FDX: your first 10 yrs vs. family
 

I have been lurking around....ALOT. It's my first post I know but please answer me this.

For the guys there now, junior or senior, please think back and remember your first few years with FedEX. How did you manage the schedules vs. your family at home? At the previous cargo gig i did, it was a stand-up overnight 5 nights a week. 4-5 hours of sleep a night (i guess equivalent to a sort) and managed by a nap in the day of 4 hours every other day (gotta have some time to run errands or exercise) 2 years of that and i was not only programmed to fall asleep every 8 hours but the grumpiest most short tempered bastard possible...I never got a full sleep ever and it showed. My wife does not want me to be that again. I don't blame her. I don't even want that, but.....the schedule at FDX is NOT what that was..but it does fly all night and I prefer being on a physical day schedule for my family. Being tired and grumpy is not going to work for me, but it would be a huge issue for my wife. I am at the point, that where I go next is the LAST place I go so I would like to learn as much about this as possible from the guys there now. so I would like to hear how you minimized the fatigue and gave the most possible ""up-time" to your family without the fatigue messing with your relationship. How do you make it work for you. How does your family make it work for you? I'd like to be rested enough to do things instead of sleeping at home while the wife and kid go to a parade.....or sleeping instead of going to the park or going on a drive with them. how did you do it? how did you remain functional and not a grumpy SOB when you got home?

I have a friend there now on the Airbus. He is somewhat of a night owl to begin with but a simple 5 hour nap when he gets home, waking up around 2 + falling asleep around midnight later on puts him back on a regular schedule and happy for the family. I do know that for anyone junior on a domestic schedule, you will work through a sort, most likely not sleep during it, and be up all night for many days a week and have a bunch of time off later on to recover, but changing back and forth every other week on that schedule? I have read alot and many have talked here about the benefits of working there, but I just haven't found yet the real discussion on how to keep yourself and your family together on the schedule.

is it a type of schedule (days on vs. off) of preference to minimize the fatigue?

To interview at FDX right, would require prep. and to do that to win, it will cost money i would rather not spend unless i was serious. (and yes, i'm in a position where an interview could be likely so i'm trying to discover my seriousness) So, I want to know as much as possible now, before spending the money i don't have alot of on something i wish i hadn't and hating where i go.

maybe i'm thinking too much into this.

love to hear the thoughts on it from the guys there.
thanks.

I don't mean to be short, terse, or otherwise negative but it's night cargo. Your question could receive as many answers as the number of those who choose to answer it. It works different for everyone.
As you can imagine the direct trade-off is QOL v. Pay. From what you posted it sounds like you'd want to sit in the back of 727 as long as possible to gain the most seniority, and thus, QOL.
I've been here around 5 years and have been in widebody right seat and backseat of the 727.
Good luck with your choice. Bottom line is unless you're really, really senior in your seat and/or live in domicile, you're going to probably be doing a lot of night flying/hub turns.

Other careers beckon.

I am thinking flying of this type just might not be for you. Oh... and you make it work(to some extent) by using the days you DO have off to be with your family.

I moved the family to a small town outside Memphis 10 years ago and mostly just bid R-A+ or R-B. I have only done 5 night hub turns in the past 6 years and my neighbors think I am on welfare because I am always home. The neighbors also keep asking when the bank is going to foreclose since I apparently do nothing to get paid. Memphis is not the best place to live but there are several small towns nearby that are peaceful, safe and fun. If you want to spend your time with family and not at work it is the best deal going. Do not know if you have young kids but you can NEVER make up time when they are young. I am just glad we have all those folks that live in great places around the country that do those night hub turns so I don't have to.

My 2 cents

ok, I expected this but I was hoping to get answers HOW guys did it. not non-certified counselors answers telling me to find a diffferent career? i'm not some kid here....i got quality time just like alot of others here and am looking for the next option.

explanation?
Yes i prefer daytime. everyone does when it comes to family. But, if it can work on the FDX schedule...i'm asking how YOU made it work.

dont tell me to find another career because someone out there might be having an incredibly horrible time making it work and its too late becuase hes already IN the job....and the informaiton might really help them somehow. I never run into any FedEX guys in my jumpseats or in the terminal..so how else can i ask more than just the one guy i know? things work out different for everyone.

