UPS has hired just over 600 pilots since 2008. Roughly 425 of those coming after 2017. Total pilot count is just under 2800.

Retirements are picking up as guys are just now starting to max out their pensions. We also have around 35 new airframes coming thru 2022. Retirements plus growth should lead to rapid advancement.

Apparently it was 574. 200x -20xx (2008-2013??)

I think what’s more important is the percentage of the fleet that’s widebody. AA also has many more total airframes than UAL. United has a much higher percentage of widebody flying vs total flying. You have to be in the top 20% of the seniority list at AA to hold group 4 CA (777,787,330). That seems like it will change though as AA replaces 767s with 787s creating more group 4 jobs.

As a late 2016 hire at FedEx I can tell you we havent hired 30 percent of our list in the past few years. In the past 4 years we have hired about 900 and our seniority list is about 4800. That is less than 20%. The fleet is also growing the past 3 years and if you look at planned aircraft retirement and deliveries the growth continues for some time. Onviously this is due to freight demand around the globe. The last two bids the past two years have seen numerous pilots awarded 757 Capt. with less than 3 years on property. Just wanted to give a little more accurate data for the airline I know.

Yet there is far more to this job than how many people might retire in front of you. When you are considering pax vs cargo, there are some major differences. Some of us might prefer flying pax, others prefer cargo. After flying for one of the big three, I wouldn't trade the #1 seniority number at a pax carrier for the bottom number at FedEx, despite our last mediocre contract. You should really consider all the things that are important to you personally.

Dumbest statement on the internet

You obviously haven't read my other 2,166 posts.

May sound incredibly dumb to you....but it is certainly true. Not everyone has the same perspective, nor the same priorities. There is far more to the picture than how many people might retire in front of you.

Im with you busdriver. As someone who left a major for FedEx I would never go back to the major I left. The schedual and money isnt even in the same zipcode.

I think he meant that this didn't sound right:

"I wouldn't trade the #1 seniority number at a pax carrier for the bottom number at FedEx, despite our last mediocre contract."



Well duh. Why would you give up #1 (777/787/350) Captain to go be bottom plug at Fedex?

Because it's a completely different sort of job. I don't care for pax/flight attendant contact, and I like being able to drop or swap my entire month. Those are my priorities, and pay is not that important. Other people might enjoy the social contact, hate night flying, and wouldn't fly freight unless they were desperate.