UnusualAttitude

I don’t expect 2021 to look like 2020 as far as WB international FO pay is concerned. There will still be some good deals but not like early 2020.

Then that FCIF comes out. Who knows anymore.

CloudSailor

Sure thing man.

Purple has its own history of management vs. pilots... the "Red Letter", before my time, then 4a2b... it ain't perfect here and there are plenty of issues that need to be fixed/improved.

Bottom line is, you already have one of the best gigs in the industry (THE best, in the opinion of many). So, careful what you wish for in coming here, you might just get that choice. Like the OP's "friend", now faced with a very tough decision. Most pilots out there would be ecstatic with either SWA or FDX. Can't say I know of anyone having left FDX for SWA, although I'm sure there are a few. However it does seem at least every other newhire class here we have a SWA guy/gal starting Basic Indoc.

For me, this great job is a means to spending quality time with family, traveling, skiing and surfing. Another 20+ years to go hopefully, and plan on doing flying about half the year or less (something I wouldn't say at my interview, and I know would not be the norm at SWA). I won't give my best years to a corporation in exchange for a high W-2. I plan to retire with way more than the almost 1,000hrs I have in my Make Up bank now (hours dropped over the years, without mil leave in my case). I make the same now than I did as a NB FO. But every upgrade (WB FO, NB CA), I just take 20% more time off, instead of a 20% pay increase.

I'm not faulting those who fly a ton, sell back vacation, etc. to make a killing. I totally get that too - specially in light of our outgoing Union MEC tasking our Negotiating Committee with selling our Pension away for pancakes. I expect that new plan to be sold hard to us this next negotiation cycle, by our own union. It's important you know our union will probably manage to lose our pension in exchange for an untried and unproven replacement retirement scheme, ahem, I mean, negotiate our Pension in exchange for a Variable Benefit Plan, sorry, I mean, Stabilized Benefit Plan. I think that's the last name the plan was branded with for sale. And even with that said, this is will still be a phenomenal gig.

Noworkallplay

2021 will be just as lucrative if not more lucrative for many. If the HKG quarantine is applied to crew members laying over, that will creat crazy amounts of draft. The amount of movement between seats from this last bid will create short staff issues in many fleets. The next round of bailouts will have billions for PPE and vaccines. This will creat draft for extra pairings. 2021 has started out great for many and will end that way also.

USMCFDX

This is how you win the game!

rvfanatic

Non FDX guy here, but I enjoyed your post thank you!

I don’t want to over simplify what you’ve said but it sounds like a very reasonable long term approach to what could be a difficult job if you let it (working extra, selling back vacation, and mostly night flying). We’ve all seen what that can do to pilots and it ain’t pretty.

I’m wondering with the power of compounding interest (Einstein said it was the most powerful thing in the universe) and time value of money, do some FDX guys take a shorter term sight picture and make as much as they can with the goal of financial freedom and retiring early, say 60? I’m newer in my airline career and interested in the work life balance, it seems like you took a counter cultural approach and are being rewarded in happiness, thanks!

UnusualAttitude

A few pilots probably stick with the “plan” to retire at 60 but I believe the last I heard our average retirement age was 64.

vroll1800

What would be the median age ? Moving on, there's a flip side to everything. Cloud Sailor's points are very well taken. The flip side is that if a pilot is enjoying a cushy, rewarding schedule at A60 , (especially if senior in seat/domicile) some would rationalize "why not extend it another 5 years ?"

USMCFDX

Yes that is the hard part - with max vacation, a little sick time thrown in, drop a trip here and there and it’s a very well paying part time job. Downside is you still have to go to work.

Thrust Hold

That's my goal Rvfanatic. At age 61 I'll have my 25 years of service towards the max pension. 4 years on property and I've already knocked out two years of my "High Five".

Plus, many things are based on your yearly earnings. Take LTD for example. It's 60% of your best 12 months in the last 36 (reduces to 50% of that after 24 months). You don't plan on being out early on LTD, but if you are then it's nice to have some financial advantages. I've seen odd things happen to folks at an early age and they always wish they done more to be better prepared for the unplanned events.

As with anything there's a happy medium. Don't want to work yourself into a Heart Attack, but also want to be prepared for some odd ball LTD triggering event.

Fr8Master

If you hit 60 and have 20-25 years at the company it is basically like half of a part-time job. You have roughly three months of vacation plus one month of sick time each year....on top of that just proffer or drop any trip you didn’t want to fly. You could very easily fly one out and back a week and do that all year.