The path to Fedex
 

Hi all,

I just began working with a regional Airline flying the Brasilia. I hope to be a captain in about 12 months and I want to pursue FedEx after I have some valuable time as a captain in the Brasilia. I would like to ask for any advice on what I can do on the meantime so that I can hope for FedEx. I am planning to apply even if I don’t have the minimums and update my resume often to show my interest. Please advice and recommend as you wish please!

Thank you and I appreciate the time:D

The easy way....
 

If you would wear a skirt, have a Spanish surname and are African American you probably meet the minimums today. Just kidding.....

Sounds like you are doing all the correct things. You are going to probably need an endorsement from an active pilot or pilots. Do you have any friends working at FedEx today? If so, they are the ones to actually be contacting. They will get you in the door faster tahn anything else.

- Get as much PIC time as you can,
- Try and get in the training department or management,
- Make some friends that are FDX pilots (three at least) and fly with them.

Your timing is great. The Vibroliner is an excellent PIC builder. You sound like me about 9 years ago....

screw that brownnose crap!....come cut my grass for free and i will give you a recommendation...

Captain Mark,
Where do you live? I'll be riight over.

I see...what next charge them 5% of their anual earnings if they get the job...I'm sure you would recomend anyone!:D

The Vibroliner is an excellent PIC builder. [/QUOTE]

that is halarious!!!!!!!!!!!!! never heard that one:D

Vibroliner
Brakilya
Third World Death Dart
etc....

Do you have a 4 yr degree?
That's one of the minimums.

You will need recommendations from several people, preferably who have flown with you, and one of them will have to sponsor you and bring you in for a meet-&-greet with a Chief Pilot.

And supposedly a meet and greet is near impossible to get until January currently.

Rumor has it that they will ramp up interviews again in late Sept.
Hope that pans out for you folks!

Do continue to build your hours and at the same time try to get to know a FedEx pilot or two. You will need ONE good recommendation, from ONE highly thought-of (by FDX Flight Management) pilot, to gain an interview. The meet-and-greets are a way for our Assistant Chief Pilots to become impressed with you as a person. The actual screening of your resume tells enough about you (along with ACP/CP approval) to warrant an interview. Two good recommendations are better than one, and three are better than two. Good Luck, and keep building that time. Line pilots Rule!

Upgrade to Captain in the first class possible, regardless of the airplane, and build your PIC time. Getting the required PIC time seems to slow many guys down in qualifying for employment at FDX. Don't take the F/O seat in the RJ when a Capt seat is available in the 1900.

Pilot Careers
Qualifications


Typical qualifications for consideration as a FedEx pilot.



* Commercial Pilot Certificate with Multi-engine and Instrument rating (without limitations)

* Current ATP Certificate or written

* Current FE Turbojet Rating or written (FEX or Basic/turbojet)

* Must pass FAA mandated drug screen

* Recency and type of experience is considered

* Meet requirements for and currently hold First Class Medical certification

* College Degree from an accredited college or university:rolleyes:

where does it say 4 year???

the last line says college degree.. obviously you can get a 2 year, but you wouldn't be very competetive, so it's only common sense that everybody here is saying a 4 year. hell, make it a masters!!

I talked to my ACP, SCP, VP OPS regarding the 4 year degree requirement. There is no way around it, it will not be waived.:(

I heard November come out of Jack Lewis's mouth.

With 25 per class for the next few classes, the pool will dry up rapidly. Last I heard, it was around 100 swimmers, so that number is probably way off.

Nov is what I had heard also.

That would be great since I was supposed to have a m&g in August but it got pushed back. Right now I'm waiting it out.

It's tough to hold on right now, especially since almost every guy I know is getting snatched up by Southwest. Supposedly, Southwest can't even interview enough guys to fill their requirements.

I'm holding off on getting my 737 type until I get a better feel for my chances at FedEx.

Just a piece of advice. Obviously FedEx sounds like it is your 1st choice. Thats great and I certainly can't fault you for it. (Delta was mine in 1984 and it didn't work out).
It sounds like you might be putting all your eggs in 1 basket. If you haven't even interviewed at FedEx yet it could be 6 months before you even get one (assuming you do) and 6 more months in the pool after that (assuming you get a thumbs up)......some guys swam in the pool for a year or more after getting a thumbs up. (up to 3 years in some cases)

If SWA is choice #2 (a good choice BTW) or you are planning on getting a 737 TYPE anyway, do it now and don't wait. Waiting until a possbile thumbs down from FedEx will put you 1 year behind the process with SWA. Wouldn't it be nice to have 2 offers(1 from FedEx and 1 from SWA or whoever)? If you get your Type there is a chance you could get hired by SWA or Airtran or someone else before you even get an interview here. At that point you would have a decison to make, but it would be a good decision. In any event, that is just my 2 cents worth as timing is everything, and so is seniority. Don't pass up or delay your options for a seniority # somewhere else.

Good Luck in your endeavors.

I totally agree with Redeye. Before I got out of the USAF in 1996 I got a 737 type for a SWA interview. Meanwhile I got a United, FedEx (my first choice), Alaska, and NWA interview. The 737 type helped for the Alaska and FedEx sims because they were both in Boeings. It wasn't until 7 months after I was already hired at FedEx that SWA called. I turned down the interview thinking that it would be better to turn down the interview and possibly reapply if necessary rather than turn down a possible job offer later if I didn't want to leave FedEx.

I'd hold on the 737 Type
 

Personaly I'd hold off on the 737 Type if FedEx is your first choice. If you know 3 guys you have flown with at FedEx, and are a good pilot with a likable personality I think your chances with FedEx are pretty good. You have a lot of time ahead of you still since you just started at the regionals. Many guys you will fly with in the next years may likely end up at FedEx so keep track of them.

Many things can change in the next 2-4 years in this business. I think that we will start to see a lot of hiring starting at the legacy carriers in the next 2-3 years as soon as they start posting profits which I think is coming. SWA may not be a choice for you when you start to become competitive with your PIC time, and if it is the additional pressure from hiring at the other carriers may change their position on the type. I attended an SWA meeting earlier this year with some friends. I asked how many guys out of the 4000 applicants they bragged about actually had their 737 types. Before she thought about whether it was appropriate to answer that one she said 4 hundred then changed the subject. That was back in April I believe; I believe that SWA is fairly short of guys with 737 types applying, but they are pushing the Higher Power thing very aggresively right now with the gauranteed interview which is getting guys to the door of HPA. A higher % of guys don't get hired than do after the type from what I've been told from my friends that have been turned down lately. I think it would be too much of a gamble for you as a new hire regional FO who could use that money elsewhere right now. Just my $.02 of course.

The advise on this thread is good advise; you have to sift through what is right for you. Check Airman/IP, training dept, additonal duties, volunteering around the community, physical fitness goals, etc will help you very much at FedEx.

Good Luck!;)

I hear ya, and some of my other contacts have used the same "eggs/basket" phrasology.

I'm making a 20+ year decision and I think that waiting a couple of months is worth it in the long run. I'm also lucky in that I have very flexible timing and a great paying job in the meantime.

The thought of being laid off or giving back half your wages and all your retirement sometime in the future is making wary of the passenger moving world. Consequently UPS is also a strong consideration, but I only know one UPS pilot, and I know quite a few FedEx pilots very well. SWA seems like a great company with great people, but I have little faith in the passenger industry as a whole.