They certainly aren't good considering the equipment and type of flying.
It's a funny thing, but for some reason, the type of equipment seems to factor very much into what someone considers good pay or bad pay, as though their entire standard of living is affected by the airplane they fly. For example, If I offered 75K a year and 15 days off a month to fly a Metroliner, I would have applicants lined up out the door, down the block, and around the corner. But if I offered that same package to come fly a 737, all of a sudden it's "crappy pay and working conditions," and "no way would I work for them and neither should anybody else."
Another example is the "70 seat jet for 50 seat pay" argument. If I offered $60 to fly a CRJ-200, people would be fine with that. But add 20 seats and call it a CRJ-700, and all of a sudden people are raising hell. Add a $7 an hour override, and everything is right and good with the world again. But I doubt that, had I just offered $67 for both to begin with, I would have avoided the whole problem.
(BTW I am not advocating it, just pointing out the irony. I do believe in the "more pay for more airplane" way of doing things).
This all relates to the main point of my post. It seems to have gone unnoticed by everybody that wages at the regional level have done nothing but go up. 20 years ago pilots were lucky to earn 25K a year as Metroliner Captains and about half that as First Officers. You flew 1200 hours a year with no autopilot, in the weather, with shoddy maintenance, and minimum rest. Contrast that with today, where pilots are flying modern, well equipped, well maintained, and relatively comfortable jet aircraft above the weather for as much as 100K a year, and yet still all they do is bitch about "the low pay".
The shortage of pilots at the regional level has nothing to do with what the regionals pay. Instead it reflects that fact that few majors are hiring, and the ones that are have come down so much in pay that people are no longer looking at aviation as viable career choice. They see no reward for the sacrifice and instead choose to do something else. This can only help the piloting profession in the long run.
