30 year pay difference SWA vs. Fedex

[TEXAN AVIATOR]

Educational thread.

 

[Falconjet]

Time to go home

Ok guys, Jball2 took his ball and went home, time to stop the game.

Thanks for keeping us all in line jball2.

FJ

 

[sandman2122]

Rulers for SWA guys and tape measures for FedEx guys!

Hardy, har, har

"Smooth B" gotz to go and check on my bitchessss.

Word up y'all

 

[PTinbound]

FJ, thanks for your response. In honesty, I just got home and the boss really doesn't want me on Flightinfo now, so I didn't really read your previous posts thouroughly and I sure wasn't referring to you at all. My apologies. I just remember another previous poster saying something negative about my new airline and it got my hackles up a little bit. Your points are well thought out and well taken. Heck, I wouldn't turn down an A fund if someone offered it to me. But in the end, I think both you and I should enjoy a decent retirement thanks to our respective companies.

 

[TonyC]

Re: Tony

Woa now Tiger! That is a pretty strong word, and I never called anybody a lier. I'm glad that we have found the source of the story. That doesn't change the fact that a guy posted a question about pay comparisons over the long haul and the Fox threw out an anecdotal experience that he had as if that should answer the question.

Intriqued, since I had actually just researched the numbers and heard similar conversations between the front enders on my flights, I had to throw out the BS flag. I'm not saying that the Fox didn't hear what he heard, but I am saying that somebody in that cockpit was BS-ing somebody, because the numbers just don't add up.

...

I hope that clears up where I was coming from and I apologize to FoxHunter if he took any offense. He didn't yell at me so I hope he didn't.

FJ

My original observation was that it appears you're calling FoxHunter a liar. I'm glad to hear that was not your intention. Now I see that your intention was to call somebody else a liar (that's what BS means to me, anyway).

If the SWA Captain said he made $140, and the FedEx F/O said he made $180, who are you to say that's impossible? Nobody compared calendars for days worked, or logbooks for block hours flown, or even pay logs to compare pay codes - - straight time, draft, volunteer, removed for training, PDO bumped for training, whatever. Making $180 as a widebody F/O was well within reason, even 7 years ago. ESPECIALLY 7 years ago ! ! Before the contract, scheduling could - - AND DID - - pay 200% at times.

If FoxHUnter said it happened to HIM - - I'm inclined to believe it, and leave it at that.

You're right - - that's not how the thread began. But the thread didn't begin comparing cargo vs. pax, either. It was a simple look at hourly rates TODAY.

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

Lets put our pants back on and put the rulers away!

It's always the one with the smallest tool wanting to end the tool check.

 

[Snoopy58]

Wanted to offer a couple other observations, more as "food for thought" for those still reading & learning about the dynamics of airline pay.

I'll agree with Sandman that it is highly possible for a FedEx pilot who works his system to make a LOT more than an average SWA pilot, while flying significantly fewer hours. It is ALSO possible, though, for a SWA pilot in the right position to also make a lot more than the average SWA pilot, quite possibly while also flying fewer hours. Each airline has its tricks which work if you're situated & inclined to take advantage of them... sit reserve at home in domicile, pass (or if possible give away) assignments, volunteer for extra flying any day any time if the premium price is right, etc. Good on the guys who can make it work; my life isn't flexible enough to drop everything on zero notice to go fly some outrageously high paying turn, but some guys live for those calls. Scheduling loves them, and their willingness to fly that stuff means fewer JA ("sorry, Snoopy, but we need ...") calls for me!

There are people at SWA as well as FedEx who've done very, very well, beyond all averages. The captains who fly widebody jets for 15 years have a very good thing going, particularly if $ is the big thing you look at. Not everybody will be a widebody captain at FedEx for 15 years, though. Just like not everybody at SWA will be a captain for 32 of their 34 years at the airline with all their original profitsharing in SWA stock since the mid 70's!

When it's all said & done, a widebody full of priority overnight small packages is carrying a LOT more $ of revenue than a 737 with (max) 137 people who paid (at most) $299 for their ticket... so even flying several legs in the 737 that day, and much of the revenue from the packages going to pay for trucks & drivers & sort facilities & etc, the freight guy at the high end probably can do better in years 32, 33, and 34 than his twin brother at SWA. So, if you're 26 and have offers from SWA and FedEx and total earnings is your sole criteria, I don't know that I have much argument to tell you that you'll do better at SWA than FedEx.

For a shorter career, though, reference the numbers Falconjet posted above, and my earlier comments about uncertainties & the difference being well within the margin of error for forecasting your future careers at each place. NEITHER job will leave you in sight of the poorhouse, unless your money all goes to multiple ex-wives & insane mortgage payments, in which case neither job will pay you nearly enough. They're both good, and I'll go back to what I & others have said before: be aware of the (best guesstimate) financial side, but consider the lifestyle factors: day flying vs years on the backside of the clock, dealing with pax & F/A's, or flying boxes, living in a domicile vs commuting for a career, flying big jets across lots of time zones vs domestic layovers, etc etc etc. And be cognizant of things like seniority -- bird in hand vs bird in the bush, 2 year headstart at FedEx, etc.

For *ME*, the difference between a (totally hypothetical numbers here) $4M career and a $5M career is not NEARLY worth the stress of working backside of the clock, then swapping around to have a "normal" day with the family, then swapping again next time I go to work, FOR THE REST OF MY CAREER! Not even close! But that is only just me, and for plenty of people that lifestyle is no problem at all, and I'm glad that it works for them. But there are reasons SWA was my first choice & FedEx wasn't, just like many people wanted FedEx above everything else. Doesn't make anybody stupid, or ill-informed, or wrong, or mistaken. Just a reflection that people's priorities differ.

My recommendation is to consider YOUR priorities, all of them, and don't let some financial estimate of the next 20 years be your only guiding factor.

Sorry for the long ramble, but maybe a few people may get something worth considering out of it.

 

[C-17->Majors]

It's all good. I have great friends at SWA and I am a 2 year and counting barista here in Purple Land. If you have two job offers, consider yourself very blessed. If you have only one, be thankful for that and go with it. If you want a job offer from a great airline pursue both. If you are hung up on your need to fly pax or freight, reconsider why you are in this business. A lot of money to be made from either company, both with bright futures.

I was turned down by SWA after I assumed that my female interviewer was a stew (that is the correct term right?), and successfully interviewed at FedEx two months later after months of waiting on an interview (apparently there are no stews at FedEx). I love both companies and would be proud to work for either. Very few people have a choice between the two right now and I bet none of them think that career earnings are very important in their decision making process.

I would be happy pouring coffee for five more years if the pay was good and I still got to fly an awesome airplane in the ANG. But that is just me...