Questions about commutting

[oilcanbland]

The more posts I read, it seems that the UPS and FedEx guys commute more than the pax guys. What is it about those places that makes them so "commutter friendly?"

As for another question, if you upgrade, do you lose your seniority or something?

 

[bobbysamd]

Seniority

You will always have the seniority number with which you are issued. Seniority improves with time at your company. The higher your number the better your lines and aircraft you hold and the more immune you become from furlough. For example, you might become a senior FO and hold a good line and domicile. Then, your seniority allows you to upgrade to Captain. At that point, you've become a very junior Captain and, although you are a Captain, the lines and domicile you hold might not be as good as what you held as an FO. Of course, you're making more money and getting that all-important turbine PIC time. In the meantime, those who are ahead of you will move on and you will move up the list to the point where you can bid and hold better lines and domiciles.

Hope that helps.

 

[PurpleInMEM]

Commuting at FedEx

I'm a commuter and I'll probably commute for my entire career, mainly because we don't have an extensive choice of bases. Numbers thrown around the company indicate that 70% of our pilots commute to work. While that number may seem really high, the truth is that most of us come and go on our own aircraft. "Off-lining" has become cumbersome at best and at the current time we can't even reciprocate our jumpseats to everyone else. Putting yourself on a FedEx jumpseat allows you to schedule the seat 2 weeks in advance. Flying to and from the airport within 100 miles of your home on FedEx provides discipline protection if for some reason you don't make it to work or you're late because of an aircraft or weather problem. There are a few restrictions (maximum length of the duty day, staging status, etc.), but if you follow the rules and travel to work on the company equipment it's a pretty safe bet. And talk about easy....no rude screeners, no lines, no uncertainty about pax loads. Another added benefit by travelling on the company is that your arrival times typically jive with the next outbound hub push. It minimizes the wait between your arrival and the showtime for your trip.

In addition to using the company jumpseats many of our trips start/stop with commercial deadheads. If you don't want to travel to or from your domicile you just let the company know that you'll find your own way to work, and use the value of the scheduled airline tickets to pay for your transportation. These are particularly useful if you live in the city that the trip begins and ends in. Lines like that in any seat are pretty senior.

FedEx is probably the most 'commutable' company out there. It provides maximum flexibility and protection. With all of our postal flying most larger cities are served by daytime and nighttime flights, most are 6 days a week. Not a bad gig if you can get it. Hope this helps.

Fly safe.

PS: Many thanks to all those offline crews out there that do allow us to get back and forth to work. Your assistance is greatly appreciated and we're working hard to get our reciprocal agreement up and running again.

 

[bssthound]

I agree with ifly4food. I commute from the New Orleans area. It's worth it to me. I love where I live and would NOT want to live in ATL. It's just too gosh dern big.
Yes, commuting is a pain but it's worth it for a lot of us. We all have different circumstances and are very fortunate we usually don't have to pull up our roots and move to parts unknown for a new job.

 

[oilcanbland]

While we're on the subject of FedEx, it sounds like an awesome place to work. I would love to get on with them some day.

Since I'm just starting my training, what is all I can do to better my chances of landing a job with them some day? I know that is kind of a broad question, but are there any specifics that I can try work on, that they require so I can get that job?

Thanks again.

 

[bobbysamd]

Internship

I'd try to get an internship with FedEx. Now's the time to do it, while you're in college; the idea being that you will meet people and make contacts. Plenty of pilots have leveraged college internships into interviews and jobs. There's nothing wrong with that. Check with your college placement office about internships. You may have to do some legwork of your own to get to the right person at FedEx.

Another thing to consider is taking a job with FedEx, and not necessarily an aviation job; the idea being the same as above, to get your foot in the door so that you're known in its system. I know of a pilot who got on with Continental using a similar strategy. This gentleman started with Continental throwing bags. Then, I believe he became a CSR. All the while, he was training and building time. He got on with an CONEX commuter and finally got on with the mainline. The fact that he had been an employee undoubtedly helped him.

Don't foreclose on other companies or internships with them. There are plenty of other good companies besides FedEx.

Good luck with your efforts.

 

[Caveman]

I commuted from LAS to CVG for a year. It was horrible. I never had any problem getting a ride but the length of the commute and the 'what if' stress wore me out. Now that I live in CVG my quality of life is 1000% better. I'm not particularly crazy about this area, especially when compared to Las Vegas, but I'm glad I made the move. I would have to think long and hard about commuting again. There would have to be some compelling reason to do it. My .02.