FedEx Feeders Why!!!

[A300FE]

Mot transport might be a member of management. If you are, “my paycheck is not enough”. If you are not, check the regionals first year pay and then check if they work the same hours we do, have weekends off, and all the holidays too. I will be home for Christmas week. Any first year regional guys out there have their holidays off?

 

[refplusnone]

Getting holidays off has more to do with your base being properly staffed and its run vs. seniority. If you have enough pilots at your base then great, someone has to be off. But if your base is short then chances are each base member will be flying (unless someone used vacation) irregardless of how long you've been here.

 

[fokkers&beer]

Feeder pay is low. If you are familiar with the feeders, you know how they operate.
They are not scabs, just sub contractors. I work for one of the major cargo companies, and speaking for me I don't really want to operate the under 100K# aircraft anymore (I think the contract cap is for even smaller A/C).
I spent almost 6 years flying for one of the feeders. It was one of the most fun, and at the same time frustrating experiences I ever had.
If you want to truly learn how to fly an airplane, spend a November with a feeder in an old F in SE Alaska. For that your pay is truly too low.
The thing with the Feeders, especially on the 121 side, it is designed as a time building job. The pay is low, but better than flying a Metro, or a Brasilia for Ameriflight (At least for me it was, better pay, better flying).
The companies say the pay is right on par with the average TProp operators, but whos still operating TProps? Other than Horizon, theres no good companies operating them in the Lower 48. As a result, the company throws the Horizon guys out of the survey, and averages the rest of the group and Voila a salary survey.
Just my .02 and I miss you guys, especially you Blingair.

F&B

 

[A300FE]

Getting holidays off has more to do with your base being properly staffed and its run vs. seniority. If you have enough pilots at your base then great, someone has to be off. But if your base is short then chances are each base member will be flying (unless someone used vacation) irregardless of how long you've been here.

I hope you are only talking about my week off for Chrismas, because we all get ALL other holidays, plus weekends. Did you fly on Thanksgiving day? What about 12/25 or 01/01 coming soon?

 

[goodgig]

A lot of feeders are not home for holidays if they fall in the middle of the week.

 

[A300FE]

A lot of feeders are not home for holidays if they fall in the middle of the week.

You are right, if you are a floater and do not live in your base. Thanksgiving was a Thursday and many where not at home. At least a bunch of us got together for dinner and had a good time south of the TN border.

 

[refplusnone]

I hope you are only talking about my week off for Chrismas, because we all get ALL other holidays, plus weekends. Did you fly on Thanksgiving day? What about 12/25 or 01/01 coming soon?

Ok, so your a noob the feeder world as your posts within the past year would indicate.

If your run has a holiday that falls during the week you WILL spend the holiday in the local hotel. I have spend more than one holiday drunk a$$ in a hotel rather at home. This year I'm at a base being the most senior man in house so I spent T-giving with the fam. I'm not saying its bad, but being out of town on the holidays is part of the job.

To answer you question NO, I did not fly on the holiday. But I have brought freight in on the night before and sat for 24 hours at the hotel (when most people would be with their families) then flown out the next morning (0200 local).

Flying boxes we do not technically fly on a holiday (depending on your run), but lets not mislead other readers of this thread so they think we get every holiday off.

To answer the question about the 25th or the 1st. I don't fly as I'll be on vacation snowboarding and drinking vodka. Preferably the latter before the first but I'm not to picky, but either way I'm gonna be F'ed up by 10 am. Maybe noon if I'm feelin' like takin' it easy.

Ref

 

[A300FE]

Ok, so your a noob the feeder world as your posts within the past year would indicate.

If your run has a holiday that falls during the week you WILL spend the holiday in the local hotel. I have spend more than one holiday drunk a$$ in a hotel rather at home. This year I'm at a base being the most senior man in house so I spent T-giving with the fam. I'm not saying its bad, but being out of town on the holidays is part of the job.

To answer you question NO, I did not fly on the holiday. But I have brought freight in on the night before and sat for 24 hours at the hotel (when most people would be with their families) then flown out the next morning (0200 local).

Flying boxes we do not technically fly on a holiday (depending on your run), but lets not mislead other readers of this thread so they think we get every holiday off.

To answer the question about the 25th or the 1st. I don't fly as I'll be on vacation snowboarding and drinking vodka. Preferably the latter before the first but I'm not to picky, but either way I'm gonna be F'ed up by 10 am. Maybe noon if I'm feelin' like takin' it easy.

Ref

Yes I am a noob in the feeders world, but I had my fair share in the cargo business for the last 10 years. I had my fair share of 20 on 10 off or some combination like that in big jets and international flying too. That is why I think this is not to bad. I hear many complaining about this and that and they only have a few hundred hours of flying and this is their first experience.

Many think that OFF means only "at home", and if you have a holiday OFF is not that unless you are with your loved ones. I say that you have to make the best of what you can in this profession. You can stay in the hotel or go an have some fun with the boys. In Christmas 2005 I was in Taipei. I could stay in the hotel or go have a nice dinner with the guys, paid by the company, at the Hilton next to Taipei 101 tower. What do you think I did? You can enjoy a holiday with others too.

Again, make the best out of this, the grass is not always greener on the other side.

Enjoy the snowbording. Cheers.

A300FE