I'm no stranger to night shift work. If there is a preference in a dream schedule...of course anyone would prefer THAT. but guess what....wherever I or anyone else go it's not always an option. I'm just trying to minimize the impact of the junior schedule on the family If I were to go that route....and many others have and have been successful at it. so do share how you did it. When did you recover the sleep, etc. so you could maximize family time. It's more about trying to find out HOW PEOPLE DID IT instead of getting career counseling from judgemental posters....**** why did i even attempt to LEARN anything from you guys if this is what i'm going to get.

so sorry if its inconvenient to have a family. I apologize for being part of the human condition and to actually have...oh my god...hopes for my family. for some of you family might not have worked at all. for others it has....well...where it has for those....do tell how. for those that it does not?....tell why it didnt. so we can all learn.

meXC: thank you for that input it was valuable.
hercdriver130: the econd part of your response was very good. thank you i appreciate that. it's a given but i'm trying to figure out how to maximize that after getting home tired.
hankhill: thank you very much for that. that's exactly the kind of stuff i need to hear. moving it not so much an option tho...but...im positive the commute isnt too bad from where im at.

again, schedule recovery anyone? your own way?

Take the time to ride our jumpseat to MEM (or IND, OAK, EWR, AFW) for a night sort and back home again. Talk to the guys flying and the ones you can catch in the jumpseat area. You will probably get better answers than from here on APC ;).

I've thought about that. You're probably right.

We have over 4,000 pilots and each has managed the schedule in their own way. Eventually you find out what works best for you. Eventually you will get to bid that type of flying.

Want to fly AM out and backs? You can be at home every day if you live in domicile. I can't stand them myself, but others bid this type of flying by choice. Rather fly longer, international trips? I guess you get my drift. As an individual, you need to find out what works best for YOU.

Flying at night sucks, and you'll do plenty of it here. The key is finding a way to minimize the pain. Almost all of us get used to it to some degree. Waking up at 1 AM used to be awful, and although I can honestly say I don't like it, it isn't that big of a deal.

I'd say your advice was good, get up at 1 AM and ride the jumpseat. See how it is for yourself.. Good luck

BeatUp:

Cant PM you. Not enough posts?

About half of the domestic flying is day flying, and the growth at FedEx is currently In the international markets. Internationally, you can go to HKG or CGN and do the hub turn thing, or you can fly the MD11 around the world or bounce around Europe or Asia for up to 12 days (not really day or night flying if you ask me), or fly long haul shorter duration 777 trips. Of course, any and all of these options require at least a tiny bit of seniority, and most should be attainable within the first 3-5yrs.

Personally, I liked the 12 day around the world trips for about 8-10 yrs, until I upgraded to Capt (at the 10yr mark). I can't hold that regularly as a junior MD Capt now, but I get lucky every now and then. Other than that, I try to minimize my commutes - week on/week off ideally. Deadheads help too, ie. traveling on the clock as opposed to a day off to get to/from MEM. When all else fails, I sleep till I'm hungry, then eat till I'm tired. ;)

For demographic and comparison purposes - been here 15 1/2 yrs, 50 yrs old, have a wife and 7yo daughter and I commute (3-3.5 hrs door to door, house to MEM, on a FedEx Jumpseat - was 7.5-9 hrs before we moved 5 yrs ago). When I'm home I do ALL the school pick ups/drop offs, volunteer when needed at school, run my daughter to her events (soccer, gymnastics, golf, riding, etc.) and give my wife a break. I just spent 4 days on a road trip with my daughter - amusement park, hiking and mtn biking in the mountains, etc.. Also, I will not think twice about going to the crashpad in MEM rather than hang out and wait for a jumpseat home if I'm really tired when I arrive in MEM at night at the end of a trip - I then get sleep at a more normal time, then catch a pax jumpseat home in the morning..

YMMV, void where prohibited, some contents may have shifted during shipping and handling....

beatupsuitcase,

As has been said, live in whatever domicile you're assigned to. Expect to get your last choice of lines/reserve for perhaps a year or so, depending on when you're hired, relative to the ongoing hiring. If you're at the front of the wave, you could possibly be off reserve in as little as 3 or 4 months, but if you're at the back of the wave, with no hiring for some period, it could stretch on for 3, 4, or even 5 years. 5 years on reserve could suck, but living in base could make it a little better.

Night flying is a fact of life here, and if you feel you can't adjust to it, based on your previous flying, then I'd look for other employment, where they don't do much night flying. One saving grace is that as we get older, we usually sleep a little less, so you have that going for you.

