FedEx Schedule

[IFLYASA]

I'm looking hard at FedEx now. I know they aren't hiring for a while, but it may be worth the wait. Anyhow, I was just wanting some info from the current pilots.

How many days off do you avg. a month? What are the schedules like on the 727/MD-11? 4 days, 7 days, 14 days? What's a typical trip like, time of duty in to duty out, and how much night flying are you doing?

Thanks

 

[Okie Pilot]

I can only speak for the 727.

First, days off. We have two bid months, 28 Day and 35 Day. Reserves get 13 and 16 Days off respectively for those months. We have Build Up/Relief/Conversion/VTO/Custom Lines whatever you want to call them. I have never bid one, but some guys love them. For the line holders on the 28 day month, Days off range from 13 to 16 days off, and for the 35 Day month, it ranges from 16 to 20.

I have been here a little over two years, and mostly have flown days stuff. Normally I will fly a night time trip every 3 months, tends to be my average. Some guys won't touch night stuff, some guys won't touch days. To each their own.

Trips on the 727 are anywhere from 1 through 6 day trips.

Typical day trip from Memphis is to show in the afternoon, around 3PM, push an hour later, and arrive around 6PM. Eat dinner your Company Provided Cold Meal and then push around 10PM or so, get into Memphis around Midnight. You are done until the next day, do it again the next day. A two day trip would be the same except it would be 13-15 hour overnight and come back in the morning, departure around 7 or 8AM, and then you would show again in the afternoon. That is called PM Hub Turning. The 1 day trips are only out of Memphis, the 2-6 day Daytime trips are all over the system.

Night stuff is the same, 1 to 6 day trips. Same deal as the day stuff, except you show 3 or so in the morning, getting to the destination around 6 or 7. Some trips will turn and come back to Memphis, getting in around 9AM. That crew is doing an AM out and back. That is just a Memphis event. If you layover, that crew spends the day at the outstation until around 9 or 10PM and comes back to Memphis, or other Hub in the system, sits in the hub until 3 or so in the Morning, and goes to the layover again. That is AM Hub Turning. They would normally do that for a week. This kind of thing happens all over the system at all the hubs, not just Memphis.

I don't do AM Hub Turns as a general rule, and when I do, it is normally out of Alliance or Indy. I think in two years I have done a dozen AM Hub Turns.

We also have trips that start and end with Deadheads, or have deadheads on one end only. This is popular with the crowd that doesn't live in Domicile because they can commute on a PAX airline and FedEx will cover the cost up to what it would cost them to Deadhead you from Memphis to that Location. These trips tend to be senior.

There is all kind of stuff for everyone. I really won't say too much about the other airplanes, as I haven't experienced it. Most of the Domestic stuff is like what I described. Looking at the Bid Packs on the 11, the international stuff can go from a two day trip to a 12 to 14 day trip.

The day flying is longer duty days, shorter overnights, but you are up during normal people hours. The night flying is shorter duty days, longer overnights.

Night flying goes Junior for the most part, and day flying goes senior. I was able to sit afternoon reserve after about 3 months, after checking out as an engineer on the 727.

Reserves, as a general rule is noon to midnight or midnight to noon. Normally you know well in advance of a trip, and if not, normally you are assigned a trip early in the period, so you after the first few hours you are fairly safe if you haven't been sent out.

Hope that helps, good luck!

 

[Goose17]

well said, but...

It might be best to say we have all sorts of planes going in all directions at all hours. There is such a huge variety, that everyone finds something they like. If you like; day/night/domestic/international/short hops/long hops/multi-leg trips/single leg trips/long layovers/out-n-backs/etc. you will find it at FedEx.

Most of the domestic structure is centered around a day or night sort like mentioned above, but there is a huge variety (to repeat myself).

Goose17