FedEx Hiring
02-27-2016, 04:20 PM
#1541
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2013
Position: CRJ200; FO
Posts: 391
Originally Posted by Adlerdriver
Since "newbies" are going into every fleet, there are a lot of answers to that question. Schedules and progression will vary widely depending on which fleet you’re hired into.
Not matter what; you’ll spend some time on reserve. 90 minute call-out in MEM
Reserve is 15 days in a (4-week) 28 day month, 19 in a (5-week) 35 day month. Reserve schedules are as follows:
777 – either one big block of R-days all in a row or two blocks (for a 4 week month)
The 5-week months have a few schedules with three blocks of R-days.
All other fleets have 1, 2, 3 or 4 blocks of R-days in their reserve lines.
The smallest number of days in a block is three (777 no less than 5/6).
As far as flying goes: domestic fleets out of MEM (757, 767, A300, most MD-11 flying) and IND 767 have a wide variety of schedules. Generally speaking, the more senior lines have a set pattern with longer periods of days off. Week on/Week off is a simplistic way to describe it, but that’s reasonably accurate. There are also 4/3 schedules like you asked about but my guess would be those would go junior. I think most pilots find that if they are working a night schedule, swapping from normal life to that every three days would be awful. I think that’s why there is some effort on the part of the line builders to put longer patterns of work with equally long patterns of days off.
Many of those work days are not a single trip, but a series of single day trips called hub turns. On a hub turn, you fly out around 0200-0400L, layover and return to MEM just before midnight the same day. Trip complete. Wait a few hours and do the same thing again, etc. So, when you’re senior, you get a line of those trips already built into a logical pattern often time to the same city. Junior lines have the trips more scattered with varied cities. Sometimes, if there are trips in open time, you can trip trade and massage a crummy line into something that works much better. That option will vary greatly month to month. So, a general answer to your question would be a junior line will look like someone through darts at the calendar and put a bunch of one or two day trips randomly throughout the month.
The 757 and 767 continue to grow. The draw of wide-body pay will probably mean more movement out of the 757 even as the fleet grows which will mean good progression if you don’t mind the lower pay. So, your fastest move to line holder will probably be on the 757. Any of the MEM widebodies will offer similar domestic flying and probably a shot at a junior, scattered line within a couple of years.
If you end up on the 777, expect to be on reserve or maybe bottom feeding secondary line holder (usually reserve too) for years. Things may start moving a little faster, but there are 10 year FOs on that aircraft still on reserve.
Not matter what; you’ll spend some time on reserve. 90 minute call-out in MEM
Reserve is 15 days in a (4-week) 28 day month, 19 in a (5-week) 35 day month. Reserve schedules are as follows:
777 – either one big block of R-days all in a row or two blocks (for a 4 week month)
The 5-week months have a few schedules with three blocks of R-days.
All other fleets have 1, 2, 3 or 4 blocks of R-days in their reserve lines.
The smallest number of days in a block is three (777 no less than 5/6).
As far as flying goes: domestic fleets out of MEM (757, 767, A300, most MD-11 flying) and IND 767 have a wide variety of schedules. Generally speaking, the more senior lines have a set pattern with longer periods of days off. Week on/Week off is a simplistic way to describe it, but that’s reasonably accurate. There are also 4/3 schedules like you asked about but my guess would be those would go junior. I think most pilots find that if they are working a night schedule, swapping from normal life to that every three days would be awful. I think that’s why there is some effort on the part of the line builders to put longer patterns of work with equally long patterns of days off.
Many of those work days are not a single trip, but a series of single day trips called hub turns. On a hub turn, you fly out around 0200-0400L, layover and return to MEM just before midnight the same day. Trip complete. Wait a few hours and do the same thing again, etc. So, when you’re senior, you get a line of those trips already built into a logical pattern often time to the same city. Junior lines have the trips more scattered with varied cities. Sometimes, if there are trips in open time, you can trip trade and massage a crummy line into something that works much better. That option will vary greatly month to month. So, a general answer to your question would be a junior line will look like someone through darts at the calendar and put a bunch of one or two day trips randomly throughout the month.
The 757 and 767 continue to grow. The draw of wide-body pay will probably mean more movement out of the 757 even as the fleet grows which will mean good progression if you don’t mind the lower pay. So, your fastest move to line holder will probably be on the 757. Any of the MEM widebodies will offer similar domestic flying and probably a shot at a junior, scattered line within a couple of years.
If you end up on the 777, expect to be on reserve or maybe bottom feeding secondary line holder (usually reserve too) for years. Things may start moving a little faster, but there are 10 year FOs on that aircraft still on reserve.
02-27-2016, 04:34 PM
#1543
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Nov 2006
Position: 767 FO
Posts: 8,047
Originally Posted by Jetlife
How junior/senior is LAX?
02-27-2016, 04:40 PM
#1544
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Dec 2005
Position: A300, FO
Posts: 311
Originally Posted by OKLATEX
You are correct. We did get relocation benefits for new hires! Glad to see it, wish it was there 10 years ago!
02-28-2016, 12:51 AM
#1545
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: May 2005
Position: FDX MD11 Capt in MEM
Posts: 886
Originally Posted by atr42flyer
are you able to expand on this a bit in plain english? I have read section 6 and have also heard the company disagrees.
What a great deal for new hires!
