New to this world
 

Hello,

I just received an email invite for an interview next month. Didn't think it would be possible as I don't know anyone that works for you guys. I'm retiring out of the Air Force and the wife and I (empty nest) have settled down in Dallas. I'm not familiar with FEx operations and wonder how a commute out of DFW would be for probably the rest of my flying life. Looking for any inputs or advice you may have and thanks for your time.

Looks like there are 10-ish flights a day between DFW and MEM between AA and SWA, and one FedEx flight you could jumpseat on.

The REAL question is, how many FedEx pilots are also commuting out of the DFW area, or how many pilots (of whatever airline) are based at DFW or DAL and live in the Memphis area...

Your learning curve on commuting will be steep. And there will be plenty of folks around who will be willing to give you pointers. This is just my opinion, but plan on QOL to be centered around training for a few months & give it at least year (total) for everything to smooth out. But that year will go by quickly.

Good luck!




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Many (most?) FedEx pilot commute from somewhere other than Memphis. Your life will be slightly harder as a commuter but there are plenty of cities that have better family benefits than Memphis.

You'll also have to spend extra time commuting but Dallas seems like it would be an easier commute than many places.

Good luck, this seems like a great deal for a retired military guy.

Congrats ...


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Kobwo,

The DFW commute is relatively easy. There are several flights a day on the passenger carriers. FDX has at least 3 flights to MEM on most days. Here is a link to our Jumpseat Finder.

Jumpseat Finder

You will also find the occasional layover in DFW on the 767 or MD-11 if your seniority allows you to hold one of those lines.

There are opportunities for deadheads into or out of DFW which could give you more days at home.

There are several FDX guys that live in the DFW area. I think somewhere around 200? I have made it work for several years. Good luck.

Kobwo,

First of all, congratulations. I hope you get the job, because there are entirely too many Navy guys there and the place can always use some more AF guys, if for no other reason than to dilute the gene pool.

As for commuting... it stinks. Easy or hard, there's always an implied pressure associated with getting to and from work/home. That said, there's a ton of commercial flights between DFW and MEM. As well, if you're quick (after you learn the ropes), you'll be able to jumpseat on FedEx equipment, both ways, schedule permitting. If not, just buy a ticket once or twice a month. Your pay will allow for that, especially considering your AF monthly retirement check. Again, Congratulations and best of luck in your upcoming interview. I'm sure someone has already mentioned the prep courses that are available. You should at least consider them, I believe. Being Air Force, you probably don't need it, but better safe than sorry.:rolleyes:

If you retired from the Air Force, I guarantee you know somebody already flying here. Best bet is to locate them and ask. It's just too small a world.

Out of DFW, FedEx generally has two flights in the morning and two flights in the evening to both MEM and IND, which is better than many of our smaller cities. On an odd day, you may run into a competition for jumpseats, but in general I think you will find one available when you need it. Many locals will be on different schedules or have deadheads to some place other than MEM/IND. If you really get into a pinch, there are also 7 non-stop flights every day on AA. For some guys at FedEx, taking a jumpseat on a passenger carrier would take an act of God. If you end up getting advice from someone like that, they may steer you away from even considering that option when it may work just fine depending on your situation.

The specifics of your commuting situation will depend on if you end up on one of the mostly domestic fleets or flying internationally on the 777.

Most likely, as a new hire, you’ll be either sitting reserve from midnight to noon or flying night hub turns domestically. Most domestic trips you’d be flying start in one of two ways. You either deadhead to an out station (on a passenger carrier) in the morning to be in position to fly back to MEM/IND with that night’s freight or with a 0200-0400 launch from MEM/IND to an out station. If you get a deadhead trip, you can cancel the ticket and use the funds to buy a different ticket from DFW to where you need to be. If your trip starts in MEM/IND, it will usually have around a 0100-0200 show time. So, you ride a FedEx jumpseat (2130-ish or 2300-ish takeoff) from DFW with the inbound freight, arrive around 2300-0030 and report for your trip in an hour or two. Your layover at the out station will typically be 12-16 hours followed by an evening flight(s) back to where you started.

Trips typically end back in MEM/IND after the inbound leg just prior to midnight. Then you just jumpseat back to DFW with one of the am launches and arrive around 0400-0500. They can also end at an out station after you work the morning flight inbound. The schedule will have you layover until that evening and deadhead back to MEM. Just like a deadhead at the start of a trip, you have the option to cancel the ticket and buy the one you really want with the money. It’s your option to use the hotel or not. Some guys prefer to get home ASAP, while others go to the hotel and make their way home after a few winks.

