Sluggo_63

Have any of you FedEx'ers used a ZED fare for SA travel overseas? With a spouse?

On a weekend layover, and all the Global Travel stuff is on the intranet, so I can't get to it.

Thoughts? Good/bad?

Thanks...

SC-7

I asked this question a few years ago. The answer I got, as best I can remember was,

We don't do ZED at FDX;
We don't really even do ID75's or ID90's;
We do have some reduced fare agreements, but the details of these are buried deep within VIPS, and require request forms to be filled out;
The reduced fare ticket is based on the walk-up-to-the-counter price, and is a standby ticket.

I did the research on a few different fares and determined it was all around less a$$ pain to look for bargains on orbitz. Looking back I'm not sure I've ever met anyone who's used those fares.

AFW_MD11

Call Global Travel and select the "personal travel" option vs. the usual "crew member travel only" option.

All the discounted non-rev-type tickets are purchased through this section of the Global Travel office, and they can give you info and rate quotes, etc. over the phone.

There's a page on pilot.fedex.com under the FORMS link on the home page. Then select PERSONAL TRAVEL FORMS. This page has all the standard fees listed for most of the "fixed rate" carriers. Call to get a quote for the "variable rate" carriers.

The actual ticket purchase/request is done by sending them (email or fax) forms and then they issue the paper ticket & send it to you - or you can pick it up at the AOC Global Travel office, or other delivery options.

It is NOT a fast process, so give yourself PLENTY of lead time if you're ordering these kind of tickets through GT.

Depending on the carrier you want to use, the "deals" are widely varying in price and rules (priority of standby, which family members are eligible, etc.)

My direct family has used AA a couple of times and it has been fairly painless, and way cheaper than the best online fares on AA - but that was for a short domestic trip. Don't know about international.

Also, the AA tickets are standby at the LOWEST of their non-rev priority list.

Start with calling Global Travel - Personal Travel.

Good luck & have fun!

ANCFRTDG

Why is it that the corporation gives the entire airline industary the same discount we receive BUT we don't get squat on the pax carriers?????????
Another fine example the 'Freight Dog" mentality at work. Wish there was some way we could get ZED travel benifits for current and retired employees. After flying rubber dog s--t out of Hong Kong with the sodomizer my whole career it would be nice to get some benifits to travel somewhere for fun when I had the free time!

golfandfly

sluggo,

Not sure what your background is, but non rev (zed fare, ID-90, etc) travel can be very difficult. If it is somewhere you really want to get to, I recommend highly to buy a ticket or use FF miles. If you guys are really flexible, it might work for you, but I have had some real nightmares trying to non rev.

HazCan

Who is Zed?

golfandfly

Zed's dead...

gderek

I tend to agree that the standby fares are pretty useless, even if you work for the carrier doing the flying it's incredibly difficult these days. I'd go to Cheap Flights, Hotels, Airline Tickets, Cheap Tickets, Travel Deals - KAYAK - Compare Hundreds of Travel Sites At Once and look for the best deals you can find. These fares will tend to cost less than all of the hotels you'll need to book when you don't get on the flights you hoped to. I guess it comes down to how much free time you really have and where you want to go. I don't even bother with these anymore.

The last time I flew standby(previous airline) we spent all day trying to get to the Islands and my wife looked at me and said, "I'm never doing this again, why didn't we buy tickets?"

meatloaf

Tried Global/FX travel a few times; results were minimal to total-waste-of-time for anything other than biz travel. They are pleasant, though.

You're better off for the family with anything online: orbitz, travelocity, kayak, FF miles, slow boats to China, etc.

MaydayMark

Actually, I always thought that the limited travel benefits we do receive (i.e. ID90's and ID75's) were in exchange for other airline employees getting discounted shipping on FedEx (obviously we can't give them discounted travel on FedEx!).