02-28-2016, 09:16 AM
#1547
Line Holder
Joined APC: Jun 2011
Position: Reclined
Posts: 32
Originally Posted by Adlerdriver
Since "newbies" are going into every fleet, there are a lot of answers to that question. Schedules and progression will vary widely depending on which fleet you’re hired into.
Not matter what; you’ll spend some time on reserve. 90 minute call-out in MEM
Reserve is 15 days in a (4-week) 28 day month, 19 in a (5-week) 35 day month. Reserve schedules are as follows:
777 – either one big block of R-days all in a row or two blocks (for a 4 week month)
The 5-week months have a few schedules with three blocks of R-days.
All other fleets have 1, 2, 3 or 4 blocks of R-days in their reserve lines.
The smallest number of days in a block is three (777 no less than 5/6).
As far as flying goes: domestic fleets out of MEM (757, 767, A300, most MD-11 flying) and IND 767 have a wide variety of schedules. Generally speaking, the more senior lines have a set pattern with longer periods of days off. Week on/Week off is a simplistic way to describe it, but that’s reasonably accurate. There are also 4/3 schedules like you asked about but my guess would be those would go junior. I think most pilots find that if they are working a night schedule, swapping from normal life to that every three days would be awful. I think that’s why there is some effort on the part of the line builders to put longer patterns of work with equally long patterns of days off.
Many of those work days are not a single trip, but a series of single day trips called hub turns. On a hub turn, you fly out around 0200-0400L, layover and return to MEM just before midnight the same day. Trip complete. Wait a few hours and do the same thing again, etc. So, when you’re senior, you get a line of those trips already built into a logical pattern often time to the same city. Junior lines have the trips more scattered with varied cities. Sometimes, if there are trips in open time, you can trip trade and massage a crummy line into something that works much better. That option will vary greatly month to month. So, a general answer to your question would be a junior line will look like someone through darts at the calendar and put a bunch of one or two day trips randomly throughout the month.
The 757 and 767 continue to grow. The draw of wide-body pay will probably mean more movement out of the 757 even as the fleet grows which will mean good progression if you don’t mind the lower pay. So, your fastest move to line holder will probably be on the 757. Any of the MEM widebodies will offer similar domestic flying and probably a shot at a junior, scattered line within a couple of years.
If you end up on the 777, expect to be on reserve or maybe bottom feeding secondary line holder (usually reserve too) for years. Things may start moving a little faster, but there are 10 year FOs on that aircraft still on reserve.
Not matter what; you’ll spend some time on reserve. 90 minute call-out in MEM
Reserve is 15 days in a (4-week) 28 day month, 19 in a (5-week) 35 day month. Reserve schedules are as follows:
777 – either one big block of R-days all in a row or two blocks (for a 4 week month)
The 5-week months have a few schedules with three blocks of R-days.
All other fleets have 1, 2, 3 or 4 blocks of R-days in their reserve lines.
The smallest number of days in a block is three (777 no less than 5/6).
As far as flying goes: domestic fleets out of MEM (757, 767, A300, most MD-11 flying) and IND 767 have a wide variety of schedules. Generally speaking, the more senior lines have a set pattern with longer periods of days off. Week on/Week off is a simplistic way to describe it, but that’s reasonably accurate. There are also 4/3 schedules like you asked about but my guess would be those would go junior. I think most pilots find that if they are working a night schedule, swapping from normal life to that every three days would be awful. I think that’s why there is some effort on the part of the line builders to put longer patterns of work with equally long patterns of days off.
Many of those work days are not a single trip, but a series of single day trips called hub turns. On a hub turn, you fly out around 0200-0400L, layover and return to MEM just before midnight the same day. Trip complete. Wait a few hours and do the same thing again, etc. So, when you’re senior, you get a line of those trips already built into a logical pattern often time to the same city. Junior lines have the trips more scattered with varied cities. Sometimes, if there are trips in open time, you can trip trade and massage a crummy line into something that works much better. That option will vary greatly month to month. So, a general answer to your question would be a junior line will look like someone through darts at the calendar and put a bunch of one or two day trips randomly throughout the month.
The 757 and 767 continue to grow. The draw of wide-body pay will probably mean more movement out of the 757 even as the fleet grows which will mean good progression if you don’t mind the lower pay. So, your fastest move to line holder will probably be on the 757. Any of the MEM widebodies will offer similar domestic flying and probably a shot at a junior, scattered line within a couple of years.
If you end up on the 777, expect to be on reserve or maybe bottom feeding secondary line holder (usually reserve too) for years. Things may start moving a little faster, but there are 10 year FOs on that aircraft still on reserve.
BP
02-28-2016, 10:02 AM
#1548
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2007
Position: 767 Captain
Posts: 3,988
Originally Posted by bipolarpilot
Adlerdriver - thanks for the info, one question I'm not sure I want answered is - on the hub turn layover, is the layover in a Lay-Z-Boy in a crew room in ops, or a hotel?
BP
BP
Any layover longer than 4 hours (5 hours in some limited circumstances) requires a hotel. We're pretty civilized in that regard. FedEx places some value on high quality hotels with good facilities and a staff that attempts to help facilitate our rest during the day. That's not so much for our benefit; that gives them the best chance for the cargo to move reliably.
On the turn, back in the hub you're turning through, the down time typically runs 3-ish hours plus/minus. There are sleep rooms in MEM and IND with real beds, showers, linens/towels, etc. available to most pilots who want one.
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