Originally Posted by
PurpleToolBox
People being added beneath you does not equal seniority. Seniority is how close you get to the top.
Four years ago I did a comparison of the airlines and looked specifically at hiring from retirements as a percent of the crew force. Not one airline, now even Delta's with their hiring boom, exceeded FedEx. Only United in the last four years of my career exceeded FedEx's retirements as a percent of the crew force -- AT THAT TIME. Since Fedex hired a bunch last year, the percentages would be skewed a bit. But even when I did the math, the retirements as a percent were within a demical of each other.
Tell that to the people that have gotten furloughed over the years!! The reality is BOTH bottom and above are important, but bottom provides insurance. And while you are looking back, everyone is looking forward. The ship has sailed on Delta for the average guy (not if you are real young), NO ONE will provide as rapid seniority ascension as AA, not even remotely close!! And one would think the complete disarray is going to be fixed eventually (good steps taken by new planning guy). Fedex is right about average as far as seniority progression is concerned, just as UPS is.
While seniority progression is very important, for a new guy people below you is just as or more important. If a person really wants to work for a particular company, then it really doesn’t matter. I would say most folks pay attention to hiring trends, and while I personally believe the current Fedex hiring slowdown will not last long, others might think otherwise. Everyone is currently hiring pretty much at max capacity, including Brown, while Fedex stands out. Just bad optics.
I am very much rooting for FedEx, but the current optics simply might sway some people, just a bad time to be hitting a funk when the pilot shortage situation is about to get more acute.