Fedex is a great job. They just haven't offered any off the street folks in over 2 years. If Fedex offers you a class date first, you are gonna commute from the town of your dreams or of your reserve unit, and you have 20-25 years to fly, you probably won't be disappointed.
But if you have another offer first or simultaneously, you don't have that long to fly, and are happy to live in the NYC area, Atlanta, DFW, Miami, Houston, or the west coast, then you might want to consider your options.
Fedex has brutal reserve rules, and new hire life is no picnic there. Talk to your friends there and at the legacies and get some hard facts that will apply to your life situation, reserve rules, available bases, and training pay/hotel. There are real differences. Some not a big deal but some worth considering. Then there is the 800lb gorilla. The hard reality is Fedex suits want nothing more than to take that pilot A fund. Another harsh reality is the pilot group there has no great motivation to sacrifice anything in their current contract negotiation for guys not on the property. Not pointing fingers just pointing out life in the big leagues. 15-16% B funds are industry standard at the legacies and maybe you might get that as replacement for the A fund. Maybe not. Want to fly backside of the clock for a lesser retirement than your legacy buds/Captain? Hmmmm.....
Who is the more sustainable long term company? Lots of smart people can argue different positions on that. I have run a lot of numbers but while retirement percentages and year by year or year to year plus 1 or 2 and the footnotes on the unglossy paper in the Annual Reports are all things i can comment on, i have no idea of who is more of a great long term bet. Nobody else is either. Albie hit the nail on the head about who replaces Fred. Look at SWA, they are doing fine but their current leadership is not Herb. And who saw oil at $50 a barrel? Somebody said you will know when you retire if you made the right choice. An old skipper told me to buy a Captain's house early, you will either die in it or keep it in bankruptcy.
So if you get to pick, think it over. If you don't go to first one and don't look back.
Easy.
