FedEx suggests pilots to fly for American Airlines as cargo demand slows

Nov 6 (Reuters) - FedEx said on Monday it is encouraging pilots to seek work flying for a unit of American Airlines Group as the U.S. parcel giant grapples with a slowdown in e-commerce demand.

The global shipping downturn has been a margin drag for most operators in the logistics sector and FedEx too was met with a daunting task of matching costs to lower demand after the e-commerce bubble burst with customers returning to their pre-pandemic lifestyles.

"Given the softness in air cargo demand across the industry and current FedEx flight operations staffing levels, we shared information about this unique opportunity with our pilots," FedEx said in a statement.

FreightWaves was the first to report on the development.

FedEx in the last year has slashed jobs, retired planes, shuttered offices and pared back profit-sapping Sunday deliveries to cut $4 billion in permanent costs by the end of its 2025 financial year.

Meanwhile, the U.S. airline industry has also been struggling with industry-wide pilot shortage, worsened by pandemic layoffs and retirements as pent-up demand for travel remains unabated.

Regional carrier PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines, is now recruiting experienced FedEx pilots for entry-level captain's position.

American Airlines last month said its regional carriers do not have enough pilots with 1,000 hours of flight time to be able to upgrade to captain.

"Their recognition of the quality had of our crew force is clear in this recruitment initiative that provides FedEx pilots an additional career path opportunity," FedEx said in the statement.

(Reporting by Priyamvada C in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)