TA???
05-14-2026 | 09:34 AM
#241
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,515
Likes: 66
From: MD-11 FO
Pay isn’t the issue. Job Protections and Quality-of-Life are.
FedEx:
-Company can use other carriers to fly freight that doesn’t touch the lower 48 states via interline, co-load, code-share, part charter and enter into block space agreements with other carriers. In other words, all of those coveted wide body international flights could vanish tonight. But they’d never do that right?
Scope boogeyman...ooooo....scary! I though the Scope Chair was the cat's meow for the burn it down crowd.
-No two pilot requirement. As soon as FedEx can replace a pilot with a robot, or go fully autonomous, they will. And it’s happening sooner than we all think.
Pretty sure the FAA mandated this one.
-Worst reserve rules in the industry. All reserve days minus a few R24 lines must be sat in domicile (Memphis, Oakland, Anchorage or Indianapolis) (short call). Think 15 or 19 days a month spent in Memphis.
How many days can Delta/United pilots be converted? AA has tons of short call reserves that must be in position...and unlimited conversions from long to short.
-For those on 1.5 hour callout, CRS can shorten it to 1hour.
Have yet to see that happen in my 5 years here
-Airport Standby duty
Different kind of operation...btw United has that, too.
-Company putting week long hotel standby into the bidpacks for better reserve coverage.
Don't want 'em? Don't bid 'em.
-Only a maximum of four night hub turns can be assigned to a reserve pilot. That’s not a win.
Sure. Ok.
-FedEx doesn’t allow you to commute to long haul flights … you can, but if you don’t make it to work you get in trouble. So most pilots come to domicile early which increases the time away from home.
Commuting is a choice. No legacy airline bends over backwards to commuters.
-Commuting to work has become very difficult because of the loss of the day flying. see previous
See previous
-All new hires lose the defined benefit and get stuck on the MBCBP where your money is invested in a lackluster 55/45% split.
I thought new hires hated the pension and wanted total control over their own money.
-Real-time trip trading means you’ll get the “denied drop/swap due to minimum manning” faster. Winning.
Way to stay positive
-No X or Golden Days (I think that’s what Delta called them)
Those would be nice to have, but the airlines that have them have many restrictions on them.
-OpErAtIoNaL eMeRgEnCy involuntarily pushes you to FAR limits.
At least we know it's coming. AA just screwed you.
-Lost ~45% of domestic day flying. What’s left is hard to commute to.
We're an OVERNIGHT delivery company. We. Fly. At. Night.
-No FAR117. Cargo cutout ensures freight moves at the expense of your health. Company fatigue risk model is predicated on a pilot getting 1.5 hour sleep in a sleep room during night hub turns. Most don’t get it, so you’re at risk due to an incident related to fatigue.
117 would NEVER work here. You think your life is miserable now? Try it under 117.
-Expense reports … expense reports that nickel and dime you. This was written as an impromptu response, so a few minor exceptions or edge cases may exist, but the list captures the core scope and quality-of-life frustrations at FedEx.
Yes, they're a pain, but no legacy airline has flexibility to have company paid tickets to work and to earn miles/status on airlines.
FedEx:
-Company can use other carriers to fly freight that doesn’t touch the lower 48 states via interline, co-load, code-share, part charter and enter into block space agreements with other carriers. In other words, all of those coveted wide body international flights could vanish tonight. But they’d never do that right?
Scope boogeyman...ooooo....scary! I though the Scope Chair was the cat's meow for the burn it down crowd.
-No two pilot requirement. As soon as FedEx can replace a pilot with a robot, or go fully autonomous, they will. And it’s happening sooner than we all think.
Pretty sure the FAA mandated this one.
-Worst reserve rules in the industry. All reserve days minus a few R24 lines must be sat in domicile (Memphis, Oakland, Anchorage or Indianapolis) (short call). Think 15 or 19 days a month spent in Memphis.
How many days can Delta/United pilots be converted? AA has tons of short call reserves that must be in position...and unlimited conversions from long to short.
-For those on 1.5 hour callout, CRS can shorten it to 1hour.
Have yet to see that happen in my 5 years here
-Airport Standby duty
Different kind of operation...btw United has that, too.
-Company putting week long hotel standby into the bidpacks for better reserve coverage.
Don't want 'em? Don't bid 'em.
-Only a maximum of four night hub turns can be assigned to a reserve pilot. That’s not a win.
Sure. Ok.
-FedEx doesn’t allow you to commute to long haul flights … you can, but if you don’t make it to work you get in trouble. So most pilots come to domicile early which increases the time away from home.
Commuting is a choice. No legacy airline bends over backwards to commuters.
-Commuting to work has become very difficult because of the loss of the day flying. see previous
See previous
-All new hires lose the defined benefit and get stuck on the MBCBP where your money is invested in a lackluster 55/45% split.
I thought new hires hated the pension and wanted total control over their own money.
-Real-time trip trading means you’ll get the “denied drop/swap due to minimum manning” faster. Winning.
Way to stay positive
-No X or Golden Days (I think that’s what Delta called them)
Those would be nice to have, but the airlines that have them have many restrictions on them.
-OpErAtIoNaL eMeRgEnCy involuntarily pushes you to FAR limits.
At least we know it's coming. AA just screwed you.
-Lost ~45% of domestic day flying. What’s left is hard to commute to.
We're an OVERNIGHT delivery company. We. Fly. At. Night.
-No FAR117. Cargo cutout ensures freight moves at the expense of your health. Company fatigue risk model is predicated on a pilot getting 1.5 hour sleep in a sleep room during night hub turns. Most don’t get it, so you’re at risk due to an incident related to fatigue.
