UPS new hires to MD-11!

[Spooky 1]

Nice to hear from you again

Hey Spooky ... how's things at the senior center these days? To clear up any confusion ... UPS doesn't really have a choice. Not enough FO's on the current seniority list bid for the available MD-11 FO positions, so UPS is forced to hire into the FO position from the street. Age within a new hire class determines seniority, but I'm sure UPS is looking closely at the backgrounds of the pilots they assign to the MD-11 as someone has previously suggested. As far as a new hire being assigned as a "relief pilot" (UPS calls them IRO's ... International Relief Officers) our current labor agreement dictates that all IRO's on all fleets (except the 767) be CAPTAINS. You can be sure UPS is pushing hard to change this during current negotiations ... or probably HA$ changed it since scheduling has been completed.

Take care and remember your Geritol, Centrum Silver, Preparation H, denture cream, and especially that Viagra for Mrs Spooky!

BBB

Big Beer Belly........so nice to hear from you again. I starting to have withdrawls from not having my daily rationing of age dicriminatory insults. Now to what really matters.

Why does UPS distinguish between the MD11 and the B767 as far as having a Captain serve as IRO? It would seem that this is an area that UPS pilots might trade for something really important as opposed just filling as many Capt. slots as possible without adding any real meaningful safety to the operation.

I am starting to fade................so I'am going slip back into my usual comotose state for the next hour or two. Wake me up when you have an answer.

 

[Below Mins]

Why does UPS distinguish between the MD11 and the B767 as far as having a Captain serve as IRO? It would seem that this is an area that UPS pilots might trade for something really important as opposed just filling as many Capt. slots as possible without adding any real meaningful safety to the operation.

It's strictly a contractual issue. When the current agreement was signed in 1998, we did not have the MD-11. The contract states, specifically, that FO's may serve as IRO's only on the 767. This most likely will change in the next contract.

 

[Spooky 1]

Thanks. I see where you are coming from now. Last contract 1998. No wonder you guys are a little pissed off.

 

[Boogie]

Speaking of contracts, are you guys getting any closer?

 

[BoilerUP]

I've heard the -11 is staffed at nearly 10 crews per airplane. Even with the long-haul flying, isn't that pretty darn high staffing? Seems like people would have problems getting landings as it is...

 

[donger]

Ouch! I do love those brown uniforms though.

Yikes!

 

[Brown Cow]

Thankfully the attention has drifted away from me. Maybe some of you are a little harsh towards me. This was a classic case of misunderstanding, misinterpretation and a bunch of other "mis-" words.

The General originally started by saying that the 727 FE seat was the worst......great for those guys that could bypass that horrible place. This was originally taken as offensive on my part. I felt that the General was attacking us in a way to emphasize that at Delta there is no seat as bad as the FE seat; that we were in some way a lesser being.

I retorted, the General retorted, I retorted, the General retorted, then others chimed in, and I decided to let the dust settle.

General, please accept my apology. I didn't mean to maliciously attack you or your employer. More importantly, I did not in any way want to suggest that I am better than anyone else, that I am privileged. Quite the contrary. I feel darn lucky.

I recently had a closer look at some of your posts in the past; some raised an eyebrow, some made me laugh, and some made me a little smarter. General, keep doing what you are doing, you are an asset to this board. Hopefully our paths won't cross like this again.

 

[Heavy Set]

Thankfully the attention has drifted away from me. Maybe some of you are a little harsh towards me. This was a classic case of misunderstanding, misinterpretation and a bunch of other "mis-" words.

The General originally started by saying that the 727 FE seat was the worst......great for those guys that could bypass that horrible place. This was originally taken as offensive on my part. I felt that the General was attacking us in a way to emphasize that at Delta there is no seat as bad as the FE seat; that we were in some way a lesser being.

I retorted, the General retorted, I retorted, the General retorted, then others chimed in, and I decided to let the dust settle.

General, please accept my apology. I didn't mean to maliciously attack you or your employer. More importantly, I did not in any way want to suggest that I am better than anyone else, that I am privileged. Quite the contrary. I feel darn lucky.

I recently had a closer look at some of your posts in the past; some raised an eyebrow, some made me laugh, and some made me a little smarter. General, keep doing what you are doing, you are an asset to this board. Hopefully our paths won't cross like this again.

Now that's professional. Wish we could have more professional discussions like this.