You’ll find being at a large American Airlines hub will make commuting at Fedex much easier. In addition to being relatively easy to get to MEM, you’ll be able to deadhead just about anywhere on the planet when necessary. With daily flights to most of the Fedex cities in the US as well as the UK, Paris, Germany and Hong Kong, it’s usually relatively easy to get where Fedex needs you to be and stay on budget.

I tried to give you the basics for now. There’s a lot more information on FedEx commuting but maybe this will give you a general idea of what to expect early on. Good luck with the interview.

The reality is, when you get a little bit of seniority with FedEx, you'll probably be able to hold some deadhead trips. Then if you can't jumpseat on FedEx (which we like to do, because it's practically a guaranteed ride into work, rarely bumped), you can have FedEx pay for a commercial ticket to work, and you collect the airmiles. Dallas is close, seems like an easy commute into Memphis. Many of our trips start/end elsewhere with a deadhead, so soon enough you might not have to get into Memphis anyways. I rarely jumpseat, avoid that whenever possible. And I hate jumpseating on anyone but FedEx, I like the guarantee of a ride. Commuting while working at FedEx is an entirely different deal than other carriers. Living in Dallas, you'll probably end up being AAdvantage Platinum on American every year, anyways.

However, the first thing I'd worry about is getting the job. The commute will be fine. Just get the job.

Great post, @Adlerdriver. Thanks.

Kobwo,

Everyone is giving you great advice about commuting, but you have to get the job first. This world is very different than your previous life. I HIGHLY recommend calling Emerald Coast today and get on their schedule for interview prep prior to your interview. This isn't about answers to interview questions, rather how to present yourself to the folks on the other side of the table coherently and in a language they understand. Albie and his folks understand where you are leaving the military and will help you with understanding where you're going...

Good luck!

Not flaming the dude, but that was my thought as well. Putting a cart way before a horse.

Way before? :confused: Really? It's not like he's some first year RJ guy or UPT grad with two more tours to go before even being able to apply. Would you rather he be completely ignorant of the FedEx commuting lifestyle, get the job, hate it and decide to bail?

The guy's got an interview. That's most of the battle. Conventional wisdom (at least for the last decade+ or so) has been it's your job to lose at that point. I assumed he would know to do the Emerald Coast prep work, but perhaps not without someone here to steer him in that direction. Do it.

It sounds like this opportunity was a bit of a surprise. That seems plausible since most of us sponsoring people can't seem to get much info on who might get a call and we work here. Maybe he already has a couple of CJOs and is trying to decide to even take the interview. If the commuting picture out of DFW was bleak, why would he waste his time or that of FedEx.

We've had a pretty long dry spell of hiring and considering our small pilot population compared to the large airlines, it's entirely possible he doesn't know anyone who works here. So, he came here looking for some idea of what he might be signing up for. Think about what information you would have been hungry for without the benefit of someone already on the inside who could give you an accurate picture of what life is like here.

Being able to understand what to expect as a new hire commuter will allow him to speak intelligently about that should it come up in the interview.

And you COMPLETELY misses the point......

If someone gets an interview invite and they're unfamiliar with (insert comaony's) ops, the commute is one of the last things they should be worried about.

Until the CJO is in hand, there's no point, is there?

Process is different than it used to be, anecdotally rejection rate way higher than the past
might make it, might not. Flew with an FO last month who had 2 long time mil buds interview that week. 1 made it, 1 didn't.

If your statements above reflect your initial point, then I got it the first time. And I still completely disagree with you.

If a mil guy comes on APC with an airline interview scheduled next month, I'm going to assume he's already been prepping. He's studying Jepps, Metars, FARs and all the other unfamiliar civilian stuff. He's got a suit, doing interview prep, getting his TMAAT stories in order and all the other queep. If he wants to know about commuting, who am I to question his priorities, since I have no idea of his prep status?

Try this:
If you got an offer to interview at company X and before you went, you determined the logistics of getting to work when required was so onerous that your QOL would be in the toilet - Would you still go to the interview?

If I were interviewing a candidate here at FedEx, I think it's possible that I might inquire if said candidate would move to domicile or commute. Of some of the answers available, "I don't know", "I haven't thought about it" or "There isn't any point in thinking about that until you hire me" wouldn't impress.

Being able to speak in an informed manner about commuting at a specific company is no different than any other subject concerning that airline. Should candidates avoid seeking knowledge of pay rates or schedules at a potential employer until CJO? How about corporate financials, fleet plans, aircraft purchases, domiciles or retirements. None of those things will effect them in the least until they are actually on the property. However, those (as well as commuting options) are just a few of the important aspects of an informed decision to pursue employment with any airline, IMO.

We'll simply have to agree to disagee.....

No offense, but you've definitely been out of the interview game for a while.

