AccurateInfo

Less than 150 on LOA at FDX, but majority of those are presumably for mil leave.

HumptyDumpty

The mil leave doesn't really play into the hiring requirements. I am pretty sure they man based on knowing that percentage of guys are on mil leave at any one time. Especially with as high of a percentage of active military folks that we have. Bringing all of them back doesn't help the fact that we are 80-90 short in the 727 SO seat alone.

We are in desperate need of pilots, period. Add unexpected retirements in and we have ourselves a mini hiring boom in 2011.

Jumbo Pilot

Good Point, because the vast majority of the folks that are out on leave will have the opportunity to come back to a seat with a view and some controls even if they were 27 Engineers when they left on LOA. We are going to be short in that seat very soon. Now I won't go as far to say it doesn't matter completely but certainly not enough to bring hiring to a halt if EVERYONE comes back in the next two months. (which is HIGHLY unlikely)

There are more than a few friends that I know personally that are out on Multi-Year deals with the military and any change in policy and temporary funding issues for CY'11 have no effect on their deals.

DLax85

I don't think we are 80-90 short in the 727 now....agree that we will be by next spring/summer.

I would be surprised if they hired direct to an FO seat (...unless it's a vacant FDA FO seat).

Direct hire to 727 or 757 FO seat would trigger passover pay for many that they have worked hard to eliminate.

Not sure they are going to try that experiment again.

YMMV.

fdx727pilot

No passover pay issue for at least 1 year, as first year pay for all seats junior to WB FO is the same. So direct hire to the 72 or 75 FO won't initially be a problem.

DLax85

Could generate PO pay for those already on property who are seeking those FO seats.

FXDX

There were only about 19 guys at the bottom of the list who couldn't hold the right seat on the last bid. So that would mean passover for about 19, assuming they all bid it. You have to bid it to get passover, not just have junior guys in the seat. A lot of folks in the back seat are already getting passover for a higher paying seat, the rest (other than the bottom 19) are apparently more worried about their relative seniority.

That could certainly change with hiring though, as that might induce them to jump up to a window seat. In that case, there would be plenty of openings in the back for the new hires to fill.

ERJ Jay

How many 757s are on property so far?
Also, how quickly are they coming online?

With so many 727s, it has always been my fear that movement will halt/furlough fodder if there was a decision to just park the 72s and all the SOs needed to find seats.

Just asking.

Daniel Larusso

Nothing happens fast around here except on the crew bus. It's a worry to a degree, but not a big one imho.

Gunter

There will be another bid in the spring. Not sure on the timing but shortly after, before?, newhires start class. If it's before there will be no passover. I don't think they'll get enough takers for 757 FO. The last bid was easy to fill with all the recently downgraded folks and large number of SOs getting their first shot at upgrade. The next one will mark a return to normalcy.

Retirements will once again be a big factor and will create a bunch of vacancies in the big jets. Many will in the middle will pass on upgrade for QOL knowing another chance to upgrade will be right around the corner. That leaves the rest of us near the bottom who go to training "too often" chasing the almighty $. These folks give the company a headache so they dream up MOABs and direct hire to FO to combat the ever increasing forecast of training cycles.

If I were a bean counter I would like to put newhires into the 757 instead of current SOs with the next bid. Some former SOs will just be getting off high mins as narrowbody FOs when they go to widebody FO in 2011 in conjunction with the next bid. The company would rather not lose the two months of productivity and sim/flex time caused by every SO that does that. They will be busy enough training the bare minimum of upgrades for that to cost extra. If there is passover it will be made up by efficiencies elsewhere. Not paying flexes draft or contracting for offsite sim use will be worth it.

The training plan that resulted in a huge blunder when regulated age change and the great recession hit may just work out 2011-2012.