As for "keeping your family together", I don't believe that there's really one answer that fits all. That said, it does help if you have a spouse who understands the rigors of your job, and is willing to give you a little slack the first day home from a week-long trip. The kids will also have to understand that while you're working, you're gone, but when you are home, they can be made your first priority, after your wife of course.

However, this entire discussion may be a moot point, unless you've already been offered an interview. Good luck.

And for HankHill, all I can say to you is: That's some beautiful butt you show there, and that's all I'm going to say about that.:D

thanks for the last few comments guys. now i'm getting the picture, and i didn't have that before from anyone. but if anyone else has more to add feel free. the more to draw from the better.

I was hired in the spring of '87-and the union brief at the time included a comment that be sure your family is going to be happy wherever they live since they'll be there full time and you won't. I have commuted to fly 5-6 six day pairings my entire career and had the good fortune to be senior enough to hold double deadheads. My current a/c doesn't have too many d/h's-so I commute to MEM. It beats living there even if I have to pay for a crashpad and car.

busc, you might be surprised how much day flying you could be doing within a few years, if you are willing to not upgrade and go for quality-of-life over money. As stated above, about half our flying these days is daytime.

If you have been lurking on here for a while then you should know that you need to have some "Thick Skin" whenever you post a question to the masses. If flying by night was so bad, then why did 'RUSH" do a song called "Fly by Night?" I know...no relevance! Sounded good though, eh?

Fdx
 

I have been in ANC for 15 years and bid mostly reserve. It has been the best way to maximize my time at home with the family.

Beatup ...

As about a 75% MD-11 Captain, I've been able to hold daytime Reserve (1330 - 0130L) for several years (so I don't fly very many nights). Everything is a trade-off. Being on Reserve means I make slightly less money and work an extra day or two a month. As a commuter I have to have a crashpad and a car.

So, there are ways to avoid night flying if that's what you are interested in (but like someone said, we are in the overnight freight business).

This is a pretty good gig, most people find a way to make it work ...

YMMV


Mark

I have done very few night hub turns in my 10 year career here at FedEx. Went to ANC and mostly international with very few Subic night hub turns. Bid down to the planet (MEM) and did lots o day flying. You can be very creative with your schedule if you watch open time.

You could always go into a flt management position, after probation. You don't see those guys during the AM hub-turns too often.:rolleyes:

If you can afford it I hear that sitting reserve in Hong Kong doesn't keep you away from home too much.....plus the usual disclaimers!!:D

Alright beat. Been here ten years. If you are a good day sleeper this job is no problem. I'm not so it's tough doing night hub turns. But.........this is a great job. 10-12 days away from the family and they really won't see you while you're working if u don't want them to because you will be on the road.
The schedule can easily be leave monday morning, home saturday morning early afternoon. Home for 8 days, then do it again.
Lots of quality time off.
The ONLY downside of this job is the nights and you can always work days. They go senior but you can bid secondary lines and get workable schedules in no time. In addition, if you can get international trips, you will have some long legs but very long layovers at times too which will at least give you lots of time to get your sleep. The bottom line is night cargo can be tough as you know but this job is the best of the bunch and I highly recommend if you can get here.
Good luck.

The real question should have been, "the first 1 or 2 years vs family". Because after that, unless hiring comes to a standstill again, seniority takes over and you can remain senior in a junior seat or remain junior by moving up to more senior seats. That's how you control quality of life. Like others have said, if you get on at the front of a hiring spree, you can start holding lines and hopefully trip trade your schedule to meet your family life needs fairly soon.

flying nights...
 

I'm an Airbus FO that has been here going on 10 years. I spent the first 4 years living in Memphis on the panel and right seat of the 727. I avoided night flying and was either able to hold day flying or trade my night flights for day stuff - also did B reserve a lot (daytime reserve).

I then upgraded to the bus and moved to Texas at the same time and had a change in heart on my scheduling wishes. I now prefer nights - never thought I'd say that, but here's why:

Starts with the jumpseat - day flying jumpseat requires me to get up crazy early and drive in rush hour traffic to get to the airport. I then ride to Memphis only to sit there for most of the day (not making $). You fly outbound out of Memphis (sweating your butt off in the summer sun) and get to your layover city sometime around dinner time. Eat, have a beer and off to bed. The next morning you might have to get up at a crazy early hour again depending on the city. Did I mention there wasn't any time to work out or hang out in your layover city? You fly to Memphis and get there late morning and will sit in Memphis again all day.

