September
2006
People are precious but cargo is too0
UPS, like FedEx, appears to be putting contentious negotiations with pilots behind it. Pilots at both airlines are apparently getting nice bumps in pay and total benefits, particularly when compared to their brethren who fly people for a living.
According to a Financial Times story, average pay for UPS pilots, who are among the highest paid in the industry, is $175,000. Think about that the next time you complain about only getting peanuts and a soft drink on your passenger flight. Your pilot might be thinking moving boxes offers far fewer headaches.
The story goes on to say that the gap between cargo piliots and passenger pilots is increasingly narrow. The passenger side of the business has been struggling for years, and pilots have been laid off and asked to take pay cuts.
UPS has been negotiating for four years. FedEx announced only about a week ago that it had apparently reached accord with its pilots after a couple of years of talks.
What’s behind it all: global trade is big business. U.S. trade alone last year totaled more than $2.7 trillion.