What ugleeual said. Typically the threshold for an invitation is about $50k spend on United tickets in a year. For years and years, FedEx pilots have been invited into the program if they meet or exceed that threshold. This year, it appears no FedEx pilot was invited. At a minimum, 100 qualified with an average spend of over $75k. Meanwhile, non-FedEx pilots were invited to join with even less than $50k spend.
It’s purely a business decision in both directions. United has decided it doesn’t care about the revenue generated by a contingent high spending FedEx pilots. At a minimum, roughly $7.5 million dollars in 2023. Those FedEx pilots are asking “do you really want to do that?” If United says “Yeah, F you”, the next move is on each FedEx pilot who cares. American and Delta both have similar programs for roughly the same amount of money. So far, they continue to welcome FedEx pilots into their invitation only programs. So each pilot can make their own decision on whether they continue to fly on United, or take their travel bank elsewhere.