Because in the above, it's not likely as you think. It's going to be more "so, what do you know about FedEx, and why FedEx?"

"Well sir, I don't know much, but I sure know what it's like to commute to FedEx".

"So you don't much about our ops, our company, our culture, our business model, how we started, where we're going, etc? Ever heard of The Purple Promise?"

Don't think that would impress much either.......

That's true, won't affect them. But it will impress the HR interview team far far more than telling them how familiar you are with commuting.

As Kronan said, it's different now, it's a brave new world. Lots of good guys getting turned down that even in an era not that long ago would have got the nod. Lots of HR touchy-feely stuff going on.

John,

Are you saying that in response to kobwo's request for information about commuting, the only response that anyone should have offered him, was to recommend he attend a prep course, such as Emerald Coast? Really? That's it?

As well, you give him very little credit, because, based on your comment above, you envision him showing up for the interview, completely unprepared (with the exception of his now knowing the ins and outs of commuting to/from FedEx.) Again, really?

I'm sure that kobwo will do his due-diligence on the company. However, there's plenty of information which cannot be found, about the day to day operations of the job, and for that type of stuff, this web site and the folks who dwell here are a wonderful resource for him, or any other potential candidate. Wouldn't you agree?

Nope, again, you're reading it wrong.

I'm simply saying what the guy before me said;

WORRY ABOUT/PREPARE FOR GETTING THE JOB FIRST/SECURING THE CJO FIRST

Period, end of story.

Look here, THIS is what I was keying off of. You seemed to overlook/dismiss it;

Perhaps. It looks like it might be a matter of perspective.

I think the process of interview prep, company research and the interview itself is a two way street. The candidate is being evaluated of course, but he's doing the same thing with his potential employer. If, in the course of his evaluation process, he determines the job won't suit him (maybe due to commuting) then he says TBNT. Maybe that happens before he even interviews.

When our friend with the interview said he was unfamiliar with "FedEx Ops", I took that at face value. I didn't assume that he was researching commuting while choosing to ignore the company, culture, origins, purple promise, etc. Those things don't fall under "ops" in my view and are certainly far easier to get information on than the nuts and bolts of commuting. I think it goes without saying than anyone preparing for an interview with a fortune 500 company would be doing their due diligence when it comes to corporate research of all the HR subjects you listed. I have to assume he is doing just that and happened to go the extra mile by looking into how the commute might work for him.

Somehow you decided that if I were to ask a question in an interview about commuting that I would choose to ignore company specifics in OTHER questions I might pose. I seem to recall answering more than one question during my interview. ;)

Sometimes the written word fails us even though we think we're doing a SH job of making our point. Face to face over a beer, I'll bet we'd be on common ground before the first one was finished.

P.S.
Based on your reply to JJ, it really seems like you're advocating that anyone seeking employment with FedEx or any other airline should interview and receive a CJO before they look into whether they will actually be able to take the job. If commuting or some other aspect of the FedEx operation becomes a show-stopper for someone and they can determine that BEFORE going to the trouble of interview prep, airline tickets to MEM, hotels, etc. - why would that be a bad thing? Seems like good head work to me.

You assume WRONG.

And how long ago was that?

Like has been in mentioned, it's a bit of a different deal now.

Sure, ANYTHING is fair game for the asking.

But what the HR types ask/value now isn't exactly what it was back in the day.

That's all I have to say about that, I'm out of this peeing contest. You have a good night.

John Carr,

As a guy currently prepping for a FedEx interview, I can assure you that people ARE getting asked very pointed questions about how they are going to make commuting work. I have personally spoken with a guy who was asked multiple questions about how he expected to make a DFW to Memphis commute work. His interview was two weeks ago. He did not have a good answer, and was not offered a position.

Adler, thanks for the info. This is a dream job for me, and I am scouring the internet to learn all I can about the company prior to my interview next week.

I said that I was going to move to Memphis, so I didn't have to be junior and commute. And then I did, until I knew I could commute, after five years. Actually, it was more that I couldn't stand it any more. But I would honestly consider the possibility of moving, to make it easy on yourself, though you wouldn't have to make that decision right away. I suspect FedEx, and Dallas, is one of the easiest commutes ever.

Some good commuting answers would be that you will get to Memphis the day before a trip or reserve, have plenty of backups, be willing to buy a ticket if Jumpseats aren't available, watch the weather, never push it.

"Have you thought about the commute from DFW to Memphis if offered a job?"

"Nah the geniuses on APC said I was putting the cart before the horse"

Although these two things are independently facts, don't make the mistake of implying cause and effect between the two.

Very true and if asked why Fedex? Feel free to throw out any answer. They probably don't care and are just filling time.:confused: