If yes, why does it matter?

If no, are you implying they are biased?

Sounds like someone is hoping to see some new faces across the table this time around. ;)

Seven. :rolleyes:
Seriously, I doubt any normal line guy knows this. It's probably lots. Is a specific number reported by an anonymous source on the interwebs going to influence your actions?

Sorry guys. Just trying to find out information. Don't know stuff unless you ask.


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Don't take it personally, after all it's Friday and the boys have gotten restless.

Let me put it in perspective. Four or five years ago our VP of flight ops discussed in an email to crew force a possibility of MD11s being based in HKG.

Last week in captain's class he said "…expect the bid end of this week, or early next week at the latest…" It was out the next day.

Not trying to disparage anyone, just pointing out when we cannot get a straight answer from the VP of flight ops (…likely because many business decisions come above from finance, etc) asking a FedEx pilot for SA on hiring, staffing, future plans, etc is a joke. We hear rumors, we hear informed opinions, and sometimes we even get a few facts. Facts, however, are usually only days, if not mere hours…before its out on the street anyway. Point is a FedEx pilot rarely knows anymore than most of the folks in the line at OBAP or WAI about what is going on in pilot hiring or recruitment. We aren't being jerks--they don't tell us anything. Thinking they do just makes our inner cynic come alive.

This place hires in spurts…afterburner, idle, afterburner, idle… I understand how challenging predicting business can be. At the same time, I've been here 13 years and have about 1500-1600 behind me. Retirements are predicted to be 100-200 a year. Seems like a slow, steady hiring of 10-20 a month would not overwhelm the training pipeline, would allow for future retirements and still be able to absorb some of the sine waves of the business. When you manage to meet short term financial targets, however, there will be a whipsaw at times. Efficiency is not key when trying to please shareholders for the quarter or meet an MBO bonus target. So--its going to be crazy again for a while, and most of us who work there have no good SA on when it will start and end. What I will say is every time I have ever heard "we are going to hire 500", etc, we seem to stop at the 80% or so mark of the target. Maybe this time will be different, but if you want to join this place don't wait around to apply or get your app in. We stop hiring on a dime too, and have closed up shop for years several times since I've been here.

To echo what Albie said - I don't think anybody, pilots or management, has any idea day to day on how many will get hired. We've had steady retirements for some time - several years now and have hired almost zero. In November, SCP said authority to hire 200 and over the next 6 months I think we started (what really matters since this company has kept people in hiring pools for several years at a time) around a dozen. In March this year we heard that a total of 14 I believe had been authorized to hire. Now we hear 500 but the seniority list hasn't budged in several months.

I wouldn't hold your breath. We will continue to have steady retirements - looks like average age is somewhere between 64-65 (i.e. not early) but the Company seems to be able to get by with what pilots they have. 500 in next two years? Well recent history would say that it won't be anywhere near that - maybe half, maybe less. When will pilots actually start? Who has any idea?

As always take the first job you get offered and don't wait on a job here - you may end up waiting several years.

Or less, WAY LESS.

At a FAPA job fair in the spring of 2011, FedEx made an impromptu/unexpected appearance. The pilot "recruiter" said "we're going to hire 500 in the next year".

Take a look at the seniority list, and how many have been hired SINCE the spring of 2011? Or rather, from spring 2011 to spring 2012. :eek:

I've been on the line eight years, I have 300-350 behind me

Bear, you and I missed a bunch of numbers by only a few months to a year. Timing. Is. Everything.

And ... everyone on the property lost 5 years seniority (about 150 retirements a year when AGE 65 happened and almost nobody retired for the next 5 years!*?

That was a bad deal for everyone except the folks that got an unexpected windfall to get serious about their retirement savings. They also got an extra 5 years to try to find a hobby that they enjoyed more than hub turning in the middle of the night!*?

Would we have a new Contract now if everyone that turned 60 had been forced to retire? Would we ALL be 750 numbers more senior? I wonder every monthly bid, every vacation bid, every training bid, every seat bid ... what would have happened if ...


:confused: