Any reason to stay at FedEx 40s or younger?
11-08-2023, 03:13 PM
#61
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2008
Posts: 719
11-08-2023, 05:16 PM
#62
Line Holder
Joined APC: Nov 2012
Position: B-777 Captain
Posts: 99
I’m just a lowly 13 year Atlas captain so my opinion may be skewed. But I did get furloughed during 9/11 from
my regional and flew through 2008 (lost decade). I’d stay put if I were you. When I think about the “legacies” I think about sitting left seat in an E145 with a 20 year USAir furlough sitting next to me as part of J4J, I think about the 6 year American FO that was in my BOS crashpad and only a few bad days away from a furlough. 5.5 years at Fdx is fairly cushy. The page will turn and the legacies will stop hiring or furlough just like everyone else. All this doom and gloom is exactly what John Dietrich that scum sucker breeds. He’s rubbing his hands together right now. Trust me, I spent years working under his Stasi tactics. Don’t fall for it. Cargo is 10x better than pax flying. And I’ve flown for 5 pax airlines. I know.
my regional and flew through 2008 (lost decade). I’d stay put if I were you. When I think about the “legacies” I think about sitting left seat in an E145 with a 20 year USAir furlough sitting next to me as part of J4J, I think about the 6 year American FO that was in my BOS crashpad and only a few bad days away from a furlough. 5.5 years at Fdx is fairly cushy. The page will turn and the legacies will stop hiring or furlough just like everyone else. All this doom and gloom is exactly what John Dietrich that scum sucker breeds. He’s rubbing his hands together right now. Trust me, I spent years working under his Stasi tactics. Don’t fall for it. Cargo is 10x better than pax flying. And I’ve flown for 5 pax airlines. I know.
11-08-2023, 08:05 PM
#63
Banned
Joined APC: Oct 2019
Posts: 923
Typical post by Stan.
I had the luxury of getting hired into ANC11 and doing long haul, long layovers, and not exclusively night flying (The commute to/from ANC blew). With the base closure, hiring frozen, and the overmanning, I decided to jump ship. The writing was on the wall. I was going to be sitting in the right seat at 95-97% on the 75/76/Bus doing night hub turns or staring at a Memphis crash pad ceiling for the next 6 years minimum...probably more like 10. Add this to the "FedEx doesn't have PBS!!!!" comments, I'd getting my schedule 5 days prior to each bid month. I have 30+ years to go. It took me a while to come to peace with the decision to jump over to the PAX world (I had 2x Legacy CJOs when I got the FedEx CJO) and the 3,000 numbers I lost by not going there originally. I'm okay with that now.
Again, referencing the above post...It has been medically proven that keeping a regular body clock/circadian rhythm and predictable sleep schedule is invaluable to your long term health. "Come back at the end of your career and tell us...blah blah blah". If you can drive to work and/or have a short commute and work 95% days/early nights you'll most likely enjoy your career earnings for years more than you would have as a FedEx retiree. So what if you made an extra $1-2M at FedEx...can't spend it if you're dead.
I had the luxury of getting hired into ANC11 and doing long haul, long layovers, and not exclusively night flying (The commute to/from ANC blew). With the base closure, hiring frozen, and the overmanning, I decided to jump ship. The writing was on the wall. I was going to be sitting in the right seat at 95-97% on the 75/76/Bus doing night hub turns or staring at a Memphis crash pad ceiling for the next 6 years minimum...probably more like 10. Add this to the "FedEx doesn't have PBS!!!!" comments, I'd getting my schedule 5 days prior to each bid month. I have 30+ years to go. It took me a while to come to peace with the decision to jump over to the PAX world (I had 2x Legacy CJOs when I got the FedEx CJO) and the 3,000 numbers I lost by not going there originally. I'm okay with that now.
Again, referencing the above post...It has been medically proven that keeping a regular body clock/circadian rhythm and predictable sleep schedule is invaluable to your long term health. "Come back at the end of your career and tell us...blah blah blah". If you can drive to work and/or have a short commute and work 95% days/early nights you'll most likely enjoy your career earnings for years more than you would have as a FedEx retiree. So what if you made an extra $1-2M at FedEx...can't spend it if you're dead.
11-09-2023, 04:20 PM
#67
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2014
Posts: 1,236
As for me? 757 CA out of MEM where I live. I'm very junior and rarely hub turn. In March I had 0 hours of leveling for the month. Generally when I fly it's a weekend layover that I cherry pick out of secondary at the beginning of the month. My 18 hour of pay 3 day trip looks like MEM-SAV on Saturday AM. 4AM departure to SAV. I'm in a room and asleep by 5:45 Central time. I leave on Monday around 8PM Central time and am at my house at around 11:45 PM. Then I sit reserve the rest of the month and don't get used much because I have so much leveling for my trip I flew. In May I had to actually find some flying with landings so that I wouldn't have to go back to the sim for landings... Flying a 757.
