Originally Posted by Laughing_Jakal

It's easy to promise anything in an agreement if you can abrogate it with Force Majeure.....I was hired by United after the "summer of love" contract.....and the contract was astounding from an industry perspective. I was also hired by FedEx at the same time. I was told I was a liar, that there was no way I would be a FedEx if I was hired by United....I was told that I was "F'n Stupid and that I 'deserved' to be with F'n losers at FedEx" from other FedEx pilots when the mantra was "Delta + a nickel".....I was 35 years old and the average age of new hire was 33 for the last three years before I got out of the military....they were merging with US Airways....In retrospect I was a frikin genius......That contract disappeared.

You can promise anything in a contract if you don't think you'll have to see it through due to Force Majeure.....These pax carriers have proven that they will furlough and renegotiate many times at the drop of a hat. They cabbaged retirement programs and bought little airplanes for subsidiaries....

I'm not sure I share your enthusiasm for the future economy....I believe we have a better chance of us seeing our TA payrates in 2027 then they have of seeing theirs.

A friend reminded me I told him years ago "Pigs get fat....Hogs get slaughtered".....different context, different time, but it feels relevant today. For those who complain that FedEx doesn't know how many to hire...hire too little (good thing), then hire too much, then explain to me how we haven't had any furloughs in our history....worst that happened was 4A2B and I took a brunt of that. FedEx has a different business model and paradigm than the passenger carriers....with the exception of "Zap Mail", there have been very few large blunders......

There is a grass is greener syndrome so strong among some that they are might be best served by leaving....this may be a golden moment in time. For whatever reason, you feel like you got to the "Party", late at Fedex....you were at the wrong end of a business cycle, or wanted to secure that sweet mil retirement job before applying (because, you know...FedEx is always a gimme), or you weren't brave enough to make the leap, or you were such a jerk you couldn't get an endorsement, or you were working your tail off and not like any of those guys, and timing just sucked. This is a turbulent business and anyone that tries to tell you it isn't doesn't know what he or she is talking about. The ability to move to more comfortable waters is a valuable skill, whether it is a seat, airframe, domicile or carrier. Largely you won't be able to control contracts....at least individually....evidenced by the fact there seems to be a strident group opposing my viewpoint who says I'm going to lose. The nasty ugly remarks about seniority could have been written by me during the Age 65 thing....I get it....but remember that Seniority is always relative to someone else, and your biggest effect on your personal seniority is your decision....Just because your new hire classmate bought the mini-mansion and upgraded to Captain at the two year point does not mean its the right decision for you.....and anyone that says "in Unity" and we want to "Improve the profession" is virtue signaling.......the ones who want to improve the profession volunteer a heck of a lot of time (I don't agree with his assessment, but TonyC is someone who I believe is wrong....but puts a tremendous amount of time, energy, and good will into his efforts to improve the profession).

You only have to be junior once.....you guys are complaining about stagnation, but you are deriding people for wanting to take an increase in retirement before going out the door...they spent five or more years on the panel of the 727 doing exclusively night hub turns building the company and the contract into a place you thought you wanted to be at for ever.....I am surprised when I see immature and childish statements like "its time for you to leave"....as if you had a say in anyone's longevity on property.

If you think you need to leave, I would advise against it....but I won't write you a check if my advise is wrong....sorry. If you think you need to stay....then I think you'll be ahead in the long run. If you are going to be angry and miserable if this TA passes, and can't let go...then for your own mental health, perhaps you should have gone to the Pax carrier to begin with. FDX does not suit everyone, Pax work does not suit everyone.......don't try to squeeze into something because of the money.....money comes and goes.

In the end, you'll never know if you made the right decision regarding the TA or leaving or staying with FDX until you can view it in retrospect. If you are wrong, no one will "make you whole"....no one will write a check to compensate you for "what should have happened" based on the rightness of your decision regarding the TA or Carrier choice. No matter 'how many likes" you got on your pithy social media post, we all have to live with the impact of our decisions. I trust my track record of assessing what's right for me a heck of a lot better than I do Pax carriers promise to fulfill a contract with its pilots. I am fully ok with my "YES" vote no matter how many of you deride my motivations and publicly defame Pat May.