FedEx anticipating training??

[Zulu]

Fellas,
I had a little time on my hands (wonder why!) -- and the sky's not falling. 148 new wide body captains is going to generate a tremendous number of secondary bids -- I see on the order of 160 new wide body FO's coming out of this (counting the 98 11's they're giving out). Assuming that a lot of DC-10 guys don't transition to the same seat in another airplane, that's still going to open up quite a few opportunities for those of us at the bottom.

Later,
Z

 

[AlbieF15]

If any of you purple guys will send me your email via pm, I will send you a "tongue in cheek" letter on how we can speed up upgrades.

Zulu...by the way I read the bid, the 727 FOs and DC10 SOs who decide to upgrade to MD11s or the A300 won't be replaced. There WILL be an empty secondary hole (oh wow..a HUGE so to speak is required here! ) but it likely won't be filled. So...if Jethro wants to go be an MD11 FO, its likely he can. However, neither you nor I will move up into Jethro's seat...at least for a while.

All we can do is hope our 727 FOs and DC10 SOs are very happy where they are, and that many of the secondaries come from seats the company needs to fill (ie A300 FOs, ANC MD11 FOs, etc).

In any case, I have a great job with a great company, generally work with people I like, and still get to fly fighters every once in a while. Forgive the wah wah act, but if I wasn't always leaning forward and trying to get ahead I wouldn't be a fighter pilot.

 

[FastCargo]

I'll be happy...

...just being able to stay a DC-10 S/O for a while longer. Eliminate 45 S/O slots??? Doh! I don't wanna go to the 727, I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna!!

(Okay, 3 year old temper tantrum over)

Seriously, I'm just happy I have a job...and I get my stick time (so to speak) with the T-38 reserves. I consider myself VERY lucky, especially compared to a lot of my classmates right now. Everyone I saw at my reunion flew for UAL...they're ALL furloughed....

Y'all going out to the sandbox, kick ass and we look forward to seeing ALL of you back on the line!

Fly safe!

FastCargo

 

[Ski]

"Y'all going out to the sandbox, kick ass and we look forward to seeing ALL of you back on the line!"

We are all pulling for you guys. Godspeed.

 

[Hornetkid]

Question

Dont want to sound stupid, but can anyone translate what all these numbers mean to the poolies.

Does this mean that fewer new hire SO will be needed this year?

Will training need to produce some new hire SOs soon to fill gaps from this bid?


Thanks

 

[Zulu]

Albie,
How about a pool on how many 727 S/O's will move up?

I say 70.

Cheers,

Z

 

[AlbieF15]

Last pool I started was in 1992, in the middle of Eagle MQT in AK. The "over-G" pendulum was swinging towards the "off with his head" end of the spectrum (grounding a week!). I started an Over-G pool in the doofer book...and..you can guess who the next chimp was...as in "I'll BE (Albie) d@mned, I over G'd", or "I'll be needin' some pineapple with these HAMS".

In other words, pools are bad karma for me. I'll stay on the sidelines and hope and pray for the best.

And poolies....ALBIE NOT flying any OT until the "other" pool drains....

 

[Ski]

To summ it up, this is a big bid and they will have to fill some second officer seats. Fedex is moving away from three crew airplanes but the MD11/MD10 is staffed at a higher level due to the RFO and international requirements. In my opinion Fedex will have to hire pilots to keep things moving smoothly. The number depends on a lot of variables but I would say 80-100 in the next year. Good luck. Ski

 

[adqrip]

18kid

Don't know if this will help, but.....

25 727 S/O's will need to be trained.

45 DC10 S/O's will have to move before 10 S/O trng will start.

It will depend on how many over 60 guys move to the back seat, I know one pilot (727 FO) that will be moving to the back of the 727 late this year. But most of the nose gunners are either Capts that can quit at 60 or younger guys that look to move to the left seat. I have been in the back of the 10 since last June & I have moved up about 30 numbers since that time. I have not heard that hiring will fall under the 150 mark. In the bid was a note that the freight for the 727 (mail & South America) was less than expected, so that was the reason (?) for no 727 slots.

Gut reaction is that FedEx will look at what this bid brings & then finalize/WAG numbers for 03.

One note after talking w/ Jack Lewis, (passing resume of buddy)... "We don't mind hiring a few extra S/O's over the course of the year because frankly S/O's during their first year don't cost the company much money"

 

[LEROY]

I am standing by, ready to assume the role of "not costing the company much money"!!!

Still treading water...

 

[T-38Dude]

I know for all you "poolies" out there that you're anxiously awaiting any news for class dates. So, I might as well start some more rumors, right? Please, however, don't load up your old jalopy and head for Graceland just yet. The captain I was flying with this morning said he had heard from an instructor in the training department that a new hire class may start in a month or so. Also, I dropped off my mil leave paperwork this morning, and the lady who is working the program said, "please tell me you're not getting called up to active duty too." She said she's afraid to pick up the phone because it could be another second officer calling her about going on extended leave. Of course, I told her that means FedEx needs to start a new hire class (she agreed by the way). She said they were hoping a class of 8 would start in Apr, but that doesn't appear to be happening. FedEx seems to keep a pretty tight lid on new hire class dates, and you guys in the pool will probably know before most of us line dudes. The bottom line is, just keep hanging in there because before you know it, you'll be able to carry that jug of coffee with the best of them. (Okay, maybe not as good as Albie15

T-38Dude