Smoked

Can you please dive a bit deeper into why the schedules are bad? Are you talking specifically for commuters up to ANC or the airline as a whole? If speaking to the whole airline, do you believe it’s due to the post-covid rut the industry is battling or more of a permanent change to the way UPS builds schedules? Ie. Can the schedules go back to a better build quality once some volume starts coming back? Do you foresee the postal contract improving scheduling? Not purely from a day flying aspect, but I can only imagine there will be more commuting options in the fall. Some cities may have an AM and PM jumpseat option.

CardboardCutout

The schedules are particularly bad for ANC commuters, but if people who have been here for a while are to be belived (and I can't see why they shouldn't be), schedules in general have been deteriorating for the last ~decade. Opinions as to whether they are capable of being contractually improved seem to vary something like 50/50, with the optimists saying that with scheduling as the #1 contractual priority, significant QOL gains can be made with iron-clad language, and the pessimists saying, essentially, that UPS will always find a way to hose us on scheduling and we ought to use our negotiating capital to secure money, money, and more money so that we can retire early and get out before the schedules kill us.

Brownose74

it’s all relative, but as cardboard above me said, schedules are going south. In ANC a small percentage of lines are commutable and are usually picked up by very senior folk.
mod range you get 3-4 shows every bid period. And with low seniority it’s easy to find your self with 4-6 shows.
if you are a double leg commuter from the east coast, this will eat up 6 days off, and even more if you have to commute on a weekend.
I’m not domestic yet, but I’ve been researching the lines there and they aren’t that great either. That being said, commuting to SDF is much easier than ANC. Not many carries fly there and in the summer it’s nearly impossible to get a seat and ticket prices sky rocket.
The optimizer software is cranked to “hurt them hard” and it’s not fun. I’ve hear guys in domestic hating life.
In conclusion it’s all relative.
some guys have good luck bidding VTO and might get 14 day trips with two shows a month, but that’s not a common case.
there is a big push to fix out scheduling section, but for the short term count on hurting. Even if we do get a cba, they will find a way to screw you, it’s what they do from what I hear.
I am on the make as much money as possible and save and retire early. It’s a good job, fun crews, stable (so far),but it’s by no means easy for junior guys.
I’ve also been very lucky and have had long stretches of days off due to training conflicts and trips taken out for OE.
i have friends really doing great with VTO lines.
last month I bid VTO and got a horrible line. You win some you lose some.
but if you are coming here expecting to just cruise, I wouldn’t count on it. If I knew then what I know now I would have gone to a legacy. I’m here now, in generally happy, I’ve made moves to help my cause and it’s worked. Some people can’t do what I’ve done, and I don’t blame them. Take it for what it’s worth.

Swedish Blender

The saying before they lifted nepotism was “we work here so our kids don’t have to.”

There is truth to that. It’s a good job but be prepared for what it is. Night/day sort flying unless you are on the whale.

Recliner

Average retirement age of 63 says a lot about the schedule quality and how it doesn't get exceptionally better towards the end of the career.

74 has two training events a year and I think company got tired of the training conflicting bigger blocks of work.

Brownose74

overall it’s all been worth it. I love it here and hope things improve. I work hard and play just as hard. That being said i wish more people on these boards would have voiced the issues we see, granted, many things have changed in a fairly recent time frame.
it’s aviation, my career has been a freaking roller coaster, today pax are doing well tomorrow God coughs and cargo is the place to be. 🤷

brkingactionNIL

How is life in ANC if you choose to move there? Can anyone share some basic trip breakdowns a junior FO living in base might expect and how many hours they average per bid period? Currently pending green: 3 internal recs, 8500 hours, 1500+ TPIC, heavy intl time

zeruela

With those hours, you should be better off flying for a legacy in the low 48.

Swedish Blender

It’s been a several years since I’ve been there, but the the guys who lived in ANC had the best QOL of anyone I knew. If you want to live in ANC, not just for the job, but really want to be there, life should be good.

It is probably different now simply because if trip length, but there wasn’t a lot of sick calls and reserves had it pretty good. Someone there now should be able to give a better view.

CardboardCutout

I've also been out of ANC for a couple of years, but when I fly with those guys who (as per above) actually like ANC and whose spouses feel the same, it seems like they have it about as good as anyone at the company. And the seniority is great, esp. in the right seat.