Originally Posted by
C2078
The reason Fedex has a lot more long weekend layovers is because they still fly much of their packages over the weekend. UPS figured out long ago that trucking packages over the weekend was more effective, Fedex probably not too far behind now that they are focusing their attention towards Ground.
I'm not even sure what that means. UPS does not have a lot of truck movements on the weekends -- according to a group of friends I have who are all UPS Feeder truck drivers.
Originally Posted by
C2078
Fedex places high value in intra Asian flying. UPS on the surface seems less so. Fedex tied their long haul, heavy loads to the Triple, UPS to the 74. When all orders are fulfilled, Fedex will have about 20 more Triples than UPS 74’s. UPS 74’s can carry almost 90,000 lbs more payload than Triple-F, so UPS seems focused on more with less, as opposed to more frequency and less volume for Fedex. Simply different philosophies.
First, Asia specifically China is where most of the world's stuff is manufactured. Hence, the Guangzhou hub/sort facility. Second, FedEx Express flies 36% more air freight than UPS. Let's talk about 747-8F and 777F differences.
The 747-8F has a max payload of 308,000 pounds whereas the 777F's is 224,900 pounds ... an 83,100 difference. According to what I've found on the internet, the 747-8 (not the freighter) has a burn rate of 39 pounds / mile on a 7,200 mile length trip whereas the 777-300 (which has similar weight, same wing as the 777F) burns 30.4 pounds per mile. The advantages of the 777F allow FedEx to overfly fuel stop locations such as Anchorage. This allows FedEx to have later takeoff times than UPS ... accepting freight driven in from farther locations from the airport and/or allows freight from stores that can stay open later before the cutoff time.
Originally Posted by
C2078
When Fred passes, all bets are off. Fedex, while a publicly traded company, is very much Fred, still. UPS is not one person, and they still value their trucking mentality.
Among this industry, there are many who think Fedex will change when Fred departs. UPS will not change, they will always sweat the assets, view the airline as a “necessary evil”. I also see Fedex being more “business pragmatic” when Fred departs. Fedex treats their pilots like aviation professionals, while UPS treats theirs like truckers. But, UPS pilots knows the knife is coming from the front, prepare accordingly. For the Fedex pilots, the knife seems to be coming from the back while stroking their egos.
Both excellent jobs, simply very different mentalities. Kind of like Air Force vs Marine Core 😬.
Both UPS and FDX have issues with management. Yes, Fred Smith is still leading FedEx especially after coming back into the CEO position as well as the Chairman. However, the other CEO positions of the individual companies (Express, Freight, Ground, Services etc.etc.) are all newcomers. I don't think its Fred's baby anymore. Many of the original or long term leaders have since retired. Smith is kind of the last man standing. Fred for the longest time didn't think Amazon would be a threat and he is the main reason Express and Ground are separate.
UPS has a new CEO, Carol Tome. She's already pledged a "Better not Bigger" business model and has cut UPS Freight from UPS's portfolio.
FedEx is now starting to test the integration of Express and Ground networks -- once two completely separate businesses and something Smith was hellbent against. This is to help create synergies and efficiency in the system. There are times when an Express package can be sent by truck using the Ground network. How will that affect Express's domestic system (airplanes and city pairs) is really not known yet. Express could shrink because of the efficiencies created.
FedEx shed itself of the elephant in the room, Amazon, which was less than 3% of FedEx's revenue. The stock suffered because analysts could not see how FedEx could survive without Amazon as many don't understand FedEx's customers and their needs. But Amazon makes up 13% of UPS's revenue. UPS stands to lose a lot as Amazon builds out its logistics network.
My comments are not meant to be argumentative ... or a one is better than the other. I am adding or correcting some of the information presented. I believe new hires who choose to go to either airline will have a good career.