Busdrivr

Many of us go home.

BAe3100FO

There is an MD class starting Oct.8th Not sure after that.

ViperGuy69

Mil guy here looking at retiring next summer and hoping for a shot at FedEx. All the threads on here have been great, and I appreciate the info and advice from the experienced guys.

I'll be settling down in Oklahoma for family reasons, so I've got a couple questions about commuting.

1. How's the commute from OKC to MEM? Daily flights on company aircraft? Off-line options?

2. If I'm trying to minimize days away from home (w/o dropping trips), which a/c do you think would be best? I've heard the 777 has longer trips but fewer days gone per month? I'd rather fly fewer/longer trips than several short trips.



Lastly, all my flight time is mil fighter/trainer (Approx. 2500TT, 2000TPIC). I'm curious how I compete against folks with more heavy/multi time or commercial experience. See many new hires coming from fighter/trainer cockpits lately?

Thanks again for the info!

kronan

There are a number of people who commute from OKC (or TUL) without great difficulty.

I just took a look, 777 average days off are 1 day more than the other bid packs...and depending on the timing, could be Junior and holding a Reserve line where days off are identical across the fleets.

If you want flexibility, 777 is not your friend. If you want the best ride/$$ then 777 is the way to go (once you are flying anyways)
777 tends to have more time off during a layover, but can bid 60-84 hour weekend layovers on other planes.

FedEx likes a diverse background, fighter time won't hurt you.

Stonewall

Whats a typical schedule for a newhire who would be commuting from ATL? Other than 777, are there any skeds that give 3 or 4 on or is it always 7 or more on begore off days? Sorry for lame post, just very little experience with cargo.

NewOldGuy

I'm a fairly new guy and I can say there's a ton of scheduling options just like in the passenger world; probably more.
If you have any friends at FedEx they might be able to show you some bidpacks. There's anything from 1-2 on at a time to doing all your days in one stretch. It is a very commuter friendly place to fly regardless of which equipment you operate.


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Hacker15e

FWIW, if you're going to be staying in Enid-nam (vs actually living in OKC itself), be sure to bake the 2-hour drive each way into the plan.

Also, be sure to take a look at what commercial jumpseat options are available from OKC if you happen to need to get to MEM on a day when FX jets don't have as many flights (typically Sun and Mon).

More than a couple of the guys hired at FX who were my squadromates at Vance eventually moved somewhere else after separation/retirement because of how painful the extra drive *to* and *from* the actual flying commute was.

Stonewall

NewOldGuy, I sent you a PM. Thanks for the reply.

PostalAV8B

With a little seniority you can hold double deadheads for domestic flying. So you can commute from your home airport and never see Memphis on the front or backside. This easily makes up for the extra day off the 777 averages in the bid pack.
Yes more $$ to be made on the 777 but less flexibility in your schedule. Either chase the $$ or the lifestyle.

Stonewall

Thank you PostalAV8B.