FedEx Corp. has canceled the December flight schedule for its fleet of MD-11 cargo jets, FreightWaves has learned, further signaling that federally-mandated inspections following the fiery crash of one of the planes early this month will take significantly longer than originally anticipated.
The development dovetails with recent internal communications from UPS and Western Global Airlines, the other operators of the tri-engine MD-11, that their fleets are likely to be grounded for several months and be unavailable for the peak shipping season now underway.
FedEx (NYSE: FDX) has scrubbed all MD-11 flights from the December schedule, according to an official with the union representing the company’s pilots and another person who is an MD-11 pilot. The decision makes clear the company doesn’t expect the plane to be available during the month and raises questions about whether the airline will again be without 8% of its main line capacity in January.
“I don’t think this is going to be as short-term as people expected,” the FedEx MD-11 pilot, who asked for anonymity to prevent any employer repercussions, said in an interview.
Following the deadly crash of UPS Flight 2976 in Louisville, Kentucky, the Federal Aviation Administration banned MD-11s from flying until the entire fleet is thoroughly inspected and any necessary repairs are completed. The National Transportation Safety Board on Nov. 20 said it found fatigue cracks in a structural section that held an engine to the left-wing.
FedEx operated 28 MD-11s at the start of November.
The level of regulators’ concern about the safety of the MD-11s is reflected by the fact that the FAA isn’t even issuing ferry permits for the aircraft so they can be flown from their current airfields to other locations for inspection or maintenance, according to the pilot source.
FedEx pilots will get paid as normal for their December assignments, but exactly what the pay structure will be in the event of a January flight cancellation remains to be determined. There are about 500 MD-11 pilots at FedEx.
The other source said the union has seen internal company emails indicating management intends to place MD-11 pilots on reserve duty in January, despite there being no defined flying or duty requirements at this time.
“The association does not agree with applying reserve status and its related pay provisions in a circumstance where there is no operational need to be on reserve. We believe the situation would be best addressed through direct engagement between the company and the association to reach a solution that is appropriate and fair to both parties,” the union representative said.
The FedEx Master Executive Council, part of the Air Line Pilots Association, is the bargaining unit for the express carrier’s pilots.
“Safety is our highest priority at FedEx. We are working with Boeing and the FAA to address any required inspection and maintenance that may be needed to return our MD-11 aircraft safely to service,” spokeswoman Isabel Rollison said in a statement. “The flight schedules for December and January account for the MD-11s being currently grounded.”
UPS MD-11s out of action into 2026
Meanwhile, UPS pilots have been informed that the inspection process, and possible repairs, for the MD-11s will likely take several months instead of a few weeks, as originally estimated, Brian Gaudet, a spokesman for the Independent Pilots Association, said Thursday evening.
UPS (NYSE: UPS) employs 277 MD-11 pilots, according to IPA figures.
The UPS pilots are pay protected, which means they will be compensated for flights they were already awarded in December and for future cycles, even if the fleet remains grounded, Gaudet explained in a phone call.
The Louisville Courier-Journal, followed by other outlets, reported Thursday that UPS Airlines President Bill Moore conveyed in an internal letter that the MD-11 fleet will require more extensive inspections and potential repairs than first thought and the planes will remain grounded for several months.
In his letter, Moore said Boeing’s ongoing evaluation of the aircraft model has led to the determination that removing engines and pylons may be necessary for “detailed inspections and repairs,” the Louisville paper said.
Western Global Airlines has furloughed about 75 pilots who fly the MD-11 after learning from Boeing that the inspection process could drag out beyond this year.
FedEx Chief Financial Officer, speaking at an investor conference on Nov. 11, said the inspection process was expected to be relatively quick and that the airline would return MD-11 freighters to service on a rolling basis after they passed safety checks and any required repairs. His comments came before the NTSB issued its preliminary accident report, in which it highlighted discovery of the fatigue cracks.
The extended grounding of the MD-11 fleets could prove costly for the companies. FedEx and UPS, for example, have contracted with partner airlines to fill in a portion of the MD-11 flight schedules in their respective air networks.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
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