out till 9PM due to fuel restrictions and standbys.
I will agree with a previous poster... its a must to get up a day early and have time for rest/backups.

welcome and good luck.

In October and early November I had two commutes through SEA to ANC.

One week I was bumped off of 6 flights, the next week I was bumped off of 7 flights. Unequivocally I will NEVER commute through SEA again.

There are tons of revenue stand-by's, non-revs, and tons of jumpseaters. Also, Alaska's w/b system ends up with weight restrictions often on that route. Add to that Alaska jumpseaters and NW jumpseaters take priority. AS jumpseaters are obvious; however, because NW is some sort of a code share partner with AS, after you've been bumped all day and waiting around 12 hours, a NW guy can show up 15 minutes prior to departure and get listed ahead of you (and there are a lot of NW guys that commute SEA-ANC).

Furthermore, of the dozen times I've commuted through SEA, I have always, 100% of the time, been on the actual jumpseat. I appreciate the AS guys helping out when they can; however, based on my experience I would strongly recommend avoiding Alaska Airlines and Seattle.

Much harder than you think...
 

Don't kid yourself...here's proof of how hard it is to get to ANC!

DOUBLE TAKE: NO HO HO HO?

Alaska's Santa shortage

In a state that boasts a city named North Pole, malls are having a hard time recruiting red-suited toy-givers

BETH BRAGG

Scripps Howard News Service, with a report from Philip Jackman

November 29, 2007

ANCHORAGE -- For a city that shares the same area code with a place called North Pole and boasts a living, breathing reindeer among its downtown attractions, Anchorage has a ho-ho-ho factor that is surprisingly low-low-low.

Whether it's because of background checks that thin out the field of jolly fat men or the time demands of the seasonal job, mall and store managers say there's a Santa shortage in Alaska's largest city.

At the local Dimond Center mall, marketing director Mary Fairbanks said: "We had to bring ours from Gallup, New Mexico." Why the difficulty finding a jolly, rotund local fellow to fill the role?

"We wanted one that was naturally bearded" - for that authentic Santa look- "and that's a little bit difficult," she told Double Take yesterday. "I saw a couple of local guys that had the natural beards but neither of them were interested in doing it for an entire month.

"We'd had the same Santa for five years before that and we were happy with him. ... But something came up and he couldn't do it any more."

So the Dimond Center found its Santa through Noerr Corp., a Colorado business that sends Santas all over the United States. This is the first year the mall has used the company, which - like a number of Santa providers - makes money by selling photos.

But such Santas aren't cheap. For the Nov. 23 to Dec. 24 stint, the Dimond Center is paying about $8,000, "and we pay for his plane ticket and for his hotel," Ms. Fairbanks added.

Part of the cost of a Santa includes expensive background checks, which Noerr carries out, and which have become an absolute must. Nobody wants a Santa with a criminal record.

But plane tickets? Said Ms. Fairbanks: "I asked him, 'Why do I have to buy you a plane ticket if you're really Santa?' And he said, 'because the reindeer only go on Christmas Eve.' "

Linda Boggs, manager of Anchorage's Mall at Sears agrees that finding a Santa is not easy. "One year we were actually Santa-less," she recalled. That was a disaster.

"I only know of about two or three in town," Northway Mall manager Ron Sassett said.

But luckily for Ms. Boggs, she found a local one this year. Or at least the photo studio in the mall to which she subcontracts out Santa matters found one.

"This is a fellow who's been doing it for a while at parties and things like that but he also works - that's one of the problems, too." This year's Santa has managed to fit it into his regular work schedule with the help of a backup Santa.

Levi Nilsson, owner of Apogee Studios and Ms. Boggs's Santa hirer, says he pays between $10 and $15 an hour for a Santa, depending on whether the applicant has a real or a fake beard, whether he has his own Santa suit and what quality the suit is.

Bart Mangum, the Santa from Noerr working at the Dimond Mall, is a proud member of the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas, which boasts more than 1,200 members across the United States.

He's been doing this for 10 years, and while his travels have taken him to Texas and Louisiana, he never figured he'd wind up so close to Santa's workshop. He's amused that Alaska imported a Santa Claus from New Mexico.

Mr. Mangum was scheduled to work in Southern California this year, but that job was cancelled. Noerr called soon with a new assignment.

"Where you gonna send me now? The North Pole?" Mr. Mangum recalled asking. "There was this pretty long pause. And then they said, 'Almost.' "

ME TOO ... and it will not be by choice !

:mad:

Later, Brown CC

United is hiring.

They weren't interest ... I'm overqualified and untrainable. But I'll keep that in mind... you would not move up a number anyway !

:D

Later, Brown CC

I couldn't get on at United if I wanted to. But I'm logging hours like crazy...how many thousands do I need ? How many shuttle landings, etc etc.

Back to jumpseating, especially in my case Tampa to Anchorage, it's a chore. It takes days-off out of your monthly schedule and it's a true test of diplomacy, contingency management and the use of sedatives.

FF

Tampa Florida? I could not imagine. You must have nerves of STEEL!!

A liver of steel, maybe but my nerves and brains are made of gelatin...strawberry flavor, I believe.

Oh well, back to my cave.

FF

I was thinking that SDF-ANC would be a rough commute......

It's a very tough commute..SDF-ANC...the jumpseats are usually taken. But, if you are lucky to get one there are usually lots of opportunities to spoon in the bunk :eek:.

ANC-SEA Commute
 

It stinks - I have been doing it for a year and it is nothing but stress. With the increase in pilots at UPS and FEDEX the JS situation is not getting better.

Think twice about this one unless you have a company JS in your back pocket.

RV:mad::mad: