I was just curious; generally, do new hires start off as a FE on the 27? Is it possible or even common to start as a FO on a MD11? Do the majority of FDX pilots that fly out of ANC live here or do they commute? Thanks for your time.

Dittidano

 

Most guys start as 727 S/O. Very few classes start as 727 F/Os or DC-10 S/Os, but there are rumors that Fedex might hire guys into the MD-11 right seat, but nothing confirmed.

 

I'm based in ANC. I recall our union rep saying around 65% of our pilots are commuters.

Last I heard, the Company is not offering the MD-11 to new hires during Basic Indoc. However, we do have several pilots who successfully bid into the MD-11 in ANC, during an equipment bid which occurred during their first year. In fact, our newest pilots arrived in ANC in the final months of their probation.

ANC is the Company's most junior base, so I'm not sure someone in their first year with the Company could bid into the MD-11 in MEM or LAX, but I haven't checked to know for sure. ANC never gets double deadheads which makes commuting difficult, and a lot of our trips are the same--there are no really "senior" trips or "junior" trips. Both combine to make ANC less appealing to senior guys. Consequently, those who commute to ANC probably continue to do so after they could hold lines in either LAX or MEM, because they really like flying mainly in Asia, they enjoy the small pilot group we have, they hate MEM, or they enjoy the "rebel" label we seem to have.

We were told last year that the Company wants to increase the seniority in ANC, but wants it to happen for free. Typical. Changing our trips to make ANC more attractive to senior guys would cost money and they won't spend one nickel more as long as guys are willing to put up with the commuting hassles and the sameness of our lines. So we will remain the junior base for a while.