Amid a slowdown in cargo shipping volumes, regional airline PSA is trying to lure pilots departing FedEx and UPS with a $250,000 “experience bonus” and the promise of a smooth pathway from regional routes to a captain job at its parent company, American Airlines.

FedEx Express is “significantly overstaffed,” according to a Nov. 3 memo to flight crews from a company vice president, Pat DiMento, that was circulated online. The airline came to FedEx with the novel recruitment method for pilots interested in leaving FedEx. Pilots who join PSA will join as captains, not lower-paid first officers, and be able to bring their seniority into the airline.

PSA will pay $175,000 in a pilot’s first check and $75,000 at the one-year anniversary; former FedEx pilots will have a “guaranteed” transition to American Airlines. The offer ends Dec. 1. PSA flies CRJ-700 and CRJ-900 aircraft from American’s hubs in Philadelphia, Washington and Charlotte, N.C.