Folks approaching FedEx do need to do some due diligence. This is a great job. I have been blessed to be here for some time. But for a 30ish new hire, this company is NOT the same company that hired many of us. Our current climate, and cost cutting vectors, may in fact be a transitory experience. Then again, it might be a harbinger of what the company will morph into in the decades ahead.
When I expressed that thought to a guy with a Delta interview who is a local boy, pointing out as I was de-shoeing in security that we do not have KCM, he said "yeah…but you do still have your A plan!" If you make a decision to come here for 30 years because today we are industry leading pay and still have a pension, you might want to be careful. Thirty years is a long time to fly in the middle of night for a pension that (so far) has not been improved since 1992. Even if they keep the pension, without significant improvements its going to be worth a fraction of what the value once was. The company is also disingenuous when it suits their needs. I got dingled out of $1100 of deviation bank this month with the difference between paid and "accepted" fares. Why? Because they CAN do that to me. I am outside of KCM because "IT ain't in the contract…" Culture doesn't put money in your W-2, but do not discount for a moment that it is important. Make my job easier to do and I will work more for you. Make it harder and it becomes a job--even if it is a damn good job. I'm not complaining about the little annoyances as much as I am sending a warning that the way the company has dealt with the pilots indicates costs are the driving factor in all decisions. There is no growth here now… they are hiring to replace retirements. On the other hand, there is growth at other companies, as mainline moves to retake flying back from the regionals. I cannot say with any certainty that Delta will be a better place to work that FedEx, but I can say that what you saw in 2000 and 2005 and 2010 at both companies is changing. With a little leadership, this place could snap back overnight to the best job in the industry. Right now, I think it still is…but the direction I see us moving is often disappointing.