Implications of 777 Announcement

[MrFedEx]

FedEx announced today it was purchasing 6 additional 777F's from Boeing. This is odd, since Smith made such a huge deal about absolutely not purchasing any more 777's unless he kept his special RLA deal. So, what's the real story?

Is Smith so confident that he's got the RLA in hand that he just went ahead and bought, or is the 777 such a superior aircraft that he was forced to fold and buy the planes anyway?
In a possibly related story, Boeing announced that an "unspecified" customer had purchased 20 777's but did not want to be identified at this time. Could these be the previous "optional" aircraft that have now been converted to firm orders?

It always amazes me how a company that never has any money to invest in it's people has so much to invest in aircraft and other new technologies. Please remember that the 777 purchases are in addition to agreements for 190 757's, almost all of which will have to undergo expensive passenger to cargo modifications.

That's great to look to the future as far as aircraft go, but what about the present? As usual, what Fred is able to take-away from us will be used to "build the company for the future". In other words, by paying us as little as possible and passing-off every expense he can onto us (like higher insurance premiums) he gets to add to his empire. How many planes will the PPP and the other scams allow Fred to buy? Probably most of them, because of the billions he has saved by preventing us from going union.

I love the argument that the playing field doesn't need to be level and that UPS is the company with the advantage. The advantages are heavily weighted toward FedEx and have been so for many years. How is this fair, and why does one company get to exploit a labor rule that applies to a totally different industry that is completely unrelated to the package delivery business?

 

[bbsam]

Perhaps a study on the book of Job would help you make sense of things.

 

[MrFedEx]

Perhaps a study on the book of Job would help you make sense of things.

I'm not much of a Biblical scholar.

 

[Catatonic]

I'm not much of a Biblical scholar.

666 was Nero
Maybe 777 is Caligula

 

[FedEx courier]

FedEx announced today it was purchasing 6 additional 777F's from Boeing. This is odd, since Smith made such a huge deal about absolutely not purchasing any more 777's unless he kept his special RLA deal. So, what's the real story?

Is Smith so confident that he's got the RLA in hand that he just went ahead and bought, or is the 777 such a superior aircraft that he was forced to fold and buy the planes anyway?
In a possibly related story, Boeing announced that an "unspecified" customer had purchased 20 777's but did not want to be identified at this time. Could these be the previous "optional" aircraft that have now been converted to firm orders?

It always amazes me how a company that never has any money to invest in it's people has so much to invest in aircraft and other new technologies. Please remember that the 777 purchases are in addition to agreements for 190 757's, almost all of which will have to undergo expensive passenger to cargo modifications.

That's great to look to the future as far as aircraft go, but what about the present? As usual, what Fred is able to take-away from us will be used to "build the company for the future". In other words, by paying us as little as possible and passing-off every expense he can onto us (like higher insurance premiums) he gets to add to his empire. How many planes will the PPP and the other scams allow Fred to buy? Probably most of them, because of the billions he has saved by preventing us from going union.

I love the argument that the playing field doesn't need to be level and that UPS is the company with the advantage. The advantages are heavily weighted toward FedEx and have been so for many years. How is this fair, and why does one company get to exploit a labor rule that applies to a totally different industry that is completely unrelated to the package delivery business?

"The four new orders are separate from a Jan. 2009 conditional order for another 15 of the planes. FedEx specifically made that order subject to cancelation if Congress passes legislation with a labor provision that FedEx sees as detrimental to its business."

This article actually states that it isn't part of the same order contingent of FedEx keeping it's labor loophole exemption.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2011811038_fedex08.html

 

[MrFedEx]

"The four new orders are separate from a Jan. 2009 conditional order for another 15 of the planes. FedEx specifically made that order subject to cancelation if Congress passes legislation with a labor provision that FedEx sees as detrimental to its business."

