SWA pilot rejects FDX

[(o) (o)]

you mean you would rather be unemployed that fly for the largest most profitable cargo airline in the world with the best vacation policy, retirement plan and work rules. i guess you don't want to fly widebodies all over the world or even domestically....i guess u don't want to retire a millionaire...and FDX is about 60% dayflying now...you aren't too bright huh?

Ever think about getting a hobby other than going on flightinfo just to slam everyone who is remotely not fond of FDX?

What a fooking loser you are.

yes, I know you make a lot of money, because you mention that in every of your post.

Get a life.

 

[optimater]

Apologies. Apparently someone from SWA did reject ANC or maybe just FedEx in general. My point was it isn't the famed Mr. Jones who was quoted from the other thread. In the other thread it is being discussed whether it is possible to bypass ANC in favor of MEM, when Mr. Jones makes his appearance. I would guess that being in the SWA pool had as much to do with it as ANC.

BTW, who's JL?

 

[enigma]

OK, how the hedoublehockeysticks did some dude, a man who didn't even want the job, get the flippin interview to begin with???????????????????????


Did he have a sponsor? What must the sponsor think now that the potential newhire rejected the offer?

Truthfully, this is quite dejecting. I know of soooo many people, darned good pilots/employees/people who try so hard to get such an opportunity, that hearing this just pisses me off.

Oh well.

enigma

 

[Stifler's Mom]

Good point Enigma, nothing like putting your name on the line for somebody who ultimately turns the offer down. Nice friend, huh?

 

[Junior Man]

I thought that UPS was the biggest most profitable cargo airline.

 

[Wolf King]

"If you live an average life span (76 yrs.) you'll get 27,777/year. Are you sure you're retiring, or are you moving on to another job?"

Well that would be a straight draw every year and that is NO way to structure a retirement. (!)

Now, $750,000 properly invested and assuming a conservative 6% return annually gives one about $45,000/yr to live on without even touching the principal.

If a person has no mortgage, car payments, or debts and is single one can do quite well.

A nice cottage near a lake, a pickup and a good duck boat are really all a man needs in life...( certainly, this is an oversimplification but you get the idea.)

And if a fella' can't eat well, take a few vacations, and buy a few beers on $45,000/yr, well he's got some serious money management problems to begin with and will probably be flying until he's 75 for some non-sched in Africa anyway.

Ouch.

True enough. Now I just gotta get my hands on 750,000. Then again, I wonder how far 45K a year will go in 10 years, let alone 20. I hope nothing major pops up, I guess the kids can fend for themselves... I suppose it's a good thing I like the work!

 

[Babylon]

I've actually spent a lot of time thinking about SWA vs FEDEX recently. I do think people "seem" happier at SWA but I'm not so sure why. I jumpseated with a fairly senior SW crew last week and saw their pairing - 3 days of minimum block time 7 hours. Lousy short layovers in between. This was a senior crew. I think a huge problem with SW is your trips never really get better - you make money by hard time and that's it. What do you have to look forward to when you're a 15 year guy? The same thing?

Some great plusses about FEDEX that SW can never touch
1) 2nd year pay at about $120K/yr for just about anyone who wants to fly WB now. SWA 2nd yr is about $85k. The differences only widen from there.
2) Some great trips - as a first year engineer I often had 48 hour+ layovers in cool cities all the time getting paid the same as flying. As a WB FO I regularly get similar time off in places like Honolulu, Sydney, London, Paris, and the list goes on. What's the best layover for a SW pilot?
3) I don't think too many pilots truly love the flying. Let's face it - manipulating the box just ain't that interesting. The crews and the trips, the pay and the timeoff make the job.
4) Future looks great - I know lots of people that bid double dead head trips, often with some or all layovers in their home town. I know several people that actually work about 9 days a month and spend only a few nights away from home per month. Do you know anyone at SW that has that schedule?
5) The pay and benefits. I'd say cargo is a lot more safe than any passenger flying - including even the great SW. During these times of high fuel it's next to impossible for pax carriers to make any profit. Are you really that confident in your future?
6) Bottom line is right now as a 7 year FO, I can drop a few days a month easily (how hard is it at SW?), end up working about 8 days with a few deadheads in their, have some great long relaxing layovers where I see the world (I didn't become a commercial pilot to spend 12 hours a night in the same mid-west US city every trip) and still make more than the 7 year SW FO.
7) SW guys seem happy but they don't seem to have time to do anything else. I'm in a reserve squadron with lots of SW guys and you can never find them because they are always gone and can never manipulate their schedule. When I ask around to my buds at other squadrons they find the same.
SW is a great airline but sell FEDEX short. Night hub turns suck, yes, but there's a lot more than that out there and the other benefits can't be minimized.

 

[Wolf King]

1) 2nd year pay at about $120K/yr for just about anyone who wants to fly WB now. SWA 2nd yr is about $85k. The differences only widen from there.

Yeah, this is true if you drop about a third of your line for military. I think SWA second year pay on the new scale at the new rates is quite a bit higher. Sign me up! Believe me, international widebody is akin to sitting under your stairs in the basement all night, reading a book by a flashlight... have fun!

If flying a heavy makes you feel better about yourself, well then I guess the world needs dorks, and there are always plenty to go around.

 

[PurpleTail]

I thought that UPS was the biggest most profitable cargo airline.

UPS is a trucking company that happens to have a few airplanes. FedEx is an Express cargo airline that happens to have a few trucks

Sorry, couldn't help it!

 

[TheBaron]

I thought that UPS was the biggest most profitable cargo airline.

UPS is a package delivery service that operates an airline and about a million (maybe a zillion) additional logistic warehousing, tracking and management businesses. UPS makes more than FedEx, however, the airline component of FedEx (Express) generates considerably more profit than the airline division of UPS.

How did we get on this subject????

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d@mn my slow typing!