Now for night ops: I short myself some sleep the day prior, take a nap late afternoon and then drive in for the late jumpseat to Memphis. In Memphis, my turn to flying is much shorter, but I still have time for a little nap. You get to your layover city sometime around sunrise, go to sleep, wake up in the early afternoon, eat lunch, tour the city/surf the internet/watch a movie, hit the gym, eat dinner, maybe another nap and then back in the jet and off to Memphis. At the hub, you have a few hours to eat and/or sleep. Rinse/repeat for a week. After your "week on", you jump back home and get in bed sometime around sunrise. Sleep til lunch time and then your back on family time. That night, I usually sleep pretty hard after running a little sleep deficit all week.

This is my night hub-turning routine. Like posted above, we have jets going in all directions at all hours so everyone's schedule is a little different, but this is what I aim for. I'm kind of a gym rat so I enjoy that time in the layover city. I also like not having to wake up to an alarm. I sleep as long as I can and then I still have a bunch of time in the layover city.

When I'm home for a week - I flush everything FedEx and take care of the house/kids/wife.

Good luck in your quest of getting hired. Hope this gives a little insight.

Goose17

Beatupsuitcase:

Good on you for coming here for advice. Thick skin is needed as one poster put it. Posting here shows you have the balls to get in the ring, take your shots, and maybe you are guy we need. If it was up to me, you'd be hired already, simply due to your bravery. But it isn't, so...

It sounds like if you do get hired, you should move to MEM and suck that up. You sound like you need a day schedule. I'd readjust that thinking. That isn't going to happen. This is primarily a night op for all of us for the first few years and that's just the fact. Like some have said, Memphis isn't the greatest place, but you can make it work for you. Sitting Reserve at home I've heard can be a great thing. The best thing about this place is that there is massive variety and you can do whatever you want...short, long, out and backs, domestic, international, day, night.

NIGHT--You will fly nights and it blows. If I never hub turn again, it won't be too soon. But you're going to likely do it. Assuming that you go to MEM, you could be flying crap for a while, that is, flying a lot of hubturns in the middle of the night. As always, your seniority will dictate what you can get. The 727 and the 757 are workhorses. You will work yourself silly in the middle of the night. Fine. Everyone did it and makes it through it. Some guys like flying the night stuff. Good.

