Sluggo_63

I'd have to double check (I'm sure someone will tell me if I'm wrong), but I don't think you'd be locked into a widebody preventing you from going 767 IND if one is open on the next bid. If you take the MD as a new-hire, then a bid comes around and you can hold 767 IND, you can bid it and be awarded it. Now, since that is a lateral, you'd be locked into the 76 for 18 months, which I'm sure you don't care about since you live there.

OKLATEX

Personally I would bid exactly what you have. If you want a line to commute to Memphis, I would keep the Bus in there as a 3rd Choice. Assuming you don't hold IND 767 or Memphis 757 (which I'm sure you will hold MEM 57) you could possibly get some trips with Indy Deadheads or layovers. Plus the Bus would allow for shorter trips and more flexibility with trading trips and/or dropping/moving reserve days. (What I said about the Bus goes for the 757 as well.)

I flew with a guy recently whose son got hired here. He wanted IND 76 and got MEM 75. Took him just shy of a year to get IND 767.

As others have said, commuting here isn't bad, in some ways it is better than with a passenger airline, someways it is worse. Regardless, it is a commute and commuting sucks. Nothing beats living in base.

***As a side note. Traditionally, when the company is short staffed, we see a lot of deadheads (at least within the Domestic System), when they have staffing the way they want it, there are less deadheads; with the way things are now, we are seeing a lot of deadheads. It may stay like this for a long time, or things could change. I'm not knocking commuting, (nor do I promote it) I'm a commuter, just wanted to share something I have observed over the past 12 years.***

Congrats on getting hired!

Flyguy16

Thanks for all the responses, I appreciate it! Looking forward to starting!

MD11PROFer

Greetings fellow MD11 Pilots-

My famous MD11Gouge.com website has been updated with GoDaddy software due to malicious activity by unknown parties with my old Apple program.

It has all the same PDF gouges are there but is not all that graphically appealing due to limits of the GoDaddy web design software. GoDaddy tells me it's a work in progress so you'll see updates along the way.

I still update these gouges and solicit your input. I can me reached at md11PROFer 'at' iCloud dot com

Fly safe, Brad Alberts
MD11 Capt FedEx Express

PCRAviation

Thanks to all the FDX people who have answered questions here. This is a very informative thread, and a great warts-and-all brief.

A couple other questions:

What are the relative times for all fleets to become a lineholder? (Never mind this so much, I saw another thread with good info on this)

Is there a way to see what typical bid packages look like?

How many days at a time does a reserve sequence normally entail?

How much difference in last 5 FAE does sitting RSV CA make over being more senior WB FO? Does the latter have the flexibility to render the difference modest while preserving QOL?

How does the "commuter protection" work?

Saw the bit about 400 DEN commuters - how often are all seats full?

Appreciate the data points!

Fdxlag2

The best way to see a bid pack is to jumpseat through Indy the second or third week in a month and pick one up below the TV in ops. But don't tell anyone I told you.

Adlerdriver

How many days at a time does a reserve sequence normally entail?
This is variable from fleet to fleet. The number of days in the sequences tend to mirror the trips in each fleet. June is a 28 day month and reserve lines have 15 R-days.
777 has a fairly even split between R schedules with all 15 days in a row and two blocks of 8/7 or 9/6. Minimal short trips and single day hub turns, so no need for smaller sequences.

Airbus has slightly less than half their R-lines in one block of 15. This is to cover a pretty large number of 12-ish day trips where crews deadhead to Europe, operate there for the trip and deadhead back.

The rest of the Bus R-lines are 2 and 3 blocks of days with the smallest sequence being 4 days. The rest of the fleets lean more towards 2 or 3 blocks of days but still have some lines with 15 in a row. No sequence is shorter than 4 days.

5 week (35 days months) have a similar pattern. One block of 19 days in a row as well as two, three or four blocks of days. Min days per sequence is 4 again.

How much difference in last 5 FAE does sitting RSV CA make over being more senior WB FO? Does the latter have the flexibility to render the difference modest while preserving QOL?
I think an FAE is a contract? But I get the gist of your question. A 777 Captain at max pay that rarely flies making reserve guarantee each month makes about $60K/year more than a middle line holding FO also on max pay for his seat. Ruling out the Captain might be on reserve at home in MEM living the dream, assume both guys commute. The Captain is going to "work" (i.e. be away from home, on reserve in a crashpad) an average of 2-3 days more a month than the FO. So, roughly 30 more days of work per year. When you do the math on work days vs pay for each guy, you end up with a "per day" rate for each pilot that's within $100 of each other. If the Captain on reserve flies all the time, what I'm saying is N/A. But 777 Captains (or FOs) on reserve don't fly all the time, by a long shot.

777 FOs in the top half of the seniority list can hold carry-over trips which can allow them to fly extra each month at straight pay if they choose. Other FOs without carry over can pick up extra trips if they have makeup time available or on rare occasions fly draft (overtime). An extra 3-day trip each month will make up the difference in pay for the year. So, absolutely yes, the senior FOs have the flexibility to make up the difference.

How does the "commuter protection" work?
If you miss a trip while commuting on a company jumpseat, the trip is dropped without pay and you will not be subject to discipline, provided:
Elapsed time from the showtime for your jumpseat to 30 minutes after final block in for your first duty period does not exceed 13:30. Additionally, you must have 1:30 from scheduled jumpseat arrival to show time for your trip.

These parameters are usually not difficult to meet if you're based out of MEM or IND and flying domestic hub turns. The whole policy is N/A for anyone commuting to an international trip or ANC just based on the requirements.

I've used it once in 12 years due to a divert and it worked as advertised.

Saw the bit about 400 DEN commuters - how often are all seats full?
From what I've heard, more often than not. Especially at the start of the week and end. Tough commute.

Overnitefr8

400 is a slight exaggeration. More like 200 - 250. Memphis jumpseats are almost always full, especially Monday night and weekends to Memphis and Friday and weekends to Denver. Indy, not so bad.

Fdxlag2

Just to add to this, if protected you can make up the hours you lost.

If you miss a trip because you are commuting, have a good back up plan, but for whatever reason you miss the trip, and have kept the company in the loop, you lose the trip and can't make it up. But at least the first one or two times, that is the extent of the discipline.

Flying J

How does this work if you are commuting in via a pax airline JS? Any commuter policy for that?