I can't speak for other departments, but if you come in as a corporate pilot for FedEx, you have a three year commitment before you are able to apply elsewhere in the company. The corporate department has the exact same hiring minimums as the line, and there is no guarantee of anything. You still have to submit an app via pilot credentials website along with your internal JCA or job change application. The corporate department is a great way in to the company. There are plenty of guys that have made a career out of corporate flying at FedEx.

I believe if you went the route of being a handler in the hub, you would only have a 12 month commitment before you could move along internally, whether that was into the training department or corporate department or whatever. I do know that in the corporate flight department, preference is given to internals for an interview before the posting goes external.

Sometimes,
I want to fly with you. I agree with you +1000%.

I think we all need to be reminded sometimes to be thankful for what we have because it can be easy to loose perspective.




http://buzzlamp.com/life-beautiful-yoga-pants/

Interesting. I'm relatively happy with where I am - or I'd take the advice I give others - I'd find another job. Lots of questions from folks about where to go - they deserve honest advice on pros & cons. It ain't all bad - but it's not all roses, Fedex simply is NOT as hot as it once was. Saying one should just "sit still" and be happy?? My guess is that's exactly what the company wants to hear. No way. I WANT a bigger piece of the pie while Fedex is making big money. Management & above certainly is. We deserve that just for the impact to our health in the long run! Hostile management creating a pilots vs them environment -- sick letters, pushing PBS, asking for concessions while the company makes record profits, maybe its the death by 1000 papercuts syndrome -- I guess if that's one's idea of a "great" place - so be it. For my part I never said it was a bad place to work - I can compare - I am merely trying to point out it ain't the king of the hill like it was, plenty of other 'relatively' good options for pilots to look at - and they should! I'd say it's a "good" place to be. Fedex became the place to be for good reason - its drifting away from that - love to see it swing back but not holding my breath. A good start would be getting a contract... I'd sure like to know the 'environment' I was stepping into as an aspiring pilot in any company. As I tried to point out I might very well have taken a different route than Fedex knowing what I know today. Pilots need to hear the good, bad & ugly - it helps make the best choice for their situation. I still wouldn't actively turn a guy away from Fedex that wanted to be here but I'd make sure he's thoroughly thought about pros & cons of the legacies, and cargo, before deciding to come here.

I have little doubt you were elated the day FedEx proposed. After all, you left your old partner (Delta) for the purple tail. I’m sorry the honeymoon is over. And even though you’re still married to the exact same contract that once attracted you, your eye has noticed there are 2 or 3 tails amongst the hundreds that are slowly starting to look better. You almost (not quite) implied that you’re not going to feel satisfaction unless you switch partners or change this one. Fair enough. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Perhaps that’s why Fortune JUST ranked FedEx #12th (#1 in the industry) for the World’s Most Admired Companies in 2015.

The reality is this: FedEx has not made any proposals (interviewed) pilots for well over two years. Consequently, I have difficulty drawing the conclusion that FedEx isn’t as desirable as it once was. Pilots generally flow to where they can land a job. On that note, I bet you a dollar to a donut that FedEx will not endure any empty classroom seats for new-hires once they start asking pilots to join the team. Moreover, I bet the qualifications will not be lowered.

In all fairness, I understand much of what you say. I certainly do not aim to sound as though I’m picking on you, so if it does I apologies in advance.

Some hypothetical questions to ask oneself which do not need to be answered:

If FedEx dropped its pension (like Delta), in exchange for pay rates and work rules that exceeded all the others, would that make this relationship feel more appealing? If FedEx bought more 777’s and established more routes, specifically so pilots could improve their seniority, do you think the purple tail would start looking better? If every time a competitive airline (Delta, UPS, UAL, et al) agreed to a ‘better’ contract with ALPA, Boeing, USPS, and etc, would you like to see FedEx amend its old contract ASAP and ‘trump’ the competitor’s contract (so as to improve the agreement for the other side)? Would you like to see every FedEx employee (CEO, Presidents VP’s, CP’s, pilots, truck drivers, sort workers, forklift operators, load masters, dispatchers, Print Center employees, and et al) get paid the “most” and work the “least” in the industry - - or would you prefer that FedEx rob from Peter to pay Paul so that only the Pilots were at the top of this measure? If this last question is answered in the ‘affirmative’, then we desire for FedEx’s business to be centered upon making pilots rich while keeping them home. Sadly, that would kill purple and we’d be left looking for another tail.

As Galileo put it, we are not the center of the universe.

Lastly, I understand we will be cut into pieces if we rollover. That’s how the world works, but that’s not going to happen. History is on our side. Patients grasshopper.

