Dal, Ual, Fdx. Small town commuter
04-04-2022 | 05:42 AM
#61
On Reserve
Joined: Sep 2021
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
Great thread. Maybe a dumb question but trying to gather data so for making my career decision in the very near future.
Same situation as the original poster. Easy commute to ATL for DAL. 4 flights a day and 5 hr drive. Have the ability to sit long call from home and have buddies that do short call and catch a flight back that evening. My perception is that the logistics and near term (first 1-2 years) would make DAL an easy choice.
For FedEx, it is a 7 hour drive and have been told it's one of the tougher commutes (I live in the gulf and plan on staying). The senior FedEx guys who live here have built up their travel banks and just buy tickets when required.
It seems FedEx is designed for commuters and the deadhead trips are here to stay. Does anyone have any info on what aircraft have the most? For example 75 seems to have a lot. Also OAK 76 seems to have a ton too based on Hong Kong not being a base. I'd like to do do 77MEM. I hear the DDH are very senior. I totally understand I need to pay my dues and will sit reserve in MEM.
So for commuters, you basically have to be in MEM for RA and RB correct? Since they are 1.5 call out?
I am just trying to set expectations for my family. My current assessment is that the first 2-3 years will be rough and I will spend a lot of time in MEM on reserve if I get 777 or anything else for that matter. Ultimately goal is DDH and no crash pad / car in MEM.
ps: I know bros waiting a long long time (10+ years) to achieve that and that I am super super lucky with my timing and hiring wave that it could be sooner. First world problems, just trying to set near term expectations for my family.
Bottom line, long term FedEx seems like a win. I do have a reserve gig at our current location which may help. I don't plan on chasing a mil retirement if i get on with FedEx since cargo seems very stable in my opinion. If I were to go DAL, I'd def stay in as an insurance policy.
Open to feedback! Thanks.
Same situation as the original poster. Easy commute to ATL for DAL. 4 flights a day and 5 hr drive. Have the ability to sit long call from home and have buddies that do short call and catch a flight back that evening. My perception is that the logistics and near term (first 1-2 years) would make DAL an easy choice.
For FedEx, it is a 7 hour drive and have been told it's one of the tougher commutes (I live in the gulf and plan on staying). The senior FedEx guys who live here have built up their travel banks and just buy tickets when required.
It seems FedEx is designed for commuters and the deadhead trips are here to stay. Does anyone have any info on what aircraft have the most? For example 75 seems to have a lot. Also OAK 76 seems to have a ton too based on Hong Kong not being a base. I'd like to do do 77MEM. I hear the DDH are very senior. I totally understand I need to pay my dues and will sit reserve in MEM.
So for commuters, you basically have to be in MEM for RA and RB correct? Since they are 1.5 call out?
I am just trying to set expectations for my family. My current assessment is that the first 2-3 years will be rough and I will spend a lot of time in MEM on reserve if I get 777 or anything else for that matter. Ultimately goal is DDH and no crash pad / car in MEM.
ps: I know bros waiting a long long time (10+ years) to achieve that and that I am super super lucky with my timing and hiring wave that it could be sooner. First world problems, just trying to set near term expectations for my family.
Bottom line, long term FedEx seems like a win. I do have a reserve gig at our current location which may help. I don't plan on chasing a mil retirement if i get on with FedEx since cargo seems very stable in my opinion. If I were to go DAL, I'd def stay in as an insurance policy.
Open to feedback! Thanks.
04-04-2022 | 08:03 AM
#62
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 1,061
Likes: 0
From: 737
Where did I pretend that no one else is?
Just because I say that I am something doesn't mean I think that no one else is.
"I'm a pilot." Doesn't mean I think no one else is a pilot.
Nearly all of the people I fly with plan their pre-work activities whether it's at home, or commuting to arrive to work ready for their flight. Some don't. Just because some people don't manage their commutes well, doesn't mean all do. And I don't think we need to regulate commuting. We're all grown ups (better?)
I just don't like the pervasive thought that somehow commuters are more fatigued than people who live in base. I know how crazy things can get before a trip when you're trying to spend time with the family and stomp out any last minute fires before leaving. I don't believe that living in base makes you magically more rested than someone who commutes in.
Just because I say that I am something doesn't mean I think that no one else is.
"I'm a pilot." Doesn't mean I think no one else is a pilot.