Being at FedEx is what you make of it. What my Dad did at AA looks like pure torture to me. For all I know it isn't even legal anymore, but I also know that I have no desire to his old job either especially considering that houses in Flower Mound cost 3 to 4 times what my house in Arlington TN costs. I'd have to move out 45 minutes to an hour away to afford a house that's not as nice as mine.
Who knows... Maybe one day FedEx completely collapses and I end up being forced into getting a job at a legacy, but I'm very happy with the job I have. FedEx careers are worth fighting for.
11-09-2023, 05:07 PM
#68
Clear ECAM
Joined APC: Oct 2014
Posts: 938
Being at FedEx is what you make of it. What my Dad did at AA looks like pure torture to me. For all I know it isn't even legal anymore, but I also know that I have no desire to his old job either especially considering that houses in Flower Mound cost 3 to 4 times what my house in Arlington TN costs. I'd have to move out 45 minutes to an hour away to afford a house that's not as nice as mine.
The one thing I will give you is that living in base changes everything. If I lived in MEM or IND I’d probably still work at FDX. But then I’d have to live…there. I could sell my house on the coast and move to an estate in Collierville but I know we wouldn’t be happy there. Just not my thing, but I know it works for a lot of folks and that’s great.
I grew up in the midwest and spent 22 years there. My opinion only, but it sucks. Memphis has the heat of south Florida in the summer, the cold of Minnesota in the winter, and the year-round charm of a top-5 crime city. Tons of people are ok with it. That’s cool.
11-09-2023, 05:23 PM
#69
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2014
Posts: 1,236
Come on dude, you are being really disingenuous with this comparison and you know it. You’re literally picking the best case MEM AM launch trip with a weekend layover at FDX with a worst-case max duty day trip that your pops flew back in the 90s.
The one thing I will give you is that living in base changes everything. If I lived in MEM or IND I’d probably still work at FDX. But then I’d have to live…there. I could sell my house on the coast and move to an estate in Collierville but I know we wouldn’t be happy there. Just not my thing, but I know it works for a lot of folks and that’s great.
I grew up in the midwest and spent 22 years there. My opinion only, but it sucks. Memphis has the heat of south Florida in the summer, the cold of Minnesota in the winter, and the year-round charm of a top-5 crime city. Tons of people are ok with it. That’s cool.
The one thing I will give you is that living in base changes everything. If I lived in MEM or IND I’d probably still work at FDX. But then I’d have to live…there. I could sell my house on the coast and move to an estate in Collierville but I know we wouldn’t be happy there. Just not my thing, but I know it works for a lot of folks and that’s great.
I grew up in the midwest and spent 22 years there. My opinion only, but it sucks. Memphis has the heat of south Florida in the summer, the cold of Minnesota in the winter, and the year-round charm of a top-5 crime city. Tons of people are ok with it. That’s cool.
I'm bidding around 85% and the I've scored weekend layovers similar to what I mentioned in Grand Junction, Birmingham, Newburg New York, Syracuse (4 day layover) and OKC this year. In March I had 0 hours of leveling. In April I also bid an RB line for the month and had maybe 2 airport standbys for the month. This month I'm doing Bloomington Illinois. So yes... This is the norm. I don't want to fly 15 legs a week and I don't. I bet I do a little bit more next month just to bid around Christmas... By the way, I got the 4rth of July off twice, Thanksgiving twice, Christmas, New Years, and Easter all off and that's as a junior captain. I've never worked a Christmas or Fourth of July at FedEx and only worked my first Thanksgiving because we hadn't moved to Memphis yet. Am I going to be getting those off at United bidding CA as a new hire? Maybe in 10 years...
You can call this a best case scenario, but we chose to move here. It works great for us and we love living here. I will say this, I need to live where I work. It's the way we view things, so if I change jobs I need to move so that I'll be around and can have the flexibility that lets me build my schedule the way that I do. I can't imagine living in SFO or around EWR so that I can take first avialable upgrade. I'll say this too, I'm sure thankful others don't view it that way or I'd be back in the right seat of the 767.
11-09-2023, 05:39 PM
#70
Clear ECAM
Joined APC: Oct 2014
Posts: 938
You can call this a best case scenario, but we chose to move here. It works great for us and we love living here. I will say this, I need to live where I work. It's the way we view things, so if I change jobs I need to move so that I'll be around and can have the flexibility that lets me build my schedule the way that I do. I can't imagine living in SFO or around EWR so that I can take first avialable upgrade. I'll say this too, I'm sure thankful others don't view it that way or I'd be back in the right seat of the 767.
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