sky jet

Great, but what do I know, I just work there. Like Max said, your take is revisionist at best.

Birdsmash

With an earlier post mentioning 30 hour CFR duty days?

zerozero

Well, this is a thread about National, not Kalitta, so I'll stand down. Anyone who is really interested (practically no one except a few geeks like me who like to watch the consequences of our collective actions) may go review the pages and pages of hysterical rants about Dave Bourne an Dan Wells in the Kalitta forum.

Safe and restful flights to everyone.

Twin Wasp

True, it was just odd acclimatization was mentioned.

Hawkerdriver1

IDK about 117. I just looked at the ops spec for 119.

Thanks guys for the correction on the duty w Atlas & Kalitta. Yes. 30 hours is insane. Thankfully, it does not happen too often.


HD

The Dominican

Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you with big words. What I wanted to say is that according to the folks I know that work there, very rarely they extend their duty anywhere close to their regulatory maximum and anything above a certain number of hours (20 I think, can't recall exactly) needs the CP's approval and not done very often. And after one of those long duty days it is usually 24 to 36 hours on the ground. It's all done with a heavy crew, a LM & ROM and comfortable bunks for your rest period. The downside is long periods of boredom where people tend to compensate by raiding the galley that can lead to a Body by National! That's the picture that I've been drawn from several people that I know work there.


Maybe Hawkerdriver can confirm or correct it. Is not for everyone, I get that! There are people that are content with 4 on and 3 off doing multiple sectors from Newark up and down the east coast. To me it is appealing to have a Hefeweizen and sausages for lunch in Germany and have dinner the next day in Dubai thinking that after my rest, I will be headed to Poland. But it turned out that 48 hours later instead of Poland, I'm making a line around the corner from a street vendor in Ho Chi Minn city with a Michelin Star award hanging from a tent on a sidewalk, who serves a Char Kway Teow that will have you seriously consider becoming a Buddhist. I am a Libra, enjoy women, whisky and long walks on the beach holding hands.

Airbusgod

To hawkerdriver1 thank you very much for your informative posts. You give us a good inside view of life at National on the 747 fleet. Do you have any insight on life on the A330/757 fleets as well. Thanks a million

Hawkerdriver1

Your welcome. The A330/757 fleets are much smaller. Their missions are too. Far less flying per month, mostly domestic, especially for the 757, & passengers only. ( Almost ) I know of one time the 757 loaded cardboard boxes of masks, from Asia,in the passenger & cargo areas when COVID was just starting.

The company picked up a seasonal contract last year for the A330 flying tourists from Miami to Ushuaia, ( The tip of South America ), & back. Some 10.5 hours each way.

Orlando is the crew base for both though requiring anyone wishing to operate those types to move to Orlando.


HD

C17B74

I for one concur wholeheartedly. Groundhog Day wash rinse repeat til the end of my days which everyone will eventually succumb too isn’t for me. Familiarity regarding routes, frequencies, departures, arrivals, etc. does have its advantages especially when exhausted. Having a good layover along with only working a third or half the long haul flight is amazing if you are built for it. As Dom mentioned, if you prefer experiencing new adventures, cultures, delicacies and or rolling thru country sides internationally it can’t be beat. Consecutive early morning departures, minimum rest at basic accommodations definitely takes some backbone in itself. Chilling with some crews and hanging out at some very interesting locations will cost you a bit, but a company paid for vacation vs actual work is nothing to sneeze at if you really enjoy the diversity. Small price to pay and I can take my family to locations they would really enjoy after previewing them ahead of a family vacation debacle. Points to boot for upper class service on selected seats doesn’t hurt either. Everyone is different, you are in command of your destiny aside from the normal upswings and down turns of which you have not control. Thanks Dom, time to bid back to Hanoi… fellow ACMI to National.

The Dominican

4P's Pizza place, they have a location in Hanoi. You can thank me later.