UPS hiring? Not so much...

['72Gremlin]

I just got back from the DFW AirInc Conference. I went there mainly to hear what UPS and FedEx had to say, since UPS hasn't been to an AirInc Conference in a while.

UPS, "We will not be hiring pilots in 2004."

FedEx, "We have no definite plans to hire pilots in 2004." (See FedEx rumorville reply)

Good news:

AirTran, America West, ATA are hiring.... and had long lines at their booths.

I'm sure I saw half of you all there... I just didn't know it!

 

[Flash]

Just curious as to what JetBlue and Southwest had to say. Did they accept any resumes or was it just their hiring forecasts?

 

[w17cfii]

I doubt 72Gremlin has any reason to lie about this. I have not been to an Airinc conference, but maybe they are there to recruit for other jobs.

I can tell you that I was at a job fair at Embry Riddle in the fall and I was told the same thing, they "may" hire some pilots starting in 2005, no plans for 2004. They were recruiting for other positions and hence the reason for attending the job fair.

 

[lurker]

Gremlin is telling the truth. The UPS HR rep gave an extremely short presentation on very basic company info. All that was mentioned about hiring was that there was nothing planned for '04.

I spoke briefly with one of the pilot reps, and he said that possibly there would be some hiring in the beginning of '05.

Pretty much a waste of my $155 since they wouldn't even take my resume, which was the only reason I was there. I wasn't really interested in Kit's "pilot shortage".

 

['72Gremlin]

FLASH:

Southwest had no new news that I haven't seen on this board. Rebekah Krone confirmed that they will be hiring 400 this year, to include the 200 or so in the pool. She confirmed they will be interviewing in March. Though I did not stand in the Southwest line, I heard they were taking resumes. For what? I know not. Southwest also hosted a party Saturday night... unfortunately I was unable to attend.


jetBlue said they would be hiring 200 this year and 400 in 2005. This year's interview schedule is as follows: Mar 10, May 12, Jul 14, Oct 28. I spoke to Dean Melonas and he passed on a few tips on the online application process: in the section where you enter your employment information there is an area to input why you left or "comments". He emphasized to use that area to put good qualitative information in there, such as "Evaulator Pilot, Instructor Pilot, Commander, etc." I went back and added information that's on my resume but has no specific area on the application (i.e. Flight Commander). Dean said that in a few months they will update their online application to allow you to specifically input this kind of information. He also stressed that that was not the area to tell them how much you luv jetBlue. They already know that!

I also asked Dean about "availability" timing. He said the best available time other that "immediate" is if you're available within 2-4 months of a class date (I didn't ask him when the class dates were slated for). If you're available outside of that timeframe, the confuser probably won't spit you out. They do this because they don't maintain a pool of pilots. Dean is a class guy. He remembered me from when I saw him last year. Hope this helps.

Gremlin

 

[Flash]

Thanks Gremlin, I went to the conference in Atl and wanted to make Dallas because of all the hype but maybe it's best that I couldn't go and have about $150 more in my pocket today!

 

[SNIZ]

Thanks

Gremlin,

Thanks for the info, you answered a question I had in another thread about JB app, availability timing.

Sniz

 

[BrownTailGuy]

Don't get too down on the news you heard about UPS. The people that were there are not exactly "in the know" as to what they are going to do. Even though they are management and they are HR. The final word comes form Atlanta. They will call HR here in Louisville one day and say "hire 100 pilots now" and that is all the word they will get.

I believe that UPS Capt and a couple others will probably agree with me.

They only way I see us NOT hiring is IF the rumor I hear about them parking a bunch of DC-8's this year comes true. Then they will have to displace crews off the DC-8 to the A300 and MD-11's. There are also several 757/767 Captains retiring throughout the year.

IF we get a contract later this year then the flood gates will open and they will have to hire a bucket load of people.

 

[Dav8tor]

I agree with Browntailguy, I talked to a lot of Brown Pilots jumpseating on my flights out of Louisville...and they all said the same thing. It's only a matter of time before they have to start hiring again.

 

[UPS Capt]

I've always said that UPS won't hire until a new contract is signed with the pilot group (amendable date was 12/31/2003). That way, they know how much they're going to have to pay (cough up) for these new pilots and what kind of work rule$ they'll have to deal with and pay for.

Right now, UPS's scheduling is "optimized" to the breaking point and has been for years. Folks are retiring, new planes are arriving and older planes aren't being retired as fast as advertised earlier on by the company. The economy is recovering and UPS is making a crap load of money in the Asia theater.

The fact that UPS says "no hiring" in 04' tells me that they (surprise, surprise..) don't plan on having a contract signed anytime this year. Their usual BS line about becoming a more benevolent employer toward their employees and working towards a speedy contract resolve has been just that...a load of BS. I always said that it'll take at least 2 years to get a new contract. We're about 6 months into negotiations with a recent change in leadership within our union.

When will UPS hire? When a contract is signed. The company will continue to squeeze and "optimize" schedules and service failures will increase until Atlanta screams, "Settle with the pilots" and "Hire more" and not before.

Want to know when we'll hire? Ask how negotiations are going and there's your answer.