if u go with cal...roll the dice...ask the couple hundred united,delta and usair pilots we now have that question....good luck...

"Walk between the dumpsters, dodge the tugs, get to your hot (no A/C) plane, and eat your box lunch (no kidding actual box). No one brings you a hot lunch, or freshly baked cookie, or is even easy on the eyes."

I have been at FedEx 11 years and never "walked between dumpsters". I have dodged as many tugs on the FedEx ramp that I have doing a walkaround for Delta in ATL. With fuel prices the way they are I think all carriers have minimized APU usage but "hot" planes get cool as soon as you fire up the APU. It's not like we have no A/C on our planes. The box lunch I get at FedEx that you seem to think is worthy of a "no kidding", is more than I got at Delta. We only got whatever the Pax and FA's didn't eat unless we paid something like $25 a meal for a preorder. If having somebody "easy on the eye's" serving you a "hot cookie" is part of your concerns about making a career decision then I suggest you recheck your priorities. All in all, it's a pretty good gig and not nearly as bad as you have made it sound.

Let me add a little more perspective. The night flying is bad if you have trouble adjusting your sleep patterns. The good news is it is pretty quiet out there in the middle of the night which means lots of easy flying, and little delays getting into places like LAX, JFK, ORD etc. The even better news is FedEx does almost as much day flying now as we do night with the postal contract. One big plus is FedEx actually puts us in 4 or 5 star hotels almost everywhere we go, especially internationally. Speaking of international flying, when you can hold that you are flying in a totally different environment that most would consider quite "glamorous". 5 star hotels, longer layovers, limos to and from the airport, steak, sushi and lobster in your "box lunch" depending on where you are flying out of, etc. If you do get to FedEx, go international ASAP is my advice. Anyway, both jobs have good and bad. I think the best advice you have had is to gather all info available, write down pros and cons for each, and get the people you trust the most to help you decide. Good luck..

I have been at FedEx 11 years and never "walked between dumpsters".

Well....at CAL....I've occassionally had passengers that smelled like a dumpster. :eek:

Due to pilot egos..(self included), rarely will you get somebody that says.....I ^&%^&%ed up coming here. Don't apply.
I ended up at CAL through merger/acquisition. It was a "dumpster" kind of place in the '80's and early 90's. Now...not so bad. Primarily due to better management.....luck......and an improved economy. Forget the meals and flight attendants. :( That shouldn't even enter the equation. I can't predict the future......but if you have Fedex and Cal as choices...you could make a case for either.

CAL seniority:

FO seniority:

Seniority numbers:

Does anyone know if this includes the 800/900 series? Do 737 pilots get to travel outside the US?

Yes/Yes to both

Can someone give me a ballpark figure of how high a legacy airline pilot's salary used to be pre 9/11? Will pax pilot's ever make more than cargo pilot's again?

I think United's 777 Capt's got up to over 300 per hour just before 911. There were very few collecting that rate though. They set the benchamark at the time. Hard to say where the "pax pilots" will stabilize.