FedEx First Year Info for New Hires...
08-18-2017, 09:28 AM
#291
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2008
Position: B767
Posts: 814
Incorrect. If your initial assignment is a WB then you are bound by the lateral move constraints. If your initial assignment is 757 then you can bid whatever you want and be awarded whatever you can hold.
08-18-2017, 10:23 AM
#292
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2017
Posts: 100
Delta, SWA, and UAL. We poach from a lot of places, and despite everyone's contract angst at times that probably lets you know where we really stand in the pecking order of good places to work.
At the same time, I know of two guys--hired by both SWA and FDX--that chose SWA. Not to get too deep into this, but they got "interviewed" at FedEx, maybe even interrogated. Our interview process, at least with a few of our interviewers, is rough. They got "rushed" at SWA...to include being shown a FDX bidpack and a discussion of the life of a junior SWA FO trading trips and massaging their schedules compared to being hub turned. It was obvious they were not being just interviewed, but recruited, and they took the bait.
We probably won't have any problem filling any classes, and what is right for some pilots may not be right for others. I get that...
But for management lurkers here, I'll offer this point. Recruiting doesn't stop at the interview. It is ALWAYS the right of the company to pass on an interviewee, and not everyone who interviews is probably a good fit. That said, if you get cavelier or abrasive with a pilot that you might really want, a LOT of impressions are formed during the interview process. You have the chance to create some goodwill (like we have done probably 90% of the time I've been here) with our newest potential employees. If a guy is on the fence between Delta or SWA and FedEx, and has a bad experience during his interview--even with a CJO at the end of the day--they may decide to go somewhere else. Yes--they may be leaving millions on the table. Then again--if the gut is telling them something, maybe it is best they listen. Airlines fortunes tend to run in cycles, and United, Delta, and SWA have all had their periods when they felt like top dog and tended to be a bit condescending and rough on some candidates. SWA has really softened their approach, and United uses a very different approach than the arrogant one they used in the late 1990s. I would hate to see us chase away good people, or launch them off with a sour taste in their mouth. My experience here at an interviewee was wonderful back in 01, and I hope our current guys get treated just as warmly. It does make a difference. That doesn't mean we hire everybody, especially if they don't fit. It does mean recruitment doesn't stop at the interview.
I'm in VIPS. If you don't believe me or want details--call or email me.
At the same time, I know of two guys--hired by both SWA and FDX--that chose SWA. Not to get too deep into this, but they got "interviewed" at FedEx, maybe even interrogated. Our interview process, at least with a few of our interviewers, is rough. They got "rushed" at SWA...to include being shown a FDX bidpack and a discussion of the life of a junior SWA FO trading trips and massaging their schedules compared to being hub turned. It was obvious they were not being just interviewed, but recruited, and they took the bait.
We probably won't have any problem filling any classes, and what is right for some pilots may not be right for others. I get that...
But for management lurkers here, I'll offer this point. Recruiting doesn't stop at the interview. It is ALWAYS the right of the company to pass on an interviewee, and not everyone who interviews is probably a good fit. That said, if you get cavelier or abrasive with a pilot that you might really want, a LOT of impressions are formed during the interview process. You have the chance to create some goodwill (like we have done probably 90% of the time I've been here) with our newest potential employees. If a guy is on the fence between Delta or SWA and FedEx, and has a bad experience during his interview--even with a CJO at the end of the day--they may decide to go somewhere else. Yes--they may be leaving millions on the table. Then again--if the gut is telling them something, maybe it is best they listen. Airlines fortunes tend to run in cycles, and United, Delta, and SWA have all had their periods when they felt like top dog and tended to be a bit condescending and rough on some candidates. SWA has really softened their approach, and United uses a very different approach than the arrogant one they used in the late 1990s. I would hate to see us chase away good people, or launch them off with a sour taste in their mouth. My experience here at an interviewee was wonderful back in 01, and I hope our current guys get treated just as warmly. It does make a difference. That doesn't mean we hire everybody, especially if they don't fit. It does mean recruitment doesn't stop at the interview.
