Lifestyle changes at FedEx/UPS?

[skyward80]

I have talked to a number of airline pilots at the major, national, and regional level who have told me how their professional lives have changed as a result of all the turmoil in the industry. I was just wondering... how have things changed for people working at FedEx and UPS? I am interested in any details ranging from higher pilot utilization rates to increases in airport security to new problems for jumpseat commuters. If this information has been posted before, I apologize for asking again and request that the link be posted. Thanks in advance for all responses.

Skyward80

 

[BrownTailGuy]

Things have changed quite a bit here at Big Brown.

Security is tighter (although you may get different opinions on that.) They screen you before you enter the property and also checks your bags and give you the wand before proceeding to the airplanes.

Jumpseats are the biggie and source of contention to us and our friends at the other carriers. We have yet to open our jumpseats to offline pilots. Which sucks and I do apologize for that. Right now only UPS personnel can use our jumpseats. We are doing everything we can to get them open again. Hopefully soon.

Pilot utilization was already high here as our contract pretty much sucks when it comes to line construction and reserve utilization. Hopefully they'll get bette rin the next contract.

I am not sure if this answers any of your questions. But I gave it a shot.

Fly Safe

 

[PurpleInMEM]

Life in the purple lane...

There have been a few changes here, but I don't think that things are that different.

Utilization rates really depend on what seat you're sitting in. I can tell you that for the 727 Captains and FO's our utilization has been very low (In Feb I flew 4 times, 2 landings). In March it spiked a little because of the military activations, but it wasn't anything to write home about. The number of open trips is practically zero. The SO's were hit harder because they have a larger percentage of folks hanging in with the reserve/guard.

Security doesn't seem to cause too many problems except for what's going on in the pax terminals when we've been assigned a commercial deadhead. I go out of my way to only use FedEx to commute and to move back and forth between deadhead assignments whenever possible. The terminal security hassles coupled with a reduced commercial schedule plus greater reliance on the use of RJ's really make FedEx's jumpseats (IMHO) the better, more comfortable option. Our discount programs with the pax airlines aren't that great anyway so I don't use them unless absolutely necessary.

The internal jumpseat issues are contentious and still need a lot of work before we'll ever get to allow offliners back on FedEx jumpseats. There's still a long way to go.

 

[skyward80]

Are the problems associated with offline jumpseaters due to new federal mandates or is it the result of new company policies? Also, are the jumpseat issues bad enough to make commuting a thing of the past for all but the most senior pilots?

Skyward80

 

[madjack]

BrownTailGuy,

Do you still fly the Porsche Mooney? Can you PM me?

madjack