FedEx to Base Pilots Overseas
FedEx Corp. plans to establish pilot bases in Paris and Hong Kong, saving it the cost of getting U.S.-based pilots to work and giving it more flexibility as it takes on DHL.
The Memphis-based company and the pilots’ union are discussing an amendment to the pilots’ contract, including cost-of-living stipends and details about the planes FedEx intends to fly in each market.
When domiciles are established, pilots who choose to commute from the United States, or from anywhere else, will have to pay their own fares.
FedEx has bases in Memphis, Los Angeles, Subic Bay and Anchorage, Alaska.
“You want to have your pilots based where the flight originates because that’s where you have the longest layovers,” said Satish Jindel at S J Consulting near Pittsburgh. “It gives the pilots a better quality of life and better scheduling.”
The change comes as FedEx adds capacity to its fleet and prepares to open its Asian hub in Guangzhou, China, in December 2008. FedEx’s Asian business is growing by double digits; growth in Europe is slightly less.