As far as coping, everyone is different. Best comment so far was have a family that understands that you are going to need a day or two to readjust and a wife that cannot expect you to roll in Friday or Saturday AM and be ready to be functional. There is no way around the crushing fatigue that you will deal with during a weeklong hubturn. I can't tell you what will work. My experience has always been commuting, so I added a jumpseat on Monday night and I NEVER followed all this advice I'm about to give. I did it all opposite of what I'm telling you, and it hurt me. However, I'm going to assume that if you are lucky enough to get hired here and seeing as you'd like a day schedule (which is slightly whiny and idyllic, which sounds quite soft to us hardened dudes on this board...which is why you caught attitude in the early posts, deservedly so), you might have to wait for it for a while. But, that's all I'll say on that. So, IF I lived in base, here's what I would do:
1) Monday. Resist doing anything big. Like mowing the lawn, driving home from vacation, reroofing your house, anything stressful will just have to wait a week. Go into work early, around 9. Study FOM for help to get drowsy and you can sound very smart when someone has an FOM question in the middle of the night (good for those probationary reports). Sleep until 2 and go to work. Sleep all day. Eat/workout 3-5, nap until alert. ***Do not let any Captain invite you to sleep until 10:45 AM so you can be at the bar at 11:00 AM and have a few pops until the exact time he has calculated for you in advance (thanks!) because "This job doesn't have to suck and there is NO reason not to have fun on the layovers!". He might even offer to pay for EVERYTHING, including all your drinks and food for the whole week! Resist this tactic. Being hammered at 11:30 AM is no way to get around the system. Your sleep in the afternoon, while slightly rotational, will not be restful. After doing this for a week, you'll likely be more unsafe than normal. Save your drinking and your liver for when you have a 80 hour layover in Paris or when are so senior that you can do SIBA and you drink whatever you want while flirting with 70 year old, US flight attendants from your awful World Business Class seat on an airline named Delta, because they think you are "cute"...you aren't...they just have no perspective anymore. Clearly, I've digressed--this post is almost becoming more about me entertaining my friends here on this board rather than giving you good advice. Sorry...I'm recovering from a week of hubturns and I'm exhausted...oops, nope! ;-)
2) Tuesday. Don't yap during the hubturn. You'll be moderately functional. Grab the nearest FOM and sleep (plus get smarter...less work later when you upgrade to Captain)! Suffer to the outstation. Feel like you want to die when you realize you only have 3-4 days left. Make sure your FFDO manpurse has the locks firmly in place.
3) Wednesday. Uggh. Work out earlier in the day. Just get through it. Eat your Scooby for dinner and skip the 5 o'clock kibbitzing...it isn't that interesting...just another view of some of our finest in their jeans and tennies. Maybe they'll buy you dinner, but probably not...remember, they aren't thinking straight either at this point and/or are cheap (this does not go for international and is NOT tolerated--they will pay and you will go out). Resecure all bullets.
4) Thursday. Almost there hero! Of course, you are hating it by now. Skip your workout today. Ask your kids NOT to refer to you as Dad, because you'd rather have them call you by your name...so you can remember it.
5) Friday. You almost can't see and pray to God that you are going short westbound (Wichita or Tulsa should be your bid--sorry, you're on Reserve, so make it ummm, Boise), because long eastbound is a pain that you don't need today (like Portland or Providence or JFK). Pray for a DH later today. If DHing, delay your sleep as long as possible for a quick shift back into normal. Don't deviate and ride the jumpseat to get home sooner and save the money. NO! Spend the money, ride the schedule and get home on time. Your family would rather you are home rested and functional rather than shot and worthless. You'll be babbling by Friday anyway, you'll be lucky to even find the pax terminal, so just go to the hotel and work out and take the schedule later that night. Delay your sleep as long as possible. If you do, you'll be fine by Friday night. Saturday will be hazy in this scenario, but you can do a few things. ***The urge to turn around and go right home is extremely powerful. My experience was that it was better to get a little more quality sleep because I was borderline incoherent on the last day and my reasoning was so flawed thinking it would be better to go home. Everyone would rather see a moderately rested Dad on Friday or Saturday night rather than a raging prick coming home late morning on the last day, who can barely get undressed. It just starts a fight and that ruins your weekend...and into your week. TRUST ME!
6) Saturday. If your week ends here, that blows. It took me until Monday to recover. I always planned to be nearly non-functional the entire first day back home, whichever day it was, and I ALWAYS succeeded. Beg for an upcoming bid and dream what your schedule would look like if you didn't have to layover in South Bend...

--NO decisions within 24 hours of getting home...on anything. Thumb firmly on the remote and answer to almost no one. Do not answer any phone calls with a 901 area code--draft always comes ONLY on the first day back, usually within minutes/hours of you walking in the door.
--Tell your family that you must have quiet the first day back and that you will need a nap that afternoon, but that you can watch them play in the yard and that you are NOT going to a restaurant that night. Suggest a play date for this afternoon for your kids. Send wife shopping, or better yet, cheekily ask if she'd like to take a nap with you. Sorry, that was "nap".
--Second day home, you can accept small fighting from the kids, but NO attitude from anyone yet. NO yelling or loud noise. Moderate to normal activity. Take your wife out...this will help her attitude the next day...hopefully. Take her out big and you might get a bonus extra day of goodness!
--Third day back. NO excuses, get to work and take whatever the gang gives you. You've got a full week before you have to do it again.
--Bid off the hubturning asap. If you do live in MEM, God help you, but bid out and backs. More like a real job.
--Once you can hold international, do that and live where you want. Vow to never hubturn again. Move out of MEM and hope you can sell your house and make money...that last part is a joke! Bwaaahahahahaha!
--Melatonin can help on the first day back.
--Drinking does NOT help on any of the first few days home--it always made me feel like I was adding a day to the recovery. It works great during your week off. Standard.
--Don't believe that you'll adjust to this type of schedule. You will not. You'll just gut it out and you can do that for a while, but it isn't healthy. The weeks spent swapping all the time will eventually become a blur and you'll start noticing how blown out everyone looks in the AOC. Bleary eyes, general slothfulness, malaise, apathy...it's a joy. Bad lighting in that hellhole only makes it worse! But apparently, we've been told "We don't have a fatigue problem here at FedEx." Right.
--IF you do international eventually, live within a one leg commute of your base.
--Do not explain to the family how "fun" your trip is and how cool the bros are. It will sound like a vacation and you'll have a harder time convincing anyone that you need sleep because flying is "hard work".
--International jet lag can be easier to manage (my experience), especially if you are not trying to commute from say, Anchorage to say, Savannah. That action will kill you fast!

