Is the Hong Kong or Germany deal commutable or do you have to live there?

 

How many sims are still at Hacks?

 

I was just told yesterday that there is only one sim left at Hacks. Even the FTD is at Airways now with two full up 757 sims. Another 75 sim coming from Dallas soon.
As for the RV, I plan to take mine down for upgrade training next year. The monthly cost at the few campgrounds I checked out in Southhaven MS was between $300 and $400 a month. I don't play well with others so I prefer staying in my own camper.

 

3downandchecked
In the November new hire class there were 2 ART pilots with no 75 pr 76 time and one I know of was heading to HKG. I cannot say whether the other was a FDA applicant.

 

That's awesome news! Thanks for the info.

 

HKG has commuters, but the schedules have limited "single departure" (lines that fly all your flights back to back). I can guess that the commuters may trade trips to create blocks more suitable to an oceanic commute. I don't know much about the Cologne base.

 

I was sitting in the Hacks Cross auditorium when this new system was being introduced to all of us in the room (I was a 727 LCA at the time). After the first coffee break, everyone was laughing at the new hiring criteria because had we been subjected to this new system, none of us would have been hired.

 

Yea I was beside you brother voicing the same thing and last week in Hong Kong at Nathans 5 of us were voicing the same concerns. The mix was about 60 to 40 mil vrs civ and all of us in dismay concerning the current hiring practices. It seems we are hiring future BMs etc not guys or girls you want to fly around the world with!

 

Bowel Movements? Hope they don't bid the 767.

 

It is interesting to me when I speak to a room full of wannabes and ask "who has FedEx as their first choice?" how many hands I see. The answer the last couple years has been "none" or "not very many".

Our last contract plus the lack of a new contract at Delta has swayed a few folks back towards us, and there are always some folks who really want to work at our company for a host of reasons--location, family ties to the company, or an almost paralyzing fear of being furloughed at some point if they go to a pax carrier.

That said, I know what the IDEAL is with our hiring matrix, which is more or less what Delta is using. The thing is many of the guys who are most attracted to FedEx don't fit that template. What I have seen is we've hired some real rock stars, but there are also some guys here now HIRED RECENTLY that would never have gotten hired at Delta (or at least I perceive they would have had a major challenge getting the call...)

I like it here. I am not trying to run down my own company. But it is amazing to me how quickly this place went from being "the place" to go to "a an option for the right person..." The growth and pay raises at the legacies has gotten the attention of a lot of pilots, and many are mitigating the furlough risk by staying in the reserves, putting momma back to work, or other options. One military recently went to Delta, even though he was a long time FedEx wannabe. FedEx finally called him after 3-4 months on the property, but he declined the interview. He's very happy there, and saw no reason to leave. Another regional pilot I know has a mom who worked at the company for years (not flight ops) and lived in North Mississippi. His whole life was geared towards one day working at FedEx. Two years ago he went to Delta, and he loves it...and is not coming back. FedEx doesn't really care if they miss a good pilot here or there, as long as they get enough good pilots to fill the classes and do the job. They aren't going shut down because they cannot get pilots, and the guys they get will likely do a solid job. But for the first time in over a dozen years, a solid pilot out there has a few options, and its starting to impact hiring.

United is interesting to me. Its been a financial disaster for decades. But something is going on over there, and the kool-aid they are drinking has a lot of new folks pretty happy. They have energy and optimism, both which have been in short supply for a long time. Growth and getting the base you want have a way of doing that. I have seen quite a few guys pass on Delta to go to UAL, usually for domicile reasons, but again....that's a trend I don't remember seeing since I've been coaching.

FedEx isn't scraping the bottom of the barrel yet, and there are pilots leaving other companies to come here. Its a great gig and they will always be able (IMHO) to fill classes. But not every guy in the class will be that ideal that has been discussed. If you want to work here--apply. Sponsors seem to help, but aren't required. Being typed in a plane we fly seems to help--tremendously--and may offset weaknesses in other areas. Being willing to go to an FDA seems to at least move you to the top of the stack.