Originally Posted by
Albief15
It is interesting to me when I speak to a room full of wannabes and ask "who has FedEx as their first choice?" how many hands I see. The answer the last couple years has been "none" or "not very many".
Our last contract plus the lack of a new contract at Delta has swayed a few folks back towards us, and there are always some folks who really want to work at our company for a host of reasons--location, family ties to the company, or an almost paralyzing fear of being furloughed at some point if they go to a pax carrier.
That said, I know what the IDEAL is with our hiring matrix, which is more or less what Delta is using. The thing is many of the guys who are most attracted to FedEx don't fit that template. What I have seen is we've hired some real rock stars, but there are also some guys here now HIRED RECENTLY that would never have gotten hired at Delta (or at least I perceive they would have had a major challenge getting the call...)
I like it here. I am not trying to run down my own company. But it is amazing to me how quickly this place went from being "the place" to go to "a an option for the right person..." The growth and pay raises at the legacies has gotten the attention of a lot of pilots, and many are mitigating the furlough risk by staying in the reserves, putting momma back to work, or other options. One military recently went to Delta, even though he was a long time FedEx wannabe. FedEx finally called him after 3-4 months on the property, but he declined the interview. He's very happy there, and saw no reason to leave. Another regional pilot I know has a mom who worked at the company for years (not flight ops) and lived in North Mississippi. His whole life was geared towards one day working at FedEx. Two years ago he went to Delta, and he loves it...and is not coming back. FedEx doesn't really care if they miss a good pilot here or there, as long as they get enough good pilots to fill the classes and do the job. They aren't going shut down because they cannot get pilots, and the guys they get will likely do a solid job. But for the first time in over a dozen years, a solid pilot out there has a few options, and its starting to impact hiring.
United is interesting to me. Its been a financial disaster for decades. But something is going on over there, and the kool-aid they are drinking has a lot of new folks pretty happy. They have energy and optimism, both which have been in short supply for a long time. Growth and getting the base you want have a way of doing that. I have seen quite a few guys pass on Delta to go to UAL, usually for domicile reasons, but again....that's a trend I don't remember seeing since I've been coaching.
FedEx isn't scraping the bottom of the barrel yet, and there are pilots leaving other companies to come here. Its a great gig and they will always be able (IMHO) to fill classes. But not every guy in the class will be that ideal that has been discussed. If you want to work here--apply. Sponsors seem to help, but aren't required. Being typed in a plane we fly seems to help--tremendously--and may offset weaknesses in other areas. Being willing to go to an FDA seems to at least move you to the top of the stack.
I'm not disagreeing with you exactly, but FedEx is still very much at the top of the list for my peers and I (recently or soon to be separated/retired military). Maybe some of that is the older reputation you speak of, but each person has their own individual reasons. I'm in the BI class that just started last week and I would bet my recently received first week's pay that every one of the 20 of us in the class had other options. A few even came from other airlines. I have friends that have been hired or at least have an interview date with every other major airline and they would drop everything to come to purple.
And, as far as your example person that's over at Delta, I was in the same boat only with reversed roles. I had multiple letters of rec on file with Delta, ten or so more than any other airline I applied to. Several friends and family wrote recommendations for me to include my uncle who is retiring this year after flying for the company for 20 years and several reservists in my wing to include the reserve component wing commander. Conversely, I had no recommendations from FedEx and in fact didn't even know a soul at the company when I was surprised with the call to interview. I'd venture to say that I was in a similar scenario as your Delta acquaintance...I was very impressed with what I saw even though "I just knew" I was going to go with Delta, and now after being with the company for only a week, you couldn't get me to leave.