How Badly Do Regional Carriers Need Pilots? This Badly

American subsidiary PSA Airlines is trying to woo pilots with $250K bonus package
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 8, 2023 11:45 AM CST
FedEx to Pilots: You Might Want to Quit Us, Take This Job
PSA Airlines is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Airlines that operates the American Eagle fleet.   (Getty Images / Jong Kim)

PSA Airlines is an American Airlines-owned regional carrier, and it's in need of captains—badly enough that it's trying to woo FedEx and UPS pilots by offering bonuses that add up to $250,000. FedEx, for its part, is actually encouraging its pilots to consider the offer. FlightGlobal cites a Friday memo from the company's VP of flight operations and training cautioning that FedEx's flight operations are "significantly overstaffed" due to low demand that's impacting all players in the industry. "Air cargo demand remains down, with decreased revenues and volumes similar to 2019," Pat DiMento's memo reads. "Frankly, I was pessimistic about how attractive the opportunity might be when first approached, but the details are compelling," he added, per the Wall Street Journal.

The Journal reports that as of July, FedEx had about 700 more pilots than it needed; UPS says it conveyed the offer to the group of 193 pilots who recently took a company buyout. The Journal explains the possible cons to making the jump, as well as the potential upside: Cargo pilots usually enjoy fixed schedules and are required to fly fewer daily legs; they also don't have the same furlough risk (FedEx has never furloughed its pilots). But PSA is offering that bonus: $175,000 in the first paycheck and another $75,000 after a year. And while the hourly rates can be lower (FedEx captains make up to $336 an hour, compared to $217.50 at PSA), there's room for growth.

PSA captains can eventually jump to American, where they'd fly bigger jets and can earn up to $400 an hour. FedEx and UPS pilots who make the switch would be credited for their experience when it comes to pay, retirement benefits, and PTO, though FreightWaves notes it's unclear whether they could make the jump from PSA to American in fewer than the typical five years. Still, one FedEx pilot who spoke on condition of anonymity told FreightWaves that DiMento's letter was "incredibly insulting."

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The pilot said, "For those of us who have been with the company before COVID, we are shocked at the level of mismanagement we see and management's disdain for their pilots. Pat DiMento's letter suggesting that pilots at the-once pinnacle of airline pilot jobs go to a regional airline for five years speaks volumes to their tone deafness about the situation they created. Someone flying for FedEx could go [directly] to a legacy flying job—Delta, United, American—and have a much higher quality of life and pay and benefits." (More American Airlines stories.)

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