zach141

I'm on the sidelines, but the airline bidness looks quite turbulent to me. Maybe it'll settle down by the time you're ready to get out. Best wishes.

Adlerdriver

Most major pax airlines don't do such long trips. Their schedules are typically broken up a bit more across the month.

Cargo, ACMI, charter companies, etc. tend to have the big trips and large work footprints across a typical month. However, at Fedex, there is a huge variety of schedules, so 2 weeks of work in a row is a choice, not a requirement (usually).

Being gone 3 weeks/month is tough on the family too. I did it for a couple of years before I came to Fedex. I wouldn't recommend it for a long term situation but YMMV.

2 weeks/month is a different animal and definitely an easier situation to deal with. It's still an adjustment for everyone and you have to develop a good system to stay "plugged in" while you are gone. Skype can help a great deal but if you're on the other side of the world, there will be days when you just can't connect due to schedules and sleep cycles (yours and the family's).

The major plus is the ~2 weeks off. That can be like crack. Once you get used to having that much time off in a row (or longer on vacation months), it can get very hard to not have it.

If your goal is an airline job, then I would plan to get out at your earliest chance. IMO, the sooner you start tapping the retirement income stream, the better. Obviously, the sooner you get hired and get a seniority number the better as well.

Spend the next 2 years getting everything ready. There's lots of good info here with the search function on a timeline for preparing to separate/retire and get hired at an airline. It seems like a long time but you have a lot to do.

Good luck.

mayutt

Thanks, guys. Oka, sounds like you and I have similar sentiments.

Alder, FedEx seems like the ideal choice; of course I'm sure putting all eggs in one basket would not be wise (aka ultimately I'm sure the thing to do is to plan to apply everywhere that is hiring and then decide based on offers), however it sounds like it can take a year or more to land an interview.

The details I'm having trouble digging out of the mil regs are ones like: when exactly can I drop my retirement letter (is it 2 years or 14 months before 20 years of service)? Would it be legal/acceptable for me to start a profile with FedEx before then as long as I am clear about when I will be available (i.e. military terminal leave starts on X day).

As far as preparation, I'm working on my ATP now since I know that has to happen before I can start a FedEx profile, and I've seen the gouge on interview and sim prep (Emerald Coast appears to be a no-brainer).

Just throwing out stuff here-comments and recommendations welcome.