FedEx Corp. is showing signs of strain from the mandatory grounding of its MD-11 freighter fleet during the year’s busiest shipping season as travel managers are unable to keep up with an unprecedented number of flight changes, leaving many arriving pilots without confirmed accommodations after long trips.
Hotel and ground transportation reservations are typically made weeks, or months, in advance of a trip, but FedEx (NYSE: FDX) acknowledged that the department responsible for booking those services for crew members fell behind because of an increased workload. As a result, pilots are increasingly arriving at layover cities without confirmed rooms or transportation to and from the hotel. Many are expressing frustration at having to make their own arrangements.
The peak season requires extra flying to meet demand for parcel and freight transport, but FedEx lost the use of 28 large MD-11 cargo jets in early November when the Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to stop operating the aircraft type following the fiery crash of a UPS freighter in Louisville, Kentucky. Authorities have yet to provide guidance on how to proceed with inspections after preliminary investigation results raised the potential of serious fatigue cracks in the aging aircraft.
FedEx scrambled to compensate for the lost MD-11 capacity by activating spare aircraft, consolidating flights and switching to larger gauge aircraft, deferring non-urgent maintenance and hiring contract carriers.
“We’ve been activating robust contingency plans while remaining focused on delivering the highest standards of safety and service for our customers and team members. Providing support for our 5,000 crew members is a top priority, and we are aware that some pilots did not experience the level of assistance they usually receive as we navigated this unprecedented time,” FedEx spokesman Jonathan Lyons said in a statement to FreightWaves. “We addressed those concerns by quickly adding additional staffing and reminding our pilots of the resources that are available to them to make arrangements when needed.”
The MD-11 flight ban has resulted in unprecedented schedule revisions and additional flying for the remaining fleet, Lyons explained. In response, the Flight Services Desk is making lodging and travel changes within the actual operating month, resulting in thousands of trips being revised. FedEx quickly moved to alleviate the reservation backlog by supplementing the unit with temporary help from other teams.
The union representing FedEx pilots, which has been locked in protracted negotiations with management over a new labor contract, said delays obtaining lodging are impacting crew rest and operational efficiency. It blames the problem on three years of corporate cost-cutting it says has caused chronic understaffing at the Flight Services Desk. The pilots argue regular trip extensions and revisions, as well as canceled flights from pilots calling out for fatigue, has a cascading effect on crew schedules and indicates FedEx needs more pilots.
“FedEx pilots are being stranded in locations around the world without the services required to operate. Services remain pending until the last minute. Revisions and extensions are treated as normal tools rather than signs of a system that can no longer carry its own weight. The company built a network that now depends on pilots to absorb these failures and removed the very protections meant to keep you safe and supported on the road,” the FedEx Master Executive Council, part of the Air Line Pilots Association, said Friday in a message to members.
Lyons denied FedEx has decreased staffing for trip services, adding that permanent positions were actually added in the first quarter of the year.
In an interview, Capt. Marty Harrington, chairman of the Master Executive Council’s Scheduling Committee, said Flight Services appears to be tightly staffed without a buffer for when operations don’t go smoothly. Now, as the internal system changes pilots’ trip pairings, accommodations are sometimes automatically kicked out of the system and the overwhelmed staff can’t make all the necessary arrangements.
“Imagine completing a 12-hour flight only to spend an additional hour upon arrival sorting out accommodations and transportation. That’s the reality many of us are facing,” said a Boeing 777 pilot, who asked not to be named to prevent any job conflict with the company.
It should be noted that unions in all industries often amplify problems to motivate rank-and-file solidarity or to elicit public support in hopes that will pressure a company into concessions during contract negotiations.
FedEx pilots are empowered to use their corporate credit card to book lodging and pay for ride-sharing or taxi rides on their own when nothing has been arranged in advance. But they complain waiting on hold for a reservation clerk or the trip services desk wastes time when they are ready to rest, raises anxiety and erodes trust that the company is looking out for them, especially in a foreign country.
FedEx pilots don’t have the ability to text their office for help, a union official said.
“There is some inconvenience, no matter the reason for the scheduling problems. It does upset a pilot’s life,” when destination arrangements aren’t ready, said Kit Darby, an aviation consultant who specializes in pilot hiring and career development.
UPS (NYSE: UPS) operated 27 MD-11 freighter aircraft prior to the shutdown. Its pilots are not experiencing any hiccups with hotel reservations and ground transportation this peak season, said Brian Gaudet, a spokesman for the Independent Pilots Association.
FedEx reports second-quarter earnings on Thursday.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
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