DaRaiders

Hello all. I am blessed to be starting at FedEx in a couple of weeks and have a few questions for FedEx pilots living in Northern California:

1. How easy is it to commute to KMEM? I live less than a two hour drive from KOAK, KSMF, KSFO, KSJC and KFAT.

2. Are there a fair amount of commercial dead heads out West? If so, how senior are they?

Thanks.

Ranger

Welcome aboard, Da. Commuting to MEM can be done fairly easily out of KOAK, KSMF and KSJC using one leg, company flights. If you use KFAT you'd have to go through KOAK. I don't think we're doing a regular trip out of KSFO to MEM right now but I could be wrong.

The west coast deadheads are part of the old westcoast overlay system and they do tend to go senior. But the movement in the F/E seat on the 727 is pretty rapid. If the commute and spending time at home are your big priorities then hang out on the 727 and build the seniority to bid the westcoast deadheads. But remember that the company has been busily clamping down on the deadhead trips and they are slowly trickling away. You can't count on any good deals lasting forever.

Enjoy the training. We're one of the few companies that can jam 4 weeks of training into 10 weeks. And remember this. You're going to work for a great company but you will NOT be working for nice guys.

captain_drew

WELL SAID . . and woefully true! The Bubba SOB's will smile at you -and stick a knife between your ribs almost similtaneously.

Commuting puts a little more stress on you than living on The Planet BUT. .the quality of life you and your family will enjoy by avoiding MEM is worth it.

Even if you are not senior enough to bid the West Coast D/H's, you will learn the ropes of booking and riding the Jumpseat rather quickly. And, as you noted, all those flights out of the various airports in NORCAL do have J/seats no longer available to the other employees.

Congratulations and watch your six. You have probably snagged the best job in the industry for future advancement, earnings and security. Don't tell anyone you know me <g>

DaRaiders

I have one more follow-up question:

If I can't get the West Coast DHs, how senior do commutable lines go? That is, a 7on/7off vs. a 4/3? I know people at the regionals that commute with the 4/3 and they maybe spend 1.5 days at home at a time.

I also understand that trip trading can help with the commute. Is that pretty doable? Thanks.

captain_drew

VERY!! Turkeys like me will ‘park’ in a seat to stay senior enough to enjoy the non-MEM lifestyle.

Well if and WHEN you DO get senior enough, it actually works out about to 5 ‘on’ (get paid for 7) and 10 off. THAT, besides flying out or (or near) your home is what makes them go senior. I was #3 Captain for about the last 6-7 years of my career. . and seniority goes down from there. The guys I was flying with were stratosphericly senior in their respective seat too.

The way the ‘5 on’ works is that the trip is constructed (on paper) to depart via commercial DH from MEM on Sunday afternoon, to give you adequate ‘crew rest’ before the trip starts on Monday PM. So, you live in the area and simply show up at the airport an hour before departure . . but have been on the clock for pay for more than 24 hours.

You fly all week, generally ending up in the same place you started Monday night every morning. When you get back on Saturday AM, you are scheduled (on paper) to hotel crew rest, so as to depart, via commercial DH to MEM on Sunday. SO . . you get 2 more days of pay than you actually work, by virtue of NOT living in MEM and having to do the whole trip as scheduled.

And. .if you can’t hold these week long DH schedules - trip trading is used (relatively easy because there are a lot of commuters) to ‘bunch’ trips together, so you don’t end up with ‘dead’ days in MEM.

koz2000

Repeating what the other guys said. Most guys who wanted to commute stay there early on so they can get some senority and get at least a VTO line so you're able to trip-trade. There are some OAK hub turns on the 72. However at least for your first few months you'll be through MEM quite a bit, but within year on the panel you'll be able to get a pretty good schedule. Just a suggestion, I'd get a bid-pack and look at what lines look good to you.


Welcome to the company.

DaRaiders

Thanks, guys. I've never had had an airline-type job before and was a little concerned. It seems there are a lot of ways to make commuting bearable, even for junior guys. Thanks, and see you around!