Hey guys, my stepfather is a pilot and he was just explaining to me how there is this cabal of guys at FedEx who have some kind of software that snipes the best available flights for them.
Basically, if you're a FedEx pilot, you pick your flights for the month online. Some flights are preferable because they pay more, are easier, etc. So there's this group of infamous guys who always get the better flights because they're more tech-savvy. It's apparently a known aspect of the company's inner workings.
Anyway, I'm trying to figure out what the fuck they might be using. I can get some more info about the flight scheduling platform itself if you guys have any questions for him.
I know it's a shot in the dark, but does anybody have any experience with what I'm describing or something similar?
I'd imagine that the software isn't that distinctly different from, say, eBay sniping software.
Probably just a scraper with basic html post capabilities. I read an article once about a dev that got hired to build a system that did this exact thing except with car auctions for a group of of dealerships. I can't find it now but it was a good read
Nathaniel Russell
>a scraper with basic html post capabilities
Hmm, OK I will look into this. Thanks for the input.
Right?
Easton Adams
bump
Ryder Ross
Are the flights they pick going to remote areas or carrying more load or maybe flying over danger zones ? There's probably a pattern of sorts in the flights they pick. Depending on what the pattern is I'm guessing they made as stated a scraper of maybe if the schedule is an excel sheet ( which I think it is ) a macro. If you are planning to get better flights for your dad ask him to bring home past schedules ( this way you can see the format in which they are saved ) and corelate the flights with the ones picked by these tech savvy pilots. You will probably see a pattern.
Lincoln Anderson
Well the flights are numbered and are pretty consistent. For example, let's say you're a pilot flying from Phoenix to Paris today on flight number 5030. Tomorrow the same flight at the same time would be 5030. So the pilots know that 5030 is going to be a certain thing at a certain time.
I don't know the exact qualities of the flights, but I think that they are just higher paying for whatever reason, and higher paying on that consistent basis. I will ask him if there's a reason why tomorrow.
David Cooper
>Fedex pilot You must be fucking rich. Fedex pilots are some of the most well paid in the industry.
Josiah Thompson
Well I don't get any of my step dad's money. Though the topic sounds underage, I am actually a young adult with his own career etc. But the upshot is that the pilots who use this sniping software are making approx $350k annually, my step dad showed me the math.
Evan Kelly
That is to say, the flights they're sniping are markedly more lucrative than the average pilot's schedule.
Michael Sanchez
If the pay grade is consistent for certain flights based on their numbers it can be that these pilots just compiled a list of all the flights and just choose the ones that are going to be most profitable depending on the month ?
Rich parents = higher standards of living/connection/schooling/opportunity/etc
The benefit of being connected to the rich are immense even without direct monetary deals. Infact I'd say the connections are worth more than money itself.
Owen Nguyen
My point is that he's wealthy enough to hire a code monkey to write a script to do the same shit for him. If he believes it will make him more money then he should consider it an investment.
Zachary Jackson
>Rich parents = higher standards of living/connection/schooling/opportunity/etc
Well, he's my step dad, I have received none of these benefits from him. I don't really know what you're on about here.
>My point is that he's wealthy enough to hire a code monkey
Yeah, my guess is that the infamous pilots I mentioned did just this.
Christian Gonzalez
As others said, you screen scrape it. That or, if there's an API, use the API. Write a script for either, and run it on a schedule.
Eli Lee
>Well, he's my step dad, I have received none of these benefits from him. I don't really know what you're on about here. For all you know he might have sealed the deal for your job
Luis Parker
They should add a captcha to prevent employees from botting.
