FLY6584

How is the TPA to MEM commute? I always ruled out FedEx due to the commute, but really curious just how bad quality of life would be for someone living in Tampa and flying for Fed Ex?

Rum Runner

I'm not a TPA commuter, but usually we have one widebody in the morning, and one or two widebody's at night inbound to Memphis, in addition to the token Southwest flight every day. Getting to MEM doesn't look too difficult, but double deadheads to various cities might be more of a challenge. Quality of life...kinda depends. You wouldn't be able to hold TPA deadheads for quite a while i'd guess (where the trip starts and ends in Tampa), but you might be able to hold deadheads to other cities relatively quickly, depending on the fleet. Not sure where you are at now, but if you are going to commute, there's nowhere better to be in my opinion.

FLY6584

I'm at Southwest and commuting to HOU right now, but close to holding a decent line in MCO and will be driving to work. The pay and benefits at FedEx are hard to beat and having gone from the the cockpit of an MD-11 to a 737 I can't help, but miss the comfort of a widebody. I just don't want to bust my ass commuting for the next 33 years and regret my decision.

trashhauler

Fly, I'm based in MEM and been commuting for almost 21 years. Most of it from SEA, but I moved to FLL about 5 years ago. Commuting from here is a piece of cake. I'm on the 777 now, so I only commute once a month. But even when I was on the MD-11, it was 2 maybe 3 commutes a month. I know plenty of Fedex guys that live in the Tampa area and getting back and forth is not a problem. In the end, you need to decide what's most important to you. Driving to work is not a bad gig! Get a job offer first and then you can make that decision. Good luck!

Adlerdriver

I think it's difficult for guys that have commuted at other airlines to put the FedEx commute into perspective. I watched guys commute 5-6 times a month at United. Many thought nothing of commuting in to a 3-day trip, going home for a day and a half and heading back for another 2-day trip later in the week. With schedules like that, it's no wonder there is such an aversion to commuting.

Of course, living in domicile would still be preferred (if that domicile wasn't Memphis). I have spent my entire 11 years at FedEx in the bottom half of the seniority list for my seat. I was on reserve for two years on the MD-11. I have never commuted more than twice a month since I started here. I rarely had to sacrifice pay to make that happen - just a little computer time to massage the sked now and then. There are a few very junior scattershot schedules, but even those can be tweaked with a little effort. Most times I commuted once a month. Granted, that means you're away from home big chunk. Twice, maybe three a month may work better for some. More than that and you have to ask yourself how much transit time commuting you're willing to sacrifice to be home more frequently.

Having your days off in week long blocks or more is a huge boost to the QOL in my opinion. Add in the option of getting paid to commute (via deadhead, front/back or both) when you do go to work and the process quickly becomes unlike anything pax flyers may be familiar with. Just another data point to consider.

FDXLAG

Yep at least 30% of my block hours the last three years are sitting first class in American. I am pretty sure they quit the 2 little bottles of Glenlivet because of me.

G8RB8T

Commuting 11+ years from Florida to Memphis. The beauty of our system vs the airline I came from is we only have two departures a day and the inbound jumpseats always connect perfectly. Also you can reserve your jumpseat 21 days in advance. We also have a forgiveness policy in our contract for missed commutes for all but the long duty days on international trips. Combine these reasons with paid company commercial deadheads from your home and it's an easy life commuting.

FLY6584

Interesting perspective guys. I flew ACMI cargo in the MD-11 for about 8 months before I started at Southwest. Loved the MD-11 and the variety of flying, but hated the long trips away from home and the back side of the clock flying. I was pretty much doing 20 on 10 off though which I know is no where near the same as FedEx/UPS.

How many nights are you typically not home a month? Could anyone post some screenshots of a typical max QOL schedule vs a max pay schedule? Thanks!

FLY6584

I don't really understand what you mean by this. Could you explain more? Thanks!

FDXLAG

If you have 33 years left, you want to be at FDX. Next month I work a 7 day trip and an 8 day trip on a domestic schedule. It is a 35 day month and I think the pay hits the average pay for the month of 94 hours. At least 19 days off 15 nights away from home. And I have the opportunity to watch 6 baseball games at 4 ballparks with beer and be legal. This company the difference between a junior schedule and a senior schedule is much more dramatic then anywhere else.

That said who knows what the world will look like in 33 years. Life is a gamble.