117 would NEVER work here. You think your life is miserable now? Try it under 117.
-Expense reports … expense reports that nickel and dime you. This was written as an impromptu response, so a few minor exceptions or edge cases may exist, but the list captures the core scope and quality-of-life frustrations at FedEx.
Yes, they're a pain, but no legacy airline has flexibility to have company paid tickets to work and to earn miles/status on airlines.
05-14-2026 | 09:41 AM
#242
Line Holder
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,140
Likes: 83
From: P-3C
-Bubs
05-14-2026 | 01:23 PM
#245
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 4,224
Likes: 71
From: Legacy FO
Please don't reply like that. LOL
Scope bogeyman is right. They ASLd Europe. They could do it to Asia. They could have contractors fly our airplanes or freight to and from any city pair that isn't in the Lower 48. Fact. Big gamble for a new hire.
No, the FAA did not mandate two pilot cockpits. You're incredibly ignorant of fact there buddy.
Delta *can* convert up to six of you long call days to short calls. SIX. Talking to former co-workers, they usually get 3 at best. BUT the kicker is, you get 12 hours notice to be there!
Just because YOU haven't seen a 1.5 RA converted to 1 hour in your wimpy 5 years doesn't mean it doesn't happen. It does! I know first hand. Hell, most don't even know that's in our contract.
You know our Airport Standby is different. You get 1.5 hours notice to be there ... OR ... 1 hour if the previous pilot was used.
The company is exploiting the contract by building week long hsbys. This is about quality of life. This is not a good development. Whenever they learn of a new productivity gain, they never give it back.
Commuting is not a choice for some, or else they'll become divorced. However, and you know this, commuting to any other airline is incredibly easier than FedEx. And as a reserve pilot, they can sit reserve from home ... not at FedEx.
Half of a new hires "B fund" is managed by the company in a 55%45% blend .... that's not great. I'd rather have all of the money for me to invest.
Our manning isn't mandated in the contract like at other carriers, We lost a lot of flexibility with CBA2015 with reserve manning model -- which is smoke and mirrors.
Glad you see the QOL benefits other airlines have with X days and no operational emergencies. The best part, FedEx doesn't even pay you extra for them!
Many of us were recruited for the day flying.
Our expense report system is a pain because they choose it to be. They don't want it to be easy to spend their money.
Face it, quality of life at FedEx incredibly lags other carriers. The pay, your job being at risk, not to mention the hit on your health, is just not worth it anymore. But I'm sure Spirit pilots will be flocking here when we start hiring. They better hope.
Scope bogeyman is right. They ASLd Europe. They could do it to Asia. They could have contractors fly our airplanes or freight to and from any city pair that isn't in the Lower 48. Fact. Big gamble for a new hire.
No, the FAA did not mandate two pilot cockpits. You're incredibly ignorant of fact there buddy.
Delta *can* convert up to six of you long call days to short calls. SIX. Talking to former co-workers, they usually get 3 at best. BUT the kicker is, you get 12 hours notice to be there!
Just because YOU haven't seen a 1.5 RA converted to 1 hour in your wimpy 5 years doesn't mean it doesn't happen. It does! I know first hand. Hell, most don't even know that's in our contract.
You know our Airport Standby is different. You get 1.5 hours notice to be there ... OR ... 1 hour if the previous pilot was used.
The company is exploiting the contract by building week long hsbys. This is about quality of life. This is not a good development. Whenever they learn of a new productivity gain, they never give it back.
Commuting is not a choice for some, or else they'll become divorced. However, and you know this, commuting to any other airline is incredibly easier than FedEx. And as a reserve pilot, they can sit reserve from home ... not at FedEx.
Half of a new hires "B fund" is managed by the company in a 55%45% blend .... that's not great. I'd rather have all of the money for me to invest.
Our manning isn't mandated in the contract like at other carriers, We lost a lot of flexibility with CBA2015 with reserve manning model -- which is smoke and mirrors.
Glad you see the QOL benefits other airlines have with X days and no operational emergencies. The best part, FedEx doesn't even pay you extra for them!
Many of us were recruited for the day flying.
Our expense report system is a pain because they choose it to be. They don't want it to be easy to spend their money.
Face it, quality of life at FedEx incredibly lags other carriers. The pay, your job being at risk, not to mention the hit on your health, is just not worth it anymore. But I'm sure Spirit pilots will be flocking here when we start hiring. They better hope.
05-14-2026 | 02:23 PM
#246
Aspiring PSA Captain
Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 1,144
Likes: 196
They should probably go with "better than unemployment" or "top-tier stepping stone".
05-14-2026 | 02:51 PM
#247
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 4,224
Likes: 71
From: Legacy FO
It would be interesting to hear the same "people" that encouraged FDX pilots to go to PSA just a few years ago stand in front of the room and give the old "you just won the lottery" speech to a new hire class.
They should probably go with "better than unemployment" or "top-tier stepping stone".
They should probably go with "better than unemployment" or "top-tier stepping stone".
After we voted down TA1, we had a chance to fix some things. But we didn't.
05-14-2026 | 05:58 PM
#248
Home a lot
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 83
Likes: 22
05-14-2026 | 07:08 PM
#249
Line Holder
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,050
Likes: 32
It's the duty extensions in the middle of the night where the biggest gains are found as well as the additional rest behind the door. ALPA is onboard along with IPA and they are gaining some traction in DC with a possible joint republican/democratic sponsored bill this year.
