Will Fred Smith hire foreign pilots in a strike?

[FlyBoeingJets]

Heard this from my FedEx brethren in the reserves.

Pilots like to spread rumors of bad things to come, even if they are far fetched. Like these below. I guess I'm no better than the rest.


1) SWA will cut wages deep or go into BK (furlough) when the hedges run out

2) FedEx/UPS will go contract or foreign pilots in a strike. The only thing holding management back is the pesky contract in place.

3) JetBlue will start losing money and sell airplanes when they have to start paying for maintenance (wait, this one is true)

4) United will kick butt when it comes out of BK after flushing pensions and debt.

5) Frontier will lose its shirt when SWA starts at Denver (half true, only its UAL who is losing)

6) USAir will go away in 6 months (Heard at least 4 times over two years)



Gimme more rumors to ponder....

 

[FN FAL]

Whatever you guys do, don't strike until March.

As a feeder pilot, I empathize with you guys, but I am relegated to different master. I got enough crap on my mind besides crossing picket lines and I just want to finish school...believe me, for the same money I could fly a Beech 99 or 1900 at some other place, but I would like to finish school.

On the other side of the coin, if you have something worth fighting for go for it.

Good luck guys.

 

[Dangerkitty]

I got enough crap on my mind besides crossing picket lines and I just want to finish school...

Unless you are crossing a FedEx picket line to fly a B-727, DC-10, A-300, or MD-11 then you have nothing to worry about.

Flying a Caravan for an Express feeder has nothing to do with a potential strike at FedEx. Fly it all night long. You would still not be a scab.

 

[Dangerkitty]

Heard this from my FedEx brethren in the reserves.

Pilots like to spread rumors of bad things to come, even if they are far fetched. Like these below. I guess I'm no better than the rest.


1) SWA will cut wages deep or go into BK (furlough) when the hedges run out

2) FedEx/UPS will go contract or foreign pilots in a strike. The only thing holding management back is the pesky contract in place.

3) JetBlue will start losing money and sell airplanes when they have to start paying for maintenance (wait, this one is true)

4) United will kick butt when it comes out of BK after flushing pensions and debt.

5) Frontier will lose its shirt when SWA starts at Denver (half true, only its UAL who is losing)

6) USAir will go away in 6 months (Heard at least 4 times over two years)



Gimme more rumors to ponder....

The only thing worse than Airline CEO's and Airline executives making predictions about the future of the various airlines is airline pilots doing it.

I dont know who has a worse track record. Airline Execs or Airline pilots.

 

[CaptainMark]

2) FedEx/UPS will go contract or foreign pilots in a strike. The only thing holding management back is the pesky contract in place. ....

more crap...this was tried before the last contract problem we had....name another contract carrier that is cat2 and 3 capable with a support system like fdx....i'll help u..none....other carriers were breaking down all over the system and going to alternates all over the world reaking havoc....customers were pissed off and many..especially in asia...told fred if we are paying a premium price for fedex then we want fedex planes and fedex pilots...the next flights were fedex ones....like i said..more crap rumors...

 

[FN FAL]

Flying a Caravan for an Express feeder has nothing to do with a potential strike at FedEx. Fly it all night long.

Night flying? We're not US Check, dagnappit. But I hear what you are saying.

What's it been, two years now for FedEx and about five or six years for UPS? Regarding contracts that is?

 

[AlbieF15]

Guys,

Remember page one of Wall Street Journal a week or two back? Foreign airlines are hiring American captains (along with Brits, Aussies, and others) because THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH EXPERIENCED CAPTAINS TO DO THE JOB!

Been to an Air Inc session lately? I have...and there are recruiters there from several foreign carriers as well as leasing companies looking for American pilots to relocate for 3, 5 or longer year contracts.

So--do I think the company can stall and create problems? Yes. Am I currently worried about a ramp full of Chinese, Indian, or Malay pilots? Not for 10-15 years. Down the road...maybe...but right now we've got a thriving business up in MSP training guys getting them ready for interviews at JALWAYs, Korean Airlines, Emirates, Cathay, and a host of others. As Capt Mark alluded to...night freight/catIII ops with the reliability we require is a challenge. I think finding a diverse mix of foreign pilots to walk in and take over (in very short order) is unrealistic right now. Contract 2015? Maybe. I think our biggest threat would be a lack of unity, and so far signs are encouraging that won't be the case.

My negotiating committee speaks for me. (And if you need some 747 sim time...call us...)

 

[bearcat]

Funny how everyone will unregard this post. I think as pilots we tend to miss the big picture about our careers. We know we NEED the big picture while we are flying, but no one wants to think about the "unthinkable". Five years ago if you would have told me that SWA was going to be a cash cow, Fed-Ex was going to be industry leading and DL, NW, UA were all going to be bankrupt, lose pensions and their future be undefined...we all would have told you to pack sand (or something else)

Rumors or not. Your job and your medical are fragile.....it is funny to see when you chuck a spear at SWA or FED-Ex, most pilots will start chucking back, stating that their jobs our secure and nothing will ever happen. Yes I'll agree that some are more secure than others right now, but anything can happen.

 

[FlyBoeingJets]

I too think the foreign pilot thing, en masse, is totally ridiculous. The mail contract sinks that whole idea (just thought of that this morning).

The danger is a nibbling at the edges thing. But that won't happen as long as FedEx stays out of BK and the union has contract and negotiating power.

The furloughed AA pilots think foreign ownership rules being proposed are another nose under the tent. They worry about foreign pilots taking their jobs, perhaps slowly at first. But once the gates open, it could get ugly. I think this proposition is unlikely.

But the codeshare issues now facing every major pax carrier are potential trouble.

Could all U.S. major airlines one day have Company pilots on the domestic routes and foreign or contract pilots on their international routes????

