Cargo Companies — Good Jobs for Pilots

When many student pilots dream about a professional piloting, they think of a job flying passengers for an international airline.  That’s certainly an excellent job.  However, another superb career opportunity is being a pilot for a worldwide cargo company, such as UPS or Federal Express (FedEx).  Consider this, they fly some of the most sophisticated jets in the world; they fly internationally; the pay is excellent, and because of the nature of the industry, any economic downturns affect the cargo industry less than the passenger airline industry.

Some impressive statistics: FedEx has a growing fleet of long-range B-777s, one of the biggest and most sophisticated jets in the world. The aircraft can carry 178,000 pounds at long distances and has a range of 6,675 miles.  FedEx recently took delivery of its first six 777s and expects to add six more in the next year. Advantages of this magnificent aircraft include the ability to fly between any major city in the U.S. to Asia without stopping to refuel in Alaska; the B-777 can make this trip one to three hours faster than the MD-11 aircraft, saving time and fuel. This may not sound like a lot, but consider this: even this time savings allows the company’s Asian customers two extra hours each day to manufacturer toys, apparel etc. and still ship them out for next-day delivery to the U.S. and other points world-wide.

And most important to you as an aspiring career pilot: FedEx, UPS and hundreds of other cargo carriers employ many thousand of pilots. And since the average daily volume of goods shipped across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans has increased 23% this past quarter, we can assume the cargo companies will soon need to increase their flights — and the number of their pilots — to meet this increased demand.  Phoenix East Aviation can train you and help you develop the pilot skills and certification and experience so you can get a job flying for a cargo company. Contact www.pea.com today — don’t wait — for more information.