That's it dude! Sleep, no decisions, bid out fast. Oh, and check six when driving in MEM. That could save your life more effectively than not flying hubturns on some screaming airplane with your buds whom you want to have dinner with every night at 5 could care less what you are doing back there, or even if you are there, as long as the coffee is hot and the engines have some of that gas running into them, even if it is completely out of balance!

Good luck to you.

Wildmanny, out! :D

Wildmanny, that is the best, most on point post I've ever read.

I second the melatonin, helps me turn my brain to white noise to help me fall asleep.

Funny you mention SBN, just flew with a 27 captain who always bids the SBN weekend layovers, as he lives there. Kinda nice to be making per diem while at home for a long one.

I've commuted for a number of years (not just here at FDX), and finally have my wife trained to not expect much from me on home day one (my daughter is a different story)...that is sage advice right there.

That was clear, and well thought out........... Now lets get back to what HankHill said. ;)

that, Wildmanny, is exactly what I was looking for.
Also, a quick wikipedia look at "melatonin" also has links to other descriptions of sleep disorders and syndromes, etc. that can help even plan how to use it right and when and how to plan around disruptive schedules.

I appreciate the insight your sharing not just of the schedule types you flew but also HOW YOU make it work. Showing the planning involved. there's actual discipline involved through the week to guarantee the best result at home.

thank you guys.

They all start looking like Betelgeuse.

http://www.neowin.net/forum/uploads/...1071615506.jpg

Serving humanity, humbly!

WM

Hey - she jumpseated home with me last week!

I distilled your post and will hopefully give you some information to help.

Move to MEM. The most junior family friendly lines are B reserve. That's noon to midnight. B reserve covers day flying. Commuters typically bid night hub turn, or better, flying. FedEx has 60%+ commuters.

Why do commuters do that? So they can work fewer days away from home. Reserve pays 4:30 to 4:45 hrs/ day vs. at least 6:00 hrs/day for hub turns or other trips. More senior commuters bid lines with airline tickets to/from the outstations. That reduces the days away from home for many commuters. In domicile pilots trying to maximize pay also prefer trips. We have lots of those guys. But many are retiring. No per diem on reserve. You may laugh but I've heard some add up and seriously brag about their per diem.

B reserve is used less often so you will actually be at home more. You will be on day trips when you fly, generally. You can get assigned a trip, sometimes a week long, that starts in the B reserve window that is almost all night flying. That won't happen to you every week.

The promise of international flying is working the fewest days, if you hold can hold a decent international line. The MD11 has a lot of domestic lines, the worst of which go junior. The 777 is even more senior. International trips often pay much more than 6 hrs/day.

You can be a widebody FO on B reserve while much more senior bubbas are hanging out on the 727 and 757.

I've been almost exclusively flying long haul international for 13 years. It's worth pointing out that even though daddy might be away from home for long stretches, we are paid enough that momma can stay home with the kids if she wants to.

I've got friends in my small town that work regular jobs and are home every night, but unless they're a doctor or lawyer, their wives also have to leave the house every day.

I work about 12 days a month. My wife stays home. Not a bad environment, kid-wise, if you ask me.

Just wanted to post something so I can look at my avatar.

My wife stays at home also. I know I have to much time at home because occasionally either my wife wants me to go to work cause I'm driving her nuts or she can't believe the scheduling is calling me into work(although it is near the end of the month and I have 15hrs of leveling) just depends on the time of the month, I mean her mood.

Hank,

Post as often as you'd like, regardless of what you have to say.:D

Skip MEM..... buy a truck, a gun, and mukluks and head north to ANC

Hankhill,
Must be your wife in the avatar -- NICE!

Hank: Thanks for the new avatar. Your old one was very scary.

So beatupsuitcase, after 10 years at FedEx, you too can look forward to changing your APC avatar to that of a scantily dressed woman with a round butt or large boobies.

Not FDX, my airline career folded up when Lorenzo took over, but a FDX friend has it down, home every night, has been for sometime. Lives in SAN, bids hub turns back to SAN. Then again, a 20 year guy flying A300 F/O.

GF