Can you give an example on day/night turns at UPS, show time and end time…..just trying to figure out how what night and day time means at UPS.

 

What we call turns, some airlines call out-and-backs.

SDF morning turn: 0001-0330 local report, return and duty off 0900-1200 local

SDF afternoon turn: 1300-1600 local report, return and duty off 2300-0200

 

Several folks have answered the question about what turns are. Both morning and afternoon turns will typically have one leg where the sun is down. We also have week on/week off sort flying that is characterized as day vs night sort. If you are flying the day sort on the MD, you will typically wake up early on a coast in order to land at SDF by 11 am local time. You sit the sort for 2-4 hours, than fly to the other coast and hit the hotel. The night sort is the same, but the sort is in the middle of the night instead of middle of the day. Some of these week on/off trips have a commercial DH on one or both ends which makes them popular with commuters. The seniority required to hold a given line type fluctuates throughout the year. Due to the MD being used as a shock absorber for the international network the last couple years, our bidpack composition has changed significantly between bid periods. International flying is neither day nor night flying, but can be all in daylight/darkness or some of both and is essentially no different than international at a pax carrier. Hope this answers your question.

 

Ok thanks, I’m trying to decide between AA and UPS, I live in DFW but I would move to MIA if I chose UPS.
I’m not a big fan of night flying and by night flying I mean from 8pm to 7am type of schedules or 2-3 am to 11am.

I read articles and looked at the forums and one says within a year or two I should be able to hold flying between 6am-2am
Which is not a problem to me but then others say I would be flying night for years so don’t know who to believe.

 

Thanks that’s good info, I’m trying to decide between AA and UPS, I would move to MIA if I went to UPS. What I don’t like is 8pm-7am schedules or 2am-11am schedules but turns from 13pm-1am would be no problem, I can do night flying for a year or two if I have to but I don’t want to do it for 5-10 years.

Would I be able to hold a decent line with flying for the most part between 6am-2am within a reasonable time if I got on with UPS within the next 3-6 months?

 

I’m assuming you are a regional guy and would be in a light twin (75/A300) class. As an MD guy I can only make a WAG, so hopefully someone on those fleets chimes in. But my guess is that in MIA you would only be able to hold that kind of flying intermittently. MIA skews senior. A willingness to bid VTO and VTOR lines might enable you to get them a bit more often, but in that domicile you will be junior for a long time. That said, if you live local it’s supposedly a good life. At least, my new hire classmate who left the MD for MIA thinks so. We are also adding 19 76s in 2023. So between fleet growth and retirements, your seniority progression will probably equal or exceed what it would be at American percentage wise. However, our single pay scale means that you don’t have fleets with upgrades that go exceptionally junior. On the other hand, you’ll be making at least $200k starting year two. So poverty, even in South Beach won’t be an issue.

 

Yep I’m a regional driver and I’m going to AA next month, I flew for a Ameriflight before the regionals and I like cargo flying, no pax, no FA just quiet and you can go out and stretch your legs and grab a coke. My only beef with cargo is night flying and as I said if hear that it’s 60/40 night and if the seniority progression will be somewhat the same as AA it’ll be fast so I’ve got a decision to make soon if UPS calls that is, just out my app in 2 days ago so we’ll see.

 

No offense, but if you just applied two days ago, you aren’t actually choosing between AA and UPS. You sound like you’re more suited for AA. To be super choosy about the time of day you fly won’t suit you well at a freight company. Chances are good that when you’re junior, you’ll be flying nights. You’ll be miserable here until you can hold daytime flying (could be years?) and you’ll be angry you turned down a spot at AA.

 

Ok thanks, FYI…..right now everybody is hiring frantically so you can choose wherever you wanna go as a pilot.

 

Myself and many others have very qualified friends with many letters of rec who can’t get sniff from UPS, while having multiple offers from legacy carriers. We hire a max of 300 a year with many thousands of apps on file. Being qualified may equal a job offer from the legacies hiring 1000 a year, but not here. Good luck to you and I hope you get called, but it’s not wise to just assume that will be the case.

Stay humble…if you do get lucky and get an interview, an entitled attitude will destroy any chance you have. Contrary to what you believe, UPS is not desperate to have you.