CaptainTeezy

Hey guys, I unintenionally posted this same question in the MAJOR's forum, but I was just wondering what a typical month is like at UPS/FedEx. I have heard that you go all around the world/USA for about a week and then you have the rest of the month off...is this true? Thanks all.

Jetjok

Yeah, it's absolutely true! But in a lot of cases we only work three or four days and then have the rest of the month off. But we get lots of pay and per diem for the entire month.

Seriously, we fly about the same as everyone else in this industry. Our international trips can go from 2 to 14 (or so) days, while our domestic trips go from what we call out-and-backs (depart Memphis, fly to Detroit, wait a few hours, and fly back to Memphis), to week-long trips that don't traverse our Memphis hub. And everything in between. Usually our out and backs are strung together, so that a guy flying that type of line will work for 5 or 6 days in a row, then some time off, then repeat the 5 or 6 days of work, etc, etc. Guys on reserve will have more "R" days strung together (typically), and end up on reserve for maybe 3 additional days (above the number of days a typical line-holder will work) a month. But on reserve, it's a crap shoot as to if you actually fly or not, and depending on the base and season of the year, reserve might go very senior. In our Anchorage base, a junior guy can't touch reserve during fishing season.

Hope this helps answer your question.

MEMFO4Ever

I can give you my perspective, but like Jetjok stated our flying is quite varied. I'm a senior domestic-only narrowbody FO. My trip starts with a commercial deadhead to the outstation that I'll work out of that week. Usually this happens on a Sunday, but can happen Monday morning, depending on how far you live from the outstation. We are required to be in position for a final check in at least 8 hours prior to our first duty period 'show time' in the domestic system. The hub I do all my turns through is Indy so we would leave the outstation in the evening on Monday through Thursday, transit the hub where we sit for 3-5 hours while they unload/reload the freight, then fly back to the outstation for a layover. On Friday morning when we arrive back at the outstation we're scheduled for another commercial deadhead after a legal rest period. Some guys like to go home immediately, but I like to hit the hotel for a few hours of sleep first, then head home. If you're lucky enough to live near the outstation it's even better since you can just drive to the ramp on Monday night, then drive home on Friday morning; or even get home everyday if you're close enough. The company only cares that you show up when you're supposed to move the airplane. They really don't seem to care how you get there or back. In a given month you'd do this for two weeks and have the other two weeks off. Sometimes it's week on, week off, other times the two weeks can follow one another.

Airline tickets (or bus or train) are purchased and the company will pay an amount up to what it would have cost them to move you from Memphis to the outstation and back. This is called your 'deviation bank'. Double deadheaders live and die by the bank and it affects how, where and when you bid certain cities or trips.

There are lots of other ways to work trips here, but this is how my experience has been. I typically do the same thing month after month, but the nice thing by sitting in one seat for years and getting senior is that you can cherry pick something good whenever you want.

One man's meat is another man's poison.

As far as the international dudes doing 'single departure trips' like you asked about, one of them will have to chime in. I'd assume that kind of trip would be pretty senior, but I'm really not sure.

(PS: I only see Memphis twice a year for my PT and PC )

Pilot7576

memfo or any fedex bubba...

Do you guys get paid perdiem for your time in the sort in mem? Does that sort time count as a part of your duty day for trip rig or critical window? What about your hub turns at outlying sorts such as Indy?

Pilot7576

TonyC

If you're MEM domiciled, there is no per diem for being in MEM. (If you're LAX, ANC, or SFS domiciled, there is per diem for being in MEM.)

If you're MEM domiciled, a trip ends when you get to MEM, and a new trip begins when you leave MEM, therefore, there is no pay for the time in between. Duty time restrictions apply to consecutive trips, for FAR purposes, but there is no pay awarded for the time between the trips.


Indy is not a domicile, so time spent at the hub during a sort is considered duty time, and is paid.






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FDXLAG

delete; gotta learn to type with more than two fingers.

Lag

Pilot7576

Tony...

Thanks for the answer...I should have directed it to you originally! Ups pays perdiem for the week long trips that at total tafb. Also, the sort time counts for our duty day for early duty window time (1.5-1) so under this contract, if the sort delays you getting to the hotel appreciably, at least you get some shekels out of it.

Does the fact your trip ends in mem make it easier to drop the rest of the outbound portions or is that frowned upon? Our trips don't end until the pairing ends at the end of the week.

Pilot7576

TonyC

I'm not familiar with your scheduling system, so it's dangerous for me to make any comparisons, but . . .

Based on your brief description, I think our system is more flexible in that each trip from/to MEM is treated as a separate entity. If your awarded LINE of flying has 5 consecutive 1-day trips, each stands as an independent entity, and you can do any of the scheduling things with them -- drop/swap/sick/whatever (as the system allows) without affecting any of the others.


One guy's flying might be a Sunday afternoon deadhead to DSM with a live leg to MEM on Monday night. His next trip is MEM-DSM, layover during the day, and then operate back to MEM. (Between those two trips was a "hub-turn" in MEM, where he completes one trip, waits for the sort, and begins the next trip.) He could keep doing the MEM-DSM-MEM on Wednesday and Thursday, and then his last trip on Friday might be operate MEM-DSM, layover, and deadhead back to MEM. He actually flew 5 trips. He could have swapped the TUES trip for a similar trip to GFK or ATL. HE could have dropped the THURS trip (if there were sufficient reserves).


A similar flying schedule might begin on the same Sunday afternoon with a deadhead to DSM. Monday night he might operate DSM-IND, wait for the sort, and then operate back to DSM. He could do that again on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and then deadhead back to MEM on Friday. He's stuck with the entire sequence -- there's no trading a day in DSM for a day in CID.

Both of the above weeks of flying would begin in MEM with a deadhead to DSM (on the same deadhead flight, even), both would be in the hotel in DSM the same times, and both would deadhead back to MEM on the same flights. However, the week with MEM hubturns is 5 separate trips, with no per diem or duty paid while in between trips (the hub turn). The week of flying that does hubturns in IND is one single trip, paying per diem, duty, and TAFB throughout.

Advantages/disadvantages to both -- and since we have a wide range of preferences, it works out to make more people happy.






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Pilot7576

Tony...

Sounds like you have a bit more flexibility that way. If we want to ditch the whole week trip, we have to call in sick for the remainder. Although they pay us constantly "on duty" there are times when I wish the trip was a series of trips (on those "gotta have off days"). As usual, ups will pay a bit more to keep their system running without interruption (perdiem and constant trip rig).

Pilot7576

Jetjok

Does UPS still allow someone other than the pilot awarded a trip, to fly the last leg of that trip into domicile? The example is a trip that operates from SDF to an out-city, then has a weekend layover, then operates Monday night back into SDF. You guys used to be able to bump the operating pilot, and instead of jumpseating, operate the Monday night leg. Saved on time and money for the guy getting bumped, assuming he lived in the out-city, and at the same time, allowed the guy bumping to be listed as a crewmember and not a jumpseater. Sure wish we had that ability, but our crew scheduling has always maintained that it's too difficult for the computer to handle. Yeah, right.