Nearly all of the people I fly with plan their pre-work activities whether it's at home, or commuting to arrive to work ready for their flight. Some don't. Just because some people don't manage their commutes well, doesn't mean all do. And I don't think we need to regulate commuting. We're all grown ups (better?)
I just don't like the pervasive thought that somehow commuters are more fatigued than people who live in base. I know how crazy things can get before a trip when you're trying to spend time with the family and stomp out any last minute fires before leaving. I don't believe that living in base makes you magically more rested than someone who commutes in.
04-04-2022 | 10:27 AM
#64
Banned
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 8,831
Likes: 499
We argue on one hand that deadheads and sits are fatiguing to the point of danger, but defend them as restful when it serves us with commuting. We argue that circadian rhythm flips are fatiguing and dangerous, but ache for fully commutable trips. Pilots are not now, nor have ever been, actually interested in fatigue science in an objective way.
04-04-2022 | 11:20 AM
#65
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 3,641
Likes: 214
Great thread. Maybe a dumb question but trying to gather data so for making my career decision in the very near future.
Same situation as the original poster. Easy commute to ATL for DAL. 4 flights a day and 5 hr drive. Have the ability to sit long call from home and have buddies that do short call and catch a flight back that evening. My perception is that the logistics and near term (first 1-2 years) would make DAL an easy choice.
For FedEx, it is a 7 hour drive and have been told it's one of the tougher commutes (I live in the gulf and plan on staying). The senior FedEx guys who live here have built up their travel banks and just buy tickets when required.
It seems FedEx is designed for commuters and the deadhead trips are here to stay. Does anyone have any info on what aircraft have the most? For example 75 seems to have a lot. Also OAK 76 seems to have a ton too based on Hong Kong not being a base. I'd like to do do 77MEM. I hear the DDH are very senior. I totally understand I need to pay my dues and will sit reserve in MEM.
So for commuters, you basically have to be in MEM for RA and RB correct? Since they are 1.5 call out?
I am just trying to set expectations for my family. My current assessment is that the first 2-3 years will be rough and I will spend a lot of time in MEM on reserve if I get 777 or anything else for that matter. Ultimately goal is DDH and no crash pad / car in MEM.
ps: I know bros waiting a long long time (10+ years) to achieve that and that I am super super lucky with my timing and hiring wave that it could be sooner. First world problems, just trying to set near term expectations for my family.
Bottom line, long term FedEx seems like a win. I do have a reserve gig at our current location which may help. I don't plan on chasing a mil retirement if i get on with FedEx since cargo seems very stable in my opinion. If I were to go DAL, I'd def stay in as an insurance policy.
Open to feedback! Thanks.
Same situation as the original poster. Easy commute to ATL for DAL. 4 flights a day and 5 hr drive. Have the ability to sit long call from home and have buddies that do short call and catch a flight back that evening. My perception is that the logistics and near term (first 1-2 years) would make DAL an easy choice.
For FedEx, it is a 7 hour drive and have been told it's one of the tougher commutes (I live in the gulf and plan on staying). The senior FedEx guys who live here have built up their travel banks and just buy tickets when required.
It seems FedEx is designed for commuters and the deadhead trips are here to stay. Does anyone have any info on what aircraft have the most? For example 75 seems to have a lot. Also OAK 76 seems to have a ton too based on Hong Kong not being a base. I'd like to do do 77MEM. I hear the DDH are very senior. I totally understand I need to pay my dues and will sit reserve in MEM.
So for commuters, you basically have to be in MEM for RA and RB correct? Since they are 1.5 call out?
I am just trying to set expectations for my family. My current assessment is that the first 2-3 years will be rough and I will spend a lot of time in MEM on reserve if I get 777 or anything else for that matter. Ultimately goal is DDH and no crash pad / car in MEM.
ps: I know bros waiting a long long time (10+ years) to achieve that and that I am super super lucky with my timing and hiring wave that it could be sooner. First world problems, just trying to set near term expectations for my family.
Bottom line, long term FedEx seems like a win. I do have a reserve gig at our current location which may help. I don't plan on chasing a mil retirement if i get on with FedEx since cargo seems very stable in my opinion. If I were to go DAL, I'd def stay in as an insurance policy.
Open to feedback! Thanks.
Can't give you any first hand advice on either of those, but easy commutes at any carrier are a plus. On the mil side, as an AD retiree myself, I would certainly think twice before throwing away any reserve job that would bring you to a retirement regardless of where you end up. The benefits alone to that retirement are gold, not to mention the shock absorber it provides to the unknowns. Good luck!
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