The Pros of flying for a FedEx feeder are nice and I think flying a Multi-engine aircraft such as the ATR for a FedEx feeder is great but I would have safety concerns (Cons) flying a Cessna 208 day after day. Don't get me wrong , I'm not saying Cessna 208's are falling out of the sky everyday, but sometimes I hear about Cessna 208's making an emergency landing due to a engine power loss, most survivable but some not.
I'm sure several Multi-engine pilots would agree with me, but for someone who has thousands of hours in Multi-engine aircraft, there's been more than one occasion where I've said "****, I'm sure glad I had that second engine!" For me personally, if I was making a career as a Small Feeder Cargo Pilot or just wanted to experience the Cargo Feeder world for a while before I moved on to better things, I definitely wouldn't do it in a Cessna 208. I would rather fly a Multi-engine aircraft and load boxes for a brown feeder or my number 1 choice would be to fly an ATR for a FedEx Feeder. I'm sure were all good pilots, but were only as good as the location were flying over if we have an engine failure in a single engine plane. I know the Feeder 208's are well maintained but just thinking about an engine out would take a toll on me everyday as I'm flying over populated areas or water.
From what I've seen in the past, UPS doesn't always go with the lowest bidder, they also look at the performance of the company. Back in the day when I flew brown boxes, sure I saw a couple routes lost, but this small mom and pop company who may be using a beat up Cessna 402 for $5 less doesn't have the resources (extra aircraft) available if that aircraft has a mechanical issue. So who ends up covering their route while their aircraft is down, the larger company that they underbid. And who may get that route back 6 months down the road, the larger company. The larger company may not have a perfect record either, but for the most part I think UPS knows they can count on the larger company to get their freight delivered. UPS knows this, so yes price is factor, but overall performance is a factor too. Maybe things have changed since then, but at least that's how I remember it.
My advice: If you really feel the need to fly small cargo feeder aircraft, try to get on with a FedEx Feeder flying an ATR, if not, go to a brown feeder and fly Multi-engine aircraft for a while. Sure your QOL and pay won't be all that great and you'll have to load boxes for a brown feeder, but I think that outweighs flying a Cessna 208. I'm not bashing on any 208 pilots out there, this is just my opinion. Take it for what it's worth. We all got to start somewhere, and if a flying Cessna 208 is what you want to do, then do it, don't listen to Multi-engine pilots like myself.
