I wanted to get some discussion going in this area because I’m admittedly oblivious to its impact on us. I came from the regionals where I have an understanding of the history on the passenger side and how the regionals of today came to be. I’ve also been to Liege and have seen the numerous purple tailed 737s So I know all FedEx branded planes are not necessarily FedEx pilots. But since I’ve been at FedEx, I have had zero cockpit discussions regarding the topic. I was wondering if some seasoned vets could lay out some important information that could be important to know and understand. History, lessons, or even just general opinions so that I and other newer pilots can be better informed. Thanks in advance!

 

We could lose all FDA flying and probably 50+% of the 777 flying overnight because our contract is only valid in the good ole USA.

 

I know we own 75’s in Canada that aren’t operated by us...I believe this is due to Cabotage as those routes are point to point inside Canada. Perhaps something along the lines of any aircraft with a MTOGW over 150,000# shall be operated by FedEx seniority list pilots excluding flights limited by cabotage. I certainly don’t want the FDA’s to go away and it would be nice to capture the 73 flying out of liege.

 

I’d decrease that weight to 50,000lbs. Also, I’d include any remotely piloted/operates aircraft will be operated by our seniority list pilots. (The second part I put in my survey)

 

the ATR 72 is slightly over 50,000 pounds so I don’t think they’d go for that.

 

If your contract has scope protection it applies worldwide. You and FedEx would take your argument to an arbitrator in the US and he would adjudicate any disagreements. I believe at UPS the scope clause says any aircraft capable of carrying over 14,500 lbs of cargo must be flown by a seniority list crew. On routes where foreign governments have prevented the company from flying its own freight, we have been awarded damages. Cabotage rules obviously vary widely, but that hasn’t caused any problems for us that I’m aware of. That said, I’m still relatively new.

Also, we do have a scope carve out intended for peak. They have attempted to abuse it in the past and were schwacked by an arbitrator. Currently, we have a short term carve out negotiated to support the rapid growth in Asia flying. So, not perfect, but it gives us some leverage.

 

I didn’t think FedEx owned and ATR 72, I thought they are All ATR 42’s.

fine 51000lbs then.

But seniority list pilots operate any RPA/UAV regardless of size.

 

Scope encompasses many aspects. Some things I think we are missing are protections for fragmentation, cabotage, crew complement, UAS, and BOD seat. I’d also like to see a tightening on aircraft to include all jet aircraft, not just limited by weight.

 

Empire and Mountain Air Cargo both operate ATR 42 and 72 that are owned by FedEx. The ATR’s that they operate have a max takeoff weight of 21,5000 kg or 47,400 lb. The new ATR-72-600F that FedEx should soon own will likely have a MTOW of 23,000 kg or 50,706 lb.

I doubt we will see any regional jets routinely flying our freight but I’d say the scope should say any manned jet aircraft over 50,000 lbs will be flown by seniority list pilots and any RPA/UAV should be operated by seniority list pilots.

 

We definitely need this. The way things go with negotiations it could take 10 years after this next contract to get the following contract, and a lot can change in that time. I don’t expect we will go single pilot or remote pilot in that time frame, but we should get protections in there in case the technology and regulations starts coming.