"Half of FDX flying is daytime"

Is that true? Seems kinda high.

All I know is at my pax airline it seems like virtually no one wants the red eyes. Like NO ONE. I have been trading into them because they are super easy 1 leggers with really only the return leg being a true red eye. The leg out to the west gets in you in time to go drinking. Anyways, even with my ho hum attitude about red eyes, I am very aware of the affect if has on my body. The affect FOR ME, has gotton worse as I have gotten older. Similiar to going out all night drinking. In my 20's, not a problem, in my late 40's? I can do it but I pay for it the next day.

I have to believe back side of the clock flying reduces life span in ways that are hard to measure.

But as Motor said "Gotta die from something"

Nobody wants red eyes? Lies! What about all your senior guys who want to fly 767s and A330s to London and Paris?

Half of our flying is day... true? Very true.

We have pilots here that haven’t flown at night in a decade. There are some really heinous night time trips, and some daytime trips that almost feel criminal they are so easy. Throw in some paid airline DH’s on either end, this is a good gig.

There are few trips at FDX that are true all nighters. We get a 2-4hr break in the hub, which I choose to sleep - the pax side do 4-5hrs straight flying. Also we do about 1/3 the amount of flying as pax carriers, which equates to less sitting in the flight deck, soaking up the UV rays, and eating crew meals.

Thanks everyone!

I've known and flown with a lot of older pilots, many of whom retired doing freight, and some of whom kept going well after 65 as they moved to the FE seat. One of the most sprightly that I knew was 75 years old, and could beat me up the stairs to the main deck hauling a suitcase that was nearly as big as him.

He'd been doing freight as long as he could remember, which was longer than I could remember, as it was well before I was born.

I knew others that dropped dead long before, some from liver problems from excess drink, some from heart problems from excess food, and others simply because perhaps it was their time.

We all have a time.

Whether it falls before or after 65 doesn't have a lot to do with cargo, but a lot to do with the individual, be it a their genes or their disposition. A poor carpenter blames the tool.

Even if night flying imposes a health penalty, how many “bonus years” of lifespan are gained by not carrying passengers?

I agree 100%. No one knows when your ride will be over. That’s way above our pay grade.

I really do not understand why we need an age limit at all. When I was a kid, Jim Rockford looked like this impossibly old man, despite the fact that the actor was 45 years old.

When I finally was that age, I didn't look anything like him.

These days people are healthier and we live longer. What IS needed is REAL FAA medicals, ones that really test you. I guarantee you that if we did this then we would have 70-75 year olds on the seniority list.

And a whole lot of 40-60 types GONE~

Sounds good to me. As a Republican conservative, I believe in letting the hardest workers work and achieve the greatest benefits. If I run 5 miles per day and are healthy as a result but some fat porkalard can't and as such loses his medical....Well then that is life, too bad so sad. Enjoy our Fedex retirement. The one that the AFL-CIO ensures you have...

Ah, no. You'd have a lot less pilots in general.

When I hear someone call for stricter FAA exams, I hear a firing squad reloading somewhere.

Ever hear of Jim Fixx?


"James Fuller Fixx (April 23, 1932 – July 20, 1984) was an American who authored the 1977 best-selling book The Complete Book of Running. He is credited with helping start America's fitness revolution, popularizing the sport of running." From his Wikipedia entry.



He died of a heart attack at age 52. You can not outrun your genetics.