I used to think the above was far fetched. But doesn't NWA and DAL do a ton of codesharing??? SWA does codesharing to Hawaii now.

 

[Reebo]

Could all U.S. major airlines one day have Company pilots on the domestic routes and foreign or contract pilots on their international routes????

Think Star Alliance, One World, or Sky Team. The potential is there.

 

[CaptainMark]

Funny how everyone will unregard this post. I think as pilots we tend to miss the big picture about our careers. We know we NEED the big picture while we are flying, but no one wants to think about the "unthinkable". Five years ago if you would have told me that SWA was going to be a cash cow, Fed-Ex was going to be industry leading and DL, NW, UA were all going to be bankrupt, lose pensions and their future be undefined...we all would have told you to pack sand (or something else)

Rumors or not. Your job and your medical are fragile.....it is funny to see when you chuck a spear at SWA or FED-Ex, most pilots will start chucking back, stating that their jobs our secure and nothing will ever happen. Yes I'll agree that some are more secure than others right now, but anything can happen.

i agree to some extent...i am always knocking on wood..but FEDEX has been a secure job since it was founded...i am more concerned about keeping Fred healthy and have him lead us for years to come...he is a pain during contract time ..but having a CEO with pull in D.C. and a stake in this place is great...we will see

 

[Ready2Fly]

more crap...this was tried before the last contract problem we had....name another contract carrier that is cat2 and 3 capable with a support system like fdx....i'll help u..none....other carriers were breaking down all over the system and going to alternates all over the world reaking havoc....customers were pissed off and many..especially in asia...told fred if we are paying a premium price for fedex then we want fedex planes and fedex pilots...the next flights were fedex ones....like i said..more crap rumors...

UHHH WRONG........ ABX Air is all of the above!!!!!!!

 

[CaptainMark]

WRONG!!!..they have 1/5 of the aircraft and pilots we have and no support...they couldn't do the job for 1 night...abx has 750 pilots and we have over 500 in the left seat of the bus alone...they may be cat 2 and 3 capable but couldn't handle the work..stick to your cessnas

 

[flx757]

UHHH WRONG........ ABX Air is all of the above!!!!!!!

Ready2Fly is TheGuat, Rhoid, IHaveAPension, LucyFurr, E170GuppyKiller, TheGuppyKiller, GuppyKiller, TheMissingLink, ABXpert, UPSer, RJDC, OUT, 410Dude, BR549, FreightNazi....etc...etc... Ignore anything and everything he has to say. He has been "permanently" banned over 20 times yet continues to come around just to annoy people. Swat this fly.

 

[YourPilotFriend]

#1 Why SWA is doomed to adapt or fail

The greatest strength of SWA is the fact its cost structure allows the airline to come into a city and offer fares significantly below that of the competition. This strength is also its greatest weakness. The management at SWA is so good they have absolutely reached the most streamlined, efficient, and cost effective operation the airline industry has ever seen. Given that they can reduce unit cost through expansion, there is little to no room to squeeze any lower cost out of the airline short of bankruptcy or employee wage cuts.

This industry is facing major consolidation. If the legacies combine into three larger companies, which is almost inevitable, then after bankruptcy the operating costs of these companies are noticeably lower than that of SWA. There is absolutely no feasible way SWA can achieve a competitive cost point if the airline remains the same. Furthermore, the international sides of these larger airlines will generate enough cash flow to offset any type of cost reduction SWA does to try and lower fares. This is evident in the fact that if Continental were to merge with NWA its entire cost of operation is 10-20% lower than that of SWA for an airline that is paying full price for fuel and even operating the DC9 fleet. Dumping the DC9 fleet in favor of the 737 will lower costs even further. Even buying more fuel hedges at current prices is not enough to reduce the cost of SWA significant enough to compete against consolidated carriers of the future. In other words, SWA will become the victim of the same business methods from which it became so successful.

You may not believe me, however ask yourself this one question, was their any feasible way for the legacies to restructure there costs to that of SWA without the use of pay cuts and bankruptcies? In the race to the bottom, what goes around always comes around.

 

[Big Slick]

YourPilotFriend,

Watch out! The flightinfo.com SWA zealots are going to get you! You can't say anything bad about Southwest on this board, it's blasphemy! If I have learned anything on this board in the last five years, it is that Southwest is invincible.

By the way, the true losers of this race to the bottom will be everyone of us - regardless of which airline you work for.

 

[YourPilotFriend]

YourPilotFriend,


By the way, the true losers of this race to the bottom will be everyone of us - regardless of which airline you work for.

That is correct, because after the SWA bankruptcy, they will be back as the lowest cost carrier and the process will repeat itself.

 

[koko nw]

Heard this from my FedEx brethren in the reserves.

5) Frontier will lose its shirt when SWA starts at Denver (half true, only its UAL who is losing)


Gimme more rumors to ponder....

Maybe not so much, Hopefully the "SWA" effect will help us both out here next quarter ;}

"United, Southwest Drag Down Frontier's Unit Revenues"


"Frontier executives are attempting to put the carrier's sagging unit revenues into perspective, citing United's capacity boost in Denver and Southwest's introductory fares in that market as triggers for its lackluster performance."

"Frontier CFO Paul Tate said the carrier's revenue per available seat mile (RASM) had been "severely underperforming" year-over-year, noting February and March were particularly challenging.

"For the quarter ending in March, United increased its capacity in Denver 12%-15% year-over-year, and that's had a "debilitating" impact on Frontier's RASM, Tate said."

Southwest is still offering its introductory fares in Denver, which is also dragging down Frontier's performance. Tate said it is impossible to make money at one of the most expensive airports in the U.S. charging $49 one-way.

 

[Resocha]

It's amazing! I actually found a thread where pilots have all the answers! Imagine that.