Never mind no message here.

Sometimes,

You've missed your calling. Could you drop what you're doing for a few weeks and go down and straighten out those buttheads in Washington.

Seriously, very nice post.

No question. You'll definitely have to wake up first in order to do anything. That's the inherent starting point at 3 a.m.

Pipe

:confused: What "good reason" is that? Because every other airline was on its a$$. Sounds more like FedEx moved to the top for a while by default.

Now things are beginning to equalize again. Most likely it will return to the place to be if the majors don't call first (or until they do). There will be some who come because they're young/patient enough to wait for the next wave, willing to sacrifice pay/upgrade for stability or maybe they just prefer cargo.

In 2015, most everyone else watching our current contract situation :mad: who has access to a spread sheet, airline retirement numbers, pay scales and sleep study results on life expectancy will probably make another choice if they have one.

Are these rankings really any better than the various annual news magazine's college rankings? I seriously doubt the average line pilot is doing much "admiring" right now. The fact that FedEx continues to "look good in the showers" to Wall Street doesn't do much for the worker bees.

Only because of the paltry numbers they plan on hiring in the future. If they were hiring the same number of pilots most of the majors are hiring right now, I think you'd lose your bet and your donuts.

No one wants to kill the golden goose, we just want to strangle it a little. :D I don't think our contract demands even rise to the level of strangulation. Our company is making more money than the passenger airlines right now (even if you combined some of their profits). Those same pax airlines have managed to pony up some pay rates that exceed ours. All while dealing with profit margins that have historically been fractional compared to ours. Asking to be fairly compensated for the success we all helped to produce isn't a big ask. A company that was really one of the "most admired" wouldn't be slapping us in the face with concessionary demands.

The list was complied by using reviews provided by company employees. Wall Street was not involved. If you’d like to participate, simply to go to Glassdoor and complete the online questionnaire; it’s where the data came from. You’ll be asked to survey various items such as: your overall job satisfaction, CEO leadership, career opportunities, compensation, work-life balance, and etc.

If that’s your best read, far be it for me to state you’re wrong (neither of us knows). The best I can do is respect your belief and pass-on ‘thanks’ for voicing.

Going to address this paragraph out of order:

Where did you gather your financial information? When I look at the financials, I see last quarter’s profit margin reporting the following (bottom line):

FDX 5.15%
UPS 6.5%
DAL 7.38%

Note: FedEx Ground tallied a 15.2% profit margin. However, Ground only accounts for 25% of FDX whereas Express accounts for 60%.

As a preface, I am happy we have a pilot union and I believe in our leadership. Negotiations are a complicated matter, but there are a few things you ought to consider; I’ll tread lightly.

First of all, don’t take negotiations personal. If you do, you’ll be miserable. No doubt you’ve heard the expression, “It’s nothing personal, just business”. Well, nothing could be stated more accurately. This isn’t a mom-and-pop store. It’s a publically held, multi-billion dollar corporation. You have to play the game and know the rules. Nothing is going to be given to us because we are nice, work hard, and deserve it.

A few key points:

FedEx has promised shareholders $1.7 billion in profit improvement through cost-cutting initiatives. If they fail to reach this target, the stock will be depressed and dividends suffer. In turn, borrowing costs go up and the cycle deepens. This is when the BOD starts to sweat the security of their own job. Do we care? No. Just pointing out why they tend to fight so hard at hitting their financial targets. Ironically, lower fuel prices are pinching FedEx through lost fuel surcharges and have somewhat blundered the cost-saving matrix used to justify the newer, more fuel-efficient fleet.

Of course the threat of a legal job action can also be motivating to the BOD. That’s one reason ALPA can leverage contractual gains which would otherwise not be seen. Our union is worth the Fee.

We all know FedEx management is aiming for double digit operating margins. That means if FedEx is profiting billions, but not hitting its target(s), management will look for other ways to push the numbers higher. What’s this mean? It means as Express’s operating costs start to increase, other forms of revenue (shifting Express over to Ground, leasing belly space on Delta 767’s, and etc) start to improve profits better. Why settle for $10 billion when you can make $10.2 billion? Business seeks the path of least financial resistance, no matter how much money is in the coffer.

Thankfully, ALPA has the information needed. They wont bring us a contract that will kill the golden goose and/or lack job-protective provisions.

At the end of the day, we all want FedEx to be the choice of the Customer so the Company wins. We also want to keep our job and make the best lives for ourselves as possible. I bet there are 4000 varying opinions amongst FedEx pilots on how to best achieve this. That many opinions become noise. We speak with a voice of one and we will win. My only point we don’t have it that bad.

Cheers ~