FEDEX treatment of feeder guys

[ATRCAPT]

Maybe some of you MAC folks can shed some light here. Do you feel like a lot of the FEDEX pilots treat us (Empire/MAC) like second class citizens? I was just down at AFW (big FEDEX base), and was dissed at every turn by these guys. I'm not asking for them to be my best buddies, but a little freakin' common curtesy would be nice! I've run into this EVERYWHERE! There are a few FEDEX guys I've met who seemed to be nice people, but for the most part they seem to be rude and arrogant especially in their attitudes toward the ATR/F27 pilots. Any thoughts?

 

[Purple Haze]

I hope it is unintentional. We are usually in a hurry and "not at our best" (read: fatigued). I have caught myself being pretty focused on my objective, be it getting ready to go fly or getting to the crew bus. Seems we are usually in a hurry and too focused to be very social. No excuse -- just my observation.

Can't speak for the masses, but as for me, I admire the heck out of what you guys do. The only feeder guys I regularly come into contact with are in MIA, and I am continually impressed by this great group of guys.

This will change nothing. We are self-absorbed and type-A (just like you, most likely). Most of us are much easier to get along with at the pub than pre or post flight. Keep fighting the good fight and don't let our ignorance of social graces get you down. Remember where you came from when you get where you're going.

 

[ATRCAPT]

Hey Purple -

Thanx for the response. I can certainly understand being a little short after being up all night. I know a lot of our guys would like to come to your company one day but figured their chances were nil because of the treatment they have received.

 

[mudflap]

Prima Donnas....... they have no idea what they have or where they came from! Too many military pilots at Federal Distress, if the military was so good why did they leave.

If you think Alliance is bad, you should try being a feeder pilot in Subic!

cargopod, flyinyourshorts, and vascoflier can attest to that.

Since this thread is about FedEx, shouldn't it be in the majors board?! I think they forgot they DO haul CARGO.

 

[cargopod]

I have nothing but good to say about the way i was treated in subic by the fedex pilot group.. i was treated with respect and kindness by the pilots and their families while over there..
A great group of pilots.. a couple of us had christmas dinner at a pilots house on his invatation. a welcome touch durring the holiday season..
Hey shorts lets go back and have a couple cold ones..

 

[Mamma]

Sounds like Mudflap has a chip on his shoulder about military folks. No need to lump this group of pilots together because you ran into a few bad ones or were rejected at some time in the past. From experience, most of these folks would give you the shirt off their back...even when you make comments like this.

 

[FearlessFreep]

ATRCAPT,

When I was flying feeders (the lowly C-208) the behavior of the mainline pilots was the exactly the same that you have experienced. I was based out of KOAK and it was not unheard of that we would be thrown off the crew van (back then the Caravans were parked on the Fedex ramp) when the mainline guys would come on. Pretty much all of us feeder pilots would experience is looking up the nostrils of all the mainline guys - you know, their constant looking down on us. Well at least you now know that they are consistent in their attitude.

I would occasionally meet some nice people there. Nine times out of ten any of the mainline guys that would talk to me in other than a derogatory manner turned out to be all ex-Flying Tiger personnel. The Tiger guys are a nice group.

On the few occasions that we (feeder pilots) were on the crew van simulataneously with the mainline guys I noticed that they wouldn't even talk amongst themselves - not even an utterance of being fatigued after a long night/day.

I have since moved on and found a camaraderie among fellow non-sked freight dawgs that is certainly much different that what was evidenced with my exposure to the mainline purple tailed gang.

You should see how the mainline pilots treat the feeder pilots at the Pan Am training center in Memphis!

Just so you know a lot of regional pilots feel the same way about the treatment they get from the Trunk Line pilots.

Before I get flamed to a crisp let me just say that I hold no resentment against any Fedex pilot. I am just relating my experiences in an un-biased manner.

Good Luck To Us All!

 

[T-REX]

Same deal at UPS. Almost comical, does anyone know if the pilots lounge at CAE still has the "Mainline Pilots Only" sign up.

 

[flyinyourShorts]

The FedEx guys I met in Subic were all pretty cool, they were more like outcasts like us. One of them even let us crash his wedding party!! I don't think any of the ones over there were too bad, but I have had bad expirences with a few here in the states. But then again i've expirenced the same with UPS, DHL, ABX, ect.... There are bad apples in every bunch.

Our old POI at Tahoma had a good stuck-up FedEx crew story, but it's way to long to post on here.

There will ALWAYS be that kind of treatment of feeder pilots, and there's nothing to do but suck it up and try to be the better person.

Look like cargopod and myself are long overdue a San Miguel at Vasco's!

 

[Purple Haze]

I am a human sacrifice. Aim here.

I know a lot of our guys would like to come to your company one day but figured their chances were nil because of the treatment they have received.

I won't make excuses for a lot of A-holes – I believe you – I simply haven't observed it, tho I can't see too well when I'm looking down my nose !

As for your concern about getting hired, who cares what the line pilots think – except for a small handful of interview captains and the ACPs, pilots are not part of the hiring process. No one seems to know the real hiring formula. I have flown with many pilots who have no military experience and one former corporate guy, but no former feeder pilots (at least, not that I know of). I don’t think this means FedEx doesn’t hire feeder pilots, but it does indicate (to me) that a more competitive résumé (according to the geniuses in HR) would also include time with a regional. It seems the all-civilian pilots I have flown with ALL have regional experience. Don’t try to make sense of it – just acknowledge it and move forward. Build as much turbine PIC as you can and get on with a regional (my thinking only, and what do I know?!) – if FedEx is your goal.

I don’t know if this applies to civilian pilots or just the military guys, but it appears the company looks for “leadership” experience on your résumé. In other words, if you went “above and beyond” just doing the minimum required, you are a step ahead of the vanilla “line pilot.” This could be any of a multitude of additional duties (flight standards, training dept, safety, whatever). Remember, they desire what they perceive as a polished professional, not a freight dawg. I’m not poking you in the eye – my military experience was freight dawg experience. No PC here, just calling it as I see it. You gotta give the man what he wants....and nobody knows exactly what he wants.

When you get called for the interview, leave the chip “mudflap” has on his shoulder at home. Also, get the full meal deal at Men’s Warehouse, including shiny new shoes. And a fresh hair cut. Get crazy and even button the top button. All the stuff in Cheryl Cage’s book, “Checklist for Success.” Image and perception count. An ounce of humble is worth a pound of swagger.

You seem to have a great attitude. Don’t let us “Prima Donnas” get you down. By the way, if you have a total disdain for pilots with military backgrounds, you will hate life here or at any other major (yes major) airline. See you on the line.

Freight dawgs rock.