I have a question about FedEx and UPS and the type of flying you do. My general experience is seeing FedEx planes flying at night. Obviously if you are trying to ship a package "overnight", it makes sense that there is a lot of night flying. I have also heard a lot about arrival and departure pushes in MEM.

So my question is does most of FedEx/UPS flying happen at night, or is that a stereotype. Is there much day flying? How do you guys like doing back of the clock flying? When are the big arrival/departure pushes in MEM?

Any insight on this subject would be great.

The bulk of the flying that comprises the FedEx Express signature product involves flying at night. However, we also move FedEx freight that is not as time-sensitive and we move the mail - - primarily Express Mail and First Class mail, if I understand correctly. Consequently, the airplanes move around the clock, and there's a good share of day flying. The big sort for FedEx Next Day products is in the middle of the night, and the big sort for the rest of it is in the middle of the day.






- The truth only hurts if it should -

Most freight moves after sundown. FedEx does have daylight flying, though the majority is at night-same with other freight companies.

I heard somewhere that UPS is about 60/40 night/day. This includes ALL operations around the world though. To be REAL day domestic, one must be very senior.

To address your "how do you guys like it" part of the question: it would be okay if I could stay on one schedule all the time, or for months at a time. But this switching from a week of days to a week of nights (domestic) or switching back and forth every other day (international) is really draining.

I was a cop before flying and we rotated our schedules every three months. That was okay because I adjusted to the schedule in a few days and them kept it for a while.

Working nights in any industry is hard I'm sure. I worked night shift for most of the winter at the FBO I work at part time at and it was tough. It me four or five days to adjust to the schedule, and only one or two days to get back to normal. The hardest part was staying awake once the sun came up. I had a FX F/O notice me nodding off while standing on top of the truck fueling a DC-10 that was turning one morning. Not good. I'm happy I don't work that shift during the week any more. I still do it on the weekends because they want a warm body there. I clock in and go to sleep.

I found that if I fly at night, I have to MAKE myself sleep 8 hours+ to feel good. I usually wake up around 12:30 - 1:30pm and am tired but not tired enough to keep sleeping. If I just lay there and make myself sleep a few hours, it is not too bad. I am pretty new to this though....we'll see how the next 29 years goes (if the job lasts that long).

Too Tired to answer this question

Varies by individuals, but line purity (AM or PM sleeping) certainly makes it easier. Seniority is key for protecting Quality of Life issues (in my case, minimizing circadian disruptions is essential).

I don't know for certain, but I would say that there is minimal difference between the schedules of Delta and UPS as it pertains to international flying. We are becoming more Honk Kong to Anchorage routes as opposed to Huntsville to Louisville. So pick your poison--international flying crossing multiple time zones, IMO, is harder on your bosy than flying at night domestically.