This article actually states that it isn't part of the same order contingent of FedEx keeping it's labor loophole exemption.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2011811038_fedex08.html

Thanks for the link. So he gets 4 new ones, and 2 never-used from Air France. Here's where he will have a problem. FedEx loves the 777, but Smith has gone out on a limb with his threat to cancel the additional planes. Since Airbus doesn't offer a viable alternative, won't Smith eventually have to buy them anyway if he wants the best aircraft for the job?

 

[MrFedEx]

666 was Nero
Maybe 777 is Caligula

If we're talking Satanic numbers, then Smith should be 666. So far, he's been Chinese numbers (888), as in really lucky.

 

[MrFedEx]

The FedEx corporate website says that 38 777's is the total number that they have made a commitment to purchase. This includes those already in service and the 6 they just bought. Wouldn't the 38 figure include the "options" that were dependent on inclusion of the RLA language? Pardon me if I'm confused. Maybe that's the whole point.

 

[FedEx courier]

The FedEx corporate website says that 38 777's is the total number that they have made a commitment to purchase. This includes those already in service and the 6 they just bought. Wouldn't the 38 figure include the "options" that were dependent on inclusion of the RLA language? Pardon me if I'm confused. Maybe that's the whole point.

I'm as in much suspense as you are MrFedEx, trying to put the pieces together in this situation are very confusing. I wish this RLA situation would be settled already, of course I'm for the change but even if it didn't happen and the FAA bill was passed without it at least we would know where we stand. I don't really understand the hold up here. They should just get it over with already, these extensions are stupid.

 

[TechGrrl]

FedEx announced today it was purchasing 6 additional 777F's from Boeing. This is odd, since Smith made such a huge deal about absolutely not purchasing any more 777's unless he kept his special RLA deal. So, what's the real story?
<snip>
I love the argument that the playing field doesn't need to be level and that UPS is the company with the advantage. The advantages are heavily weighted toward FedEx and have been so for many years. How is this fair, and why does one company get to exploit a labor rule that applies to a totally different industry that is completely unrelated to the package delivery business?

I said early in this discussion that Fred was full of styrofoam peanuts....either he had the volume to put in the planes, and so would have to buy them, or he didn't have the volume to put in the planes because UPS was kicking his butt, and he floated this cockamamie story to have an excuse when he cancelled the orders.

Seems like he sorta has the volume to put in some of the planes....

 

[MrFedEx]

I said early in this discussion that Fred was full of styrofoam peanuts....either he had the volume to put in the planes, and so would have to buy them, or he didn't have the volume to put in the planes because UPS was kicking his butt, and he floated this cockamamie story to have an excuse when he cancelled the orders.

Seems like he sorta has the volume to put in some of the planes....

Fred is an excellent liar. That's what makes figuring him out so much "fun". This is the same guy that invested huge money to convert most of the DC-10 fleet to MD10's, which are aircraft that he's going to have to keep to ever get any return on his money. All of the pure DC-10's are retired or parked in the desert in mothballs. How can someone who's being "persecuted" by the UPS/Teamster gang afford all these new planes? Don't forget the 190 757's he has in the pipeline too. Poor penniless Fred. No wonder he can't afford to pay us any money.

 

[MrFedEx]

I was just trying to make myself "think like Fred" and I came-up with this idea. What better way to "prove" that your company is an "airline" (not a pkg delivery company) than by buying a bunch of planes just before the RLA decision. Fred is always pleading poverty, but he miraculously is able to buy all of these planes. Every announcement boldly states "New 777's ordered by World's Largest All-Cargo Airline", and not "World's Largest Overnight DELIVERY SERVICE". There's a big difference in the verbage, and don't think for a moment it's unintentional. Sorry, Fred, but we are a delivery company that uses airplanes, not an airline that uses trucks. What is our primary function at FedEx? To deliver packages, primarily with a huge fleet of vehicles, including thousands of semis that move an awful lot of that "airline" volume. The Propaganda Machine keeps on pumping it out, doesn't it?