SDF has A-300, 757/767 (both domestic and "Z" or international fleets) and MD-11. I ranked them from most junior to most senior, but you could get any of them as a new hire (or MIA or ANC or ONT)

Longest domestic trips are about 7 days with a weekend layover.

Longest international trips are about 13 days give or take.

Long trips typically go more senior.

 

Actually you will see 10-13 day trips in the domestic system on the A300 and 75/76.

 

Yes we have many 10+ day 75 domestic trips now.

 

You definitely have been paying it forward since you joined the brown club. I've been following your posts here and on B&G and I'm very glad you're one of us now. Hopefully many more folks of your caliber will follow.

 

Not sure I follow? We also have an MD base in SDF, don't we? From what I've been hearing they might be pulling a few more MDs from domestic trips strictly for the sdf-cgn crossings. Some direct and some via PHL. They don't want to spend more money than absolutely necessary on the 76 rest modules and 74s make much more money in Asia.

Of course, I'm frequently wrong and tomorrow they'll probably announce 3x daily 74 flights connecting sdf with cgn.

 

Those trips are already flown by 747s except the crews are based in anc. So how exactly would opening a 74 SDF crew base help the system?

Some 85-90% of our anc based crews rely on those "stupid" anc-sdf-anc flights for their commuting purposes. Are you saying an sdf-anc-sdf pairing would be less "stupid"?

I agree with cougar (whose predictions are usually spot on) and think (and hope) that we'll see 777s in sdf before 747s have a crew base there.

 

The implication I was replying to suggested it would not be feasible to have a hypothetical SDF 747 base cover the existing 747 flying in Asia, which is not the case.

What does commuting have to do with it? I'm not suggesting the SDF-ANC flights should go away. If you read what I wrote I said the ANC-SDF-ANC pairings (whom everyone hates) could go away for the most part with an SDF base.

 

Ok, I guess I misunderstood your comment about us having an ANC MD base? Didn't understand the relevance..

I agree that everyone hates those pairings BUT the boxes still have to be flown to SDF, right? So does it matter if the trips start in anc versus sdf? They'd still need out and backs in order to bring it all to the world port, wouldn't they?
Unless you think ANC might close and the freight will go straight to SDF? Then all the bets would be off.

This is me hoping 74 stays away from SDF..

 

I didn't mention anything about the ANC MD-11; maybe you meant to reply to someone else?

But back to the point, why would they need out and backs with a SDF base? 3 747s leave SDF to go to ANC, then they go onward. Why couldn't they have pairings that start in SDF and route SDF-ANC-XYZ, then do that in reverse? Something like that could be done with an SDF base. It might not get rid of all the out and backs but could reduce them significantly.

As far as ANC-SDF-ANC vs SDF-ANC-SDF, the latter would be so much better IMHO for all the commuters. Fly in to the SDF sort, start your trip to ANC, rest, operate back then jumpseat home. Much better than jumpseat to ANC, rest, operate to SDF, rest, operate to ANC, rest, jumpseat all the way home. With SDF-ANC being the harder of the two legs it would be nice to get that one out of the way first. In addition I think it would be easear to get two sleep cycles in ANC than at the Galt House. Go to bed at the Marriott at say 7:30 am, sleep until 1pm, be up all afternoon and evening, close down some of Anchorage's finest watering holes, go back to bed at 3am, get up at 11:30 for your afternoon flight to SDF. Sign me up!

 

So is there any hope of shorter trips for new hires such as 4 days?