FedEx rumorville

['72Gremlin]

Latest from AirInc

I just got back from depositing my $155 into Kit Darby's bank account at the DFW AirInc Conference. Unfortunately, FedEx's official stance on hiring this year is they "have no definite plans to hire pilots in 2004." What does definite mean? An ounce of hope? Enough for me. JR confirmed about 70 pilots in the pool and I asked him about the 737 rumor... he said of all the rumors on the street, that one was probably the most believable. That ounce of hope just turned into a pound. From what I've gathered at these conferences, airlines seem to be very/overly conservative on their outlook on hiring. UPS said categorically... definitely... no questions asked: no hiring in 2004. We shall see. Goodluck to us all.

Grem

 

[SNIZ]

JR?

Is JR the FedEx rep at the Job Fair?

 

[Goose17]

I am assuming he meant John Ryder and not Janet Reno, although they do look a bit alike.

He runs the hiring department.

Goose17

 

[Huck]

I thought he meant J. Ross....

 

[AlbieF15]

J. Ross is now just a one each line Capt. FDX is reducing "overhead" in its cheif pilot force as well as flight admin to cut costs. Expect even more trimming in next year. See post on app window for thoughts on this...

 

['72Gremlin]

Sorry to keep you guessing. John Ryder was the FedEx spokesperson at AirInc. I've seen him at every conference I've attended.

 

[FastCargo]

Interesting call...

Something interesting...

My crashpad roomie was operating a trip a few days ago. The crew was discussing rumors about aircraft purchases. The 737 thing came up...it has been one of the most persistent rumors out there.

Here is where it gets interesting. One of the other crewmembers mentioned that while he was gone on this trip, he gets a call at home from FedEx crew records. They wanted to confirm that he in fact has a 737 type rating.

Now this could have been for ANYTHING (he could have been yanking the crew's chain). But, that is an unusual inquiry. It'll get more interesting if other crew members with 737 types on their records start getting the same call...

Just thought I would share.

FastCargo

 

[SF3CA]

Buddy of mine who has been in long term training for the DC-10 heard that we are working out a deal with boeing. We will buy 737's (used 400's and new 900's) and then boeing will release us from the MD-10 program.

 

[Lightninglou]

Just got back from the Air Inc conference at DFW as well, and thought it was ironic that John Ryder said no hiring, when it seems there are rumors of it picking up in the spring.

I also thought it was strange that FedEx was interested in 737s and not looking at 757s. An F/O I was talking with at the FedEx booth said the reason was that the 757 is a heavy and would require more spacing (wake turb), thus reducing the number of slots available out of MEM. The 737-900 is almost as big as the 757, but not a heavy.

Thanks for the info! Regards,

Lightning

 

[fox3]

I've Heard the Same

It seems as though this may be more than a rumor. Spoke with a couple of very credible Captains in LA this weekend and all of the rumors seem to jive. Apparently the company has already begun acquiring 737 parts and is looking to hire in order to make the transition happen (I have no idea why that would need to happen). They also said that the MD-10 conversion would cease if the 737s were purchased.