Originally Posted by
propilot
One other factor you may want to consider. The 75 pays approx 20-25k/year less for doing the exact same thing as the Bus starting with year 2... That's a lot of lost income over a career...
No one's suggesting the 75 choice is a career long decision. It's a way gain control of the schedule sooner and get off reserve.
Let's not sugar coat it - the reserve system at FedEx sucks. If you've never experienced anything else, you may not know any better. Someone coming from a system with trip pick-up options, long call, trip bypass and other industry standard practices is going to be in for a rude awakening.
If you're going to move to MEM, bid a WB and deal with reserve. It's manageable for a local guy. If you're commuting and can get off reserve in a few months by bidding 757, that's the way to go. In a few years, when you can hold a line - then you bid the Bus or whatever and start getting the WB pay as a line holder. You go straight to the Bus and though your hourly rate is higher, reserve pay hours are lower and you're spending some of that extra pay on a crash pad and domicile car you probably won't need on the 757.
If you want to try to plus up the yearly earnings, you work two of the 15 days off you have as a 757 line holder and make the same as the guy on A300 reserve with 13 days off. Or, another month you don't - flexibility is a wonderful thing.
757 new hires could decide to go any direction after being with the company a while. They've done the domestic hub turn thing - if they want that at WB pay, they go to the Bus, 767 or even MD-11. International, commute to ANC or bid the 777. If a guy goes straight to the Bus, he's kind of stuck there. Not everyone is going to be willing to do a complete transition course for a lateral move WB F/O to WB F/O just to leave the Bus and fly international. Some might, but a lot of guys will stay put until they can hold a left seat. So, it seems like a new hire going to the 757 keeps a little more flexibility for sensible training opportunities for future flying options.
Another reason to go 757 would be the easy transition to the 767 when the time came to jump to a WB. I think if I was thinking long term, I'd go 767 vs A300 when I wanted WB pay. Transition from 757 would be quicker and easier, the flying in the domestic fleets is basically the same and the 767 fleet is going to continue to grow.