Originally Posted by
Anderair
I have always heard that the pay potential at FedEx was superior to that of the pax carriers. It seems pretty straightforward looking at the pay scales available on APC. However, using Delta as an example, you may not be unable to upgrade to WB Captain for a long time but a NB CA can expect to pull in $290,000ish. With the profit sharing I would guess you are pulling in around $315,000. I'm guessing 10% yearly profit sharing is average (Covid years aside). Is $315,000 that far off what a FedEx WB CA would make if he just flew his line like the hypothetical Delta NB CA? I realize that being on a WB pay scale from day one is an advantage for career gains. It just seems to me that legacy FO and CA pay plus profit sharing isn't that far off of the pay rates I see on APC for FedEx. Forgive me if I am overlooking something obvious, simply trying to wrap my head around where the massive cash flows I hear about from FedEx guys is coming from. Is it all coming from picking up premium pay and the like?
Comparing 5th year WB Capt at Fedex vs 5th year NB Capt at Delta, hourly rate difference is about $50-60. Delta DC is 16%, Fedex 9%. Delta PS is never a sure thing, but Delta does have cash over cap. The one thing that is the big differentiator is the pension. As long as that is in place and it is well funded, it is a big deal. With all the talk of ALPA FDX trying to negotiate a new plan and the company desperately wanting to get rid of it, who knows what will happen.
The jobs are also about preference. Fedex still has line bidding, and when properly staffed, pilots have the ability to drop trips and message their schedules more than any other job, again when properly staffed. The job also doesn’t require much seniority to hold paid commercial tickets to work, but even without CML tickets, commuting on Fedex on metal is significantly less stressful than commuting on a pax airline. Obviously living in base evens out this advantage, and Delta has significantly more places to live options. Health insurance premiums at Delta are ridiculously high, about half at Fedex.
Bottom line, you take away the pension, and the gap narrows significantly. I suspect if Fedex is ever successful in negotiating away the pension, it’s gonna require something like a 18-20% DC plus cash over cap.