With the peak holiday shipping season fast-approaching, global package delivery giant FedEx Corp is paying retirement-age pilots bonuses of $40,000 - and potentially as much as $110,000 - to keep them flying into next year, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter and a contract seen by Reuters. The bonuses, outlined in the latest pilot contract and previously unreported, reveal that a wave of pilot retirements, global pilot shortages and rising cargo demand fueled by the growth of global e-commerce are straining the world’s largest air delivery fleet. FedEx expects to lose about 150-200 of its roughly 5,000 pilots this year - and around the same number annually for the foreseeable future - as more approach age 65, the federally mandated pilot retirement age, one of the sources said. The FedEx pilot contract seen by Reuters, signed in late 2015, includes a calculation that allows for bonuses of up to $110,000 per pilot. The two sources told Reuters they were aware of pilots collecting bonuses this year of $40,000 to $50,000, though the total number of payouts was unclear. Flying for FedEx is the highest-paying job among U.S. carriers, with 30-year pilots making roughly $300,000 not counting overtime or bonuses, industry sources said.
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