commuting on UPS
 

Hey all,

I'm trying to see if commuting to SDF on UPS would be a viable option for me.

1: How do you get back and forth from the passenger terminal?

2: I have noticed that most inbounds to SDF get in relatively early ~ midnight. Are there any alternatives to getting a hotel room? Are non-UPS pilots allowed to rest somewhere in the SDF UPS facility?


Thanks a lot.

1. Depends on the airport but most likely you will have to take a cab there.

2. Yes there is a room with recliners, just need one of us to unlock the door for you. There's also a cafeteria which is open weeknights during the sort.

Welcome aboard!

I used to commute regularly on UPS from DFW to SJU. Those guys/gals are friggin fantastic! There is more than enough accomadations for sleeping, computering, and eating in the Ops building. Depending on where you are going from/to....you will only have 4-6 hrs at the most in SDF. The flight from DFW got in around 1230ish and I took off for SJU at 0430ish. If my feable memory serves me correctly

They put a crew meal on board for you as a jumpseater.....you can't even get a smile out of a AA, UA, DA, WN, etc employee.....more less a crew meal. UPS was a dream to commute on.

As for the getting back and forth....I was fortunate to have the wife drop off/pick up in DFW and the Eagle or UPS Ramp Sups would pick me up in SJU.

Good Luck!

UPS is certainly a dream to commute on, but I'd love to hear other suggestions for getting to/from the facility and terminal. In PHL, there is a city bus that will take you right from the terminal to the UPS facility for about $3. But on the other end (DTW for me), metro cars charges around $40 to get over there.

If I jumped into the SDF night sort, how would I go about getting to the terminal parking lot at midnight?

Can a cabbie pick me up at the UPS ops area?

Wow! That sounds great!

Is there a shuttle from the sdf pax terminal to the cargo area?

Thanks again.

If you are coming into the night sort, most ups guys/gals would give you a ride to the terminal from the parking lot in their own vehicle on their way home, just ask.

UPS has van service between the terminal and our cargo ops ... BUT ... I am pretty sure it is for employees only.

:(

Can one of the SDF based confirm this ?

:confused:

I think you can take the terminal shuttle from ops to the terminal until about 1230 am, but they will not take you from the terminal to Edgewood.

Thanks gentlemen, I appreciate the help.
In case you ever need to know:
In MEM, off-line jumpseaters can park in the employee lot and use the shuttle bus to AOC (Ops).
Also, you can get a ride from AOC to the Pax Terminal on the shuttle bus.
Our shuttles operate 24/7.

Shhhh don't let the secret out, UPS is a dream to jumpseat on! They treat us offliners like rock stars.

Thank you all for your help. UPS seems like a place full of pilots pilots.

I'll look forward to meeting you guys on my commute.

Just make sure you don't get stuck with some "A" hole captain who will not take you. just heard today that very recently an ANC based UPS pilot was denied a ride RFD to ANC because the captain did not want a full 767 for the flight up to ANC. The jump-seater barely made it via another way.....

We have several captains who just don't get "it."

What a tool, was he a manager?

Don't count on the crew meal anymore, UPS has cut back. If the flight crews could change it we would.
Absolutely no alcohol and they do an embarrassing bag search, sorry.
Find the crew in ops in SDF and stick with them , they tail swap a fair amount. Ask the ladies in ops window where the crews get their paperwork to ID the flight crew for you or look at the monitor for the Captains name and ask .
Enjoy and glad to have you on board.

I doubt it....the only IPA pilots I heard getting thrown off jumpseats were by other IPA pilots.

since when? I just rode in from ANC as a 7 and had catering.

Catering will be provided if the segment is catered and over 3 hours and known in advance.
No change to that policy, reason you were catered. Think a B&G post created the confusion.

I saw that post. I think it was the ONT catering gods creating local rules again ... whenever they can get away with it.

West coast to SDF with a stop. No catering for off line pilots, crew was catered..Reno to SDF , crew catered , ACM's not catered. ...

You are not an off line pilot:)

" just heard today that very recently an ANC based UPS pilot was denied a ride RFD to ANC because the captain did not want a full 767 for the flight up to ANC. The jump-seater barely made it via another way....."

I was coming from SDF, not RFD. He has been spoken to.

Besides, this is the first time in four years of commuting I've had any problems. Offline guys are welcome

757upspilot.
Was informed probably a ONT "policy". Not company wide. News to me. Will ask IPA to look into the 'local' policy. When checked after the B&G post, UPS affirmed what I posted. Silo's and all that....

Ok , next time I will object to the lack of catering for ACM's.

I think ONT was the place that had a catering supervisor (no crap, we probably have one of those) who stated that an extra meal on a HNL flight would "bankrupt" the company ...

I did a HNL-ONT flight last summer where you are catered with one choice. The captain wanted a sandwich tray in addition to his hot meal. The gateway said no so he called one of the ANC ACPs. ACP called HNL and told them to put on the meal.

The next day we show for our flight and the extra catering wasn't there. The station manager told the captain the flight was budgeted for one meal per crewmember and he didn't answer to an ACP.

They do have van service straight to the SDF terminal, but that doesn't start till 0600 and it runs every 30 min. It's not just for employees, so you could ride on it, but it doesn't start till 0600, do you'll have to wait for a while. Like others on here said, just ask a crew member, most would be more than happy to give you a ride themselves.

[/QUOTE]Don't count on the crew meal anymore, UPS has cut back. If the flight crews could change it we would.
[/QUOTE]
I recently had a jumpseater on ONT-KOA. Initially he wasn't catered, I had my FO call OPS for an additional meal and it magically appeared! Problem solved.