I'm in VIPS. If you don't believe me or want details--call or email me.
08-18-2017, 04:33 PM
#294
New Hire
Joined APC: Aug 2017
Posts: 3
Can anybody provide an idea of what an average MEM trip looks like on the 757, 767 & Airbus? I understand mostly hub turns, but are they built as day trips or 2-5 days with overnights? Also, about what % of flights are night vs day? Thanks!
08-18-2017, 05:53 PM
#295
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2007
Position: 767 Captain
Posts: 3,989
But, I'll try to give a broad overview. First, take any pre-conceived notions about airline trips you have from your pax flying experience and leave them out of this.
The most basic trip we have at FedEx is called a hub turn. For the sake of discussion, let's just say the night (or "AM") hub turns depart at 0300 and the day (or "PM") hub turns depart at 1500.
You depart, fly one or two legs to an out station and go to the hotel. 12-ish to 18-ish hours later, you fly one or two legs back to MEM. End of trip. Those trips pay 6 hours (unless flight time exceeds that, which does happen but it's rare). Total time away from base is ~18 to 22 hours.
The AM variety will arrive back in MEM around midnight, while the PM trips usually have a very early wakeup and will get you back to MEM around 0900-ish. The strange thing for a pax guy to get about the PM hub turns at first is that they only pay 6 hours. They look like a 2-day trip to a pax guy. Leave in the afternoon, fly to a layover and come back to the hub the next morning. However, it's all based on time away from base, not the days on the calendar.
Many lines just contain a series of these trips back to back over the course of 4-5 days. So, if you're flying a series of AM hub turns, a couple of hours after you arrive back in MEM (at midnight), you "show" for your next trip and depart at 0300 again. It's quite possible that the trip is a duplicate of the one you just flew and could be that way all week.
PM guys do the same thing, usually with a longer "turn" between trips. Arriving in MEM at ~0900 and departing again that afternoon in the ballpark of 1500.
There are other varieties of trips on all those aircraft you listed that may look like more traditional airline trips. Sometimes a Sunday PM departure will have a 24 hour layover allowing a return to MEM Monday night to begin the evening sort. Other trips are 4-5 days long and begin with a deadhead to the outstation. The pilot then spends the week flying from that station to MEM or IND (or a few other sort facilities) and "hub-turning" just like everyone else, returning to that out station every layover. At the end of the week, he deadheads back after a layover following his final duty period.
There are a few more schedule iterations on the domestic birds and the international schedules have even more variety. I don't know if that helps or not.
08-19-2017, 03:05 AM
#297
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,813
Where is that written? If your original seat is a WB, then if you bid to another WB right seat or to a NB right seat, then you are seat locked.
08-19-2017, 06:36 AM
#298
Aviator Extraordinaire
Joined APC: Oct 2013
Position: Freight Dawg
Posts: 115
If there is a seat bid in November, or whenever the next one is rumored to be, I would assume (and you know what assume means) that it would fall under the 2015 CBA.
08-19-2017, 10:54 AM
#299
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,813
So how did we have a guy checked out and flying as a Captain with less than 18 months on property?
I read that section and there is no mention of a new hire being seat locked for 18 months. I do agree about the lateral seat move that UA stated, I guess I didn't read his post carefully enough.
Last edited by pinseeker; 08-19-2017 at 11:12 AM.
08-19-2017, 11:33 AM
#300
Aviator Extraordinaire
Joined APC: Oct 2013
Position: Freight Dawg
Posts: 115
So how did we have a guy checked out and flying as a Captain with less than 18 months on property?
I read that section and there is no mention of a new hire being seat locked for 18 months. I do agree about the lateral seat move that UA stated, I guess I didn't read his post carefully enough.
I read that section and there is no mention of a new hire being seat locked for 18 months. I do agree about the lateral seat move that UA stated, I guess I didn't read his post carefully enough.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
