F D X v. S W A

[Purpled]

If you are single, SWA all the way!!!! Married with kids, ( like me ) you have a decsion to make.

Ok, I'll bite. What gives here? I'm sure you can't be referring to the Stews.

 

[Brian a300]

You'll never know if you made the right decision until you turn 60 and retire, but once you make your decision now stick with it and don't look back. I think there are alot of great guys at both companies, follow the stability and growth, FEDEX is a good choice..

 

[JethroF15]

My vote is.... FedEx.:beer:

 

[firstthird]

A thought on the pax/freight asusmptions. It seems that the accepted wisdom is that UPS/Fedex have it made forever and a day. Very likely. But, consider this scenario. There are other smart businessmen in the world besides Fred Smith and the UPS trucking guys. I suspect that someday a third or fourth company will make a real go at the cargo side of flying. DHL is huge everywhere but North America (or so I'm told) and made/is making an attempt to compete here. UPS/Fedex have been riding a comparative gravy train. A Soviet Union/USA kind of thing, watching each other, tit for tat (you buy Kinko's, I'll buy Mail Boxes Etc. looks like Fedex got the best of that deal). If and when a third or fourth competitor enters the market with a junior workforce, new planes, no DB pension (you know like so many of the LCCs, one of which I work for) it may cause a seismic shift in the cargo industry. As in, contracts up for renegotiation, etc.

A positive about SWA (besides being a place that I can see myself still flying in 20+ years and being happy about it), we've survived the cutthroat pax competition so far. The fight is never over and we've got our eye on costs. But competing against and surviving amongst 20+ carriers, all trying to make money, undercut the other guy, etc. That means we are lean and a survivor. Not saying that Fedex or UPS are not lean, just that it really hasn't been proven in the Darwinian contest that is the pax airlines. As long as Fedex and UPS have similar costs and stay more reliable/cheaper than US postal, they have a good thing.

The big problem with my pet theory is that cargo entails a HUGE up front cost to get the storefronts, trucks, drivers, space at 200+ airports. Whereas pax carriers can enter the market with 3 planes and 2 airports. Can't do that in cargo so it will take a Richard Branson, the 'Easy' guy, or a serious effort by DHL to enter the market. But, there is money to be made and that means people are looking at ways to make it.

Short version. Cargo has a good thing with the Fedex/UPS duality that may not last forever. SWA has survived and thrived in one of the most capital killing industries ever invented by man (knock on wood, so far).

 

[Echopapa]

Take the first open training slot and don't look back.

 

[scoreboard]

what he said.

 

[psysicx]

Roll the dice.

 

[HoursHore]

In the immortal words of that modern day sage Cosmo Karamer:

KRAMER: Now what does the little man inside you say? See you gotta listen to the little man.

Also, what ever allows the easiest commute.

 

[jtmpilot]

,, you know whats gonna make you happy, " if you enjoy your job youll never work a day in your life"
famous quote by my grandfather.

When is the real estate market in NOVA gonna pick up???????

PS im using my friends screenname to post this>>>>>>

 

[K-Mart]

Dude, if you have to ask, don't come to SWA. Not slamming just an observation. My best buds love Fedex, if you don't like 7 legs in a day, go for Fred. If you like working with people, go SWA.

Best advice out there. People are fun and it really isn't that bad as a pilot dealing with them. A lot better than what the Flight Attendants have to deal with.

Like fuel costs and the pax business, frieght can and will have its problems down the line. One of them is the international cargo side. If a country, say China, decides to nationalize it's business, then guess what? There goes the cargo contract. Short of being a truck driver for UPS, cargo may not be a safe bet. Just my thoughts. Good luck.

 

[OK3]

Another consideration in terms of QOL is the average trip length at each company. At SWA we do a lot of three day trips with a smaller percentage of four days and some two days and turns. I get the impression that at FDX the trips tend to be longer. If you have a wife and kids I think shorter trips are a little easier on the family. More short trips a month make for a harder commuter life, but if you live in a base life is really good.

 

[jtmpilot]

for married people::2 nights away keeps the divorce attorney away........ 7 days away youll have he__ __ !! to pay

 

[PAPA FOX!]

No one has mentioned this

One thing that was not mentioned is the possibility of cargo drones a few decades from now. I know I sound really foolish bringing this up, but this should be something on one's radar screen long before it could happen.

If I were a visionary and a union leader for UPS or FDX, I'd treat it like cancer. I would address the issue in its infancy and remove the threat long before it spread and had the potential to kill me!

I don't think for the Pax carriers this should be a concern, but for freight it does cross my mind.


I hope I am WRONG about all of this, but one must have foresight and vision to stop this from happening!! NOW is the time to do that, not when it is knocking on the door. As they say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!!

To the origional poster, I'd go with FDX but I think you won't go wrong by any means at SWA. If I lived in base however, I'd go with SWA.


Good luck with whatever choice you make!

 

[active_herk]

If a country, say China, decides to nationalize it's business, then guess what? There goes the cargo contract. Short of being a truck driver for UPS, cargo may not be a safe bet. Just my thoughts. Good luck.

Can you explain what you mean when you say China decides to nationalize its business? Do you mean they will only allow Chinese planes and pilots to fly into and out of their country? I guess I can understand if you say China will nationalize its business and have Chinese pilots fly point to point within China, but thats pretty much what all countries (including the US) do now. Its called cabotage. As far as international is concerned, how many countries do you think would sit back and say "I guess its ok that we can no longer fly our planes to your country, but you can fly your planes to ours." No country would ever agree to that.

Besides, its pretty much a non-issue since China can't even find enough of its own people to fly their airplanes. They are having to hire guys from other countries to come in at three times the Chinese pilot's normal salary just to fly their airplanes. In addition, the forecast is for them to have an even greater shortage of pilots in the future. How can you "nationalize" your airline if you can't even find the warm bodies to fill the cockpit seats?

 

[johnsonrod]

If you don't mind flying the same aircraft for the rest of your career to many of the same cities over and over again (albeit during the day and with attractive shorts-wearing stews), choose Southwest.