Hope Max didn’t change. Only realistic guy in here.

 

I think lots of the "hiring talk" is for now, just that, and intended to give people a reason for vote for the TA, and close the book on this particularly ugly chapter of Fedex labor relations.

Again, I'd love to be proven wrong, and lots of well informed people are assuming its going to occur. But I think the primary audience is the pilot group, in an attempt to sway the pilot group to give them a reason to vote yes.

We all have our reasons, some better than others, for the airlines and jobs we take. One thing that is hard to explain to people is the money made in your career is in the last 5 years, not the first 10. So, you're banking on that last 5 being the valuable 5, and not a case of bankruptcy or career stagnation (to say nothing of the cases of medical out or similar bad luck.)

That's a function of getting a good seniority as early as you can. If you're leaving a seniority number at any Legacy on the table, you're talking a future opportunity cost lost in terms of 35-50K per month in right now dollars. Just my opinion.

 

If the hiring talk is just talk, they’re having us poolie dudes submit quite a bit of info for kicks and giggles. Perhaps some might say that’s par for the course, but have some friends well connected and seems like it’s pretty real.

I agree with your sentiment of leaving decent seniority to come to FedEx, but that’s not the case for me. I’m not giving up any seniority/coming from a legacy. Even with the 2 decades I have left, still a difference of millions for me vs my current gig. Any career decision can come back to bite us at any moment, but as much as I can, I’m making a good faith decision on my next, and hopefully last, career move.

 

Don't let APC sour you on this place. It's not all bad. Has it been a rough five years? Yes. Have the draft wh0res consistently destroyed the small amounts of leverage we had? Also yes. Has the silent majority AND Jetflyers undermined the NC and pilot unity at every turn? Again, yes. Has a decades long culture of a management friendly union and 'you gotta give something up to get something' attitudes eroded the quality of life here? Yes again, dammit.

On second thought, why do you want to come here?

In all honesty, I'd come here again today, ever after the dumpster fire of this negotiation cycle. If you've done your homework on FedEx schedules (something for everyone), recent stagnation (probably about to change), scope worries (probably overblown but I'm no expert), the change/elimination of a true DB, difficulty moving between fleets, the PSA pathway, etc, etc, and still want to be here, you'll like it just fine. There's plenty to dislike, and plenty to (hopefully) improve in future contracts...but we still make great money, have a great vacay system, no PBS, and don't work very hard. Plus you already live in MEM, so the worst part is behind you!

Good luck!

 

https://simpleflying.com/why-cargo-a...ately-need-to/

Big reason our fleet growth has stagnated.

 

So, if this is a known problem, to the point a 4th rate online flying magazine can generate some AI slop about it, wouldn't our best-in-class management want more 767s, not less? Why did they walk away from the last ones?

 

because they lack corporate vision, aka, forward thinking, right max, and instead are focused on personal gain. in my opinion, I could be wrong, but all the management lurkers know that I am right.

Hey, it’s the new America, or maybe the old America that I had failed to see given my proclivity for hope and all good things like an early push.

 

How do you know they might have other aircraft orders and have not released the information. Pilots always last to find out.

Ace can’t believe you haven’t jumped into the open CFO position with all your knowledge. With that Riddler aviation degree you would be a lock!

 

A big reason that isn’t talked about much that I’d avoid this place as a young guy/gal is the bid packs.

The MEM 777 bid pack is riddled with 13 day trips that have multiple 18-20 hour layovers in them. Think you’re going to have a good time in Tokyo on your 18 hour layover ? How about Paris for 18 hours?

Im not saying it’s a party at United on the 787 BUT they do work less. I have to do a 13 day trip next month. My buddy, with the same hire date at CAL which became UAL is a senior LAX 787 FO. He flys 9 x days per month. LAX to SYD, 24 hour layover, then back to LAX. He lives in domicile (which I do not) so of course that makes his life easier. But I’m working a full 4 x days a month more than he is for the same credit hours (and a lower hourly rate even under the new TA)

Another problem about our long international pairings is, you can’t count on flying them as advertised. I was in Darwin’s one time and heard a Kalitta guy talking to an Alaska guy about their schedules. Kalitta has hard line bidding, just like we do. But the Kalitta guy said “when you bid a schedule here, what you’re actually doing is telling the company which 17 days, which can be extended to 20 without your consent, you are able to work. You’re not actually going to fly anything even resembling that trip”

As we become more Atlas/Kalitta with respect to international flying, is that something you want to deal with over a 30 year career? Again, I’m talking 777 flying only. The 767 guy who bids a line flying MEM-JAX-MEM over and over is likely going to fly with that schedule. But this is no longer true on the 777

 

What the United SYD guy doesn’t tell he is trashed for at least a day after every trip. I recover once a month. Also SYD is very senior and probably highest block per trip. Another cherry pick.