FedEx Tells Pilots to Fly for American Airlines Amid Slowdown

Jennifer Bringle
·2 min read

As the global shipping downturn continues, FedEx told its pilots to seek work with a unit of American Airlines Group. That’s according to a memo to flight crews from FedEx’s vice president of flight operations and training, which was posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, this week.

The memo urged pilots to look into job opportunities with American Airlines subsidiary PSA Airlines. The regional carrier is recruiting experienced FedEx pilots for entry-level captain positions, offering an expedited interview process, $250,000 signing bonus and a direct path for eventually flying for American.

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“Given the softness in air cargo demand across the industry and current FedEx flight operations staffing levels, we shared information about this unique opportunity with our pilots,” FedEx said in a statement.

Global shipping has been on a decline for much of this year due to weakened consumer demand, shipping rate decreases, reduced freight volume and elevated inventory levels. According to recent data from Forrester, e-commerce sales growth has slowed significantly, remaining in the single digits for six out of the last eight quarters, including the last three. With the exception of Q1 2019, U.S. e-commerce sales consistently posted double-digit growth for 46 consecutive quarters from Q4 2009 to Q2 2021.

Last month, FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service announced later holiday shipping deadlines, a sign that the shippers expect a smaller package load this season. In October, FedEx and UPS also announced lower-than-expected general rate increases for 2024.

Over the past year, FedEx has cut jobs, closed offices, retired planes and scaled back Sunday deliveries to slash $4 billion in costs by the end of its 2025 financial year. In August, The Wall Street Journal reported that FedEx had a surplus of around 700 pilots on its payroll.

Meanwhile, commercial airlines have struggled to fill pilot seats in the wake of the pandemic, as travel demand continues to increase. Major carriers have mined their regional lines for eligible pilots, leaving a deficit for those smaller airlines. Last month, American Airlines admitted its regional carriers, such as PSA Airlines, do not have enough pilots with the required 1,000 hours of flight time to move up to captain.

“FedEx and American Airlines have had a good relationship for many years, and their recognition of the quality of our crew force is clear in this recruitment initiative that provides FedEx pilots an additional career path opportunity,” the shipper said in a statement.