Airline Pilot

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The pay is indeed falling. But if you're flying and making $70K a year that is pretty good comparing to other jobs.

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No it isn't. I'm sorry to say, but I don't think 70 grand is a lot of money. Not at all actually.

I didn't get into this profession for the money, but by the time I'm 40, if I'm not making over a 100, I'll be pissed.

I'll know who to blame too. Those are the ones twho wouldn't mind making only 70 grand "flying a boeing around."

come on people
 
[but by the time I'm 40, if I'm not making over a 100, I'll be pissed]


He has a point, all this hard work, constant tests and checks every six months.
You gotta have some respect for your career, if you don't, not a single person will care about it either.
Just think of all the constant pressure of having 100-200 people's life in your hands, doctor's have the same problem but it is only one person lying on that table not 300 travelers who are having their drinks and pretzles and have absolutely no clue of what is going on in the cockpit.
 
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But if you're flying and making $70K a year that is pretty good comparing to other jobs.

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You sure about that, Brian? Back in the dot com bubble days, know what my base was? It wasn't that far from that $70K a year. Add in the commissions, and my total comp was higher than that.

And if I had a bad day, guess what happened? Someone's banner didn't run. Or someone got more impressions than they should have.

If a pilot has a bad day, people can die.
 
Exactly, and that's the reason why pilots should make more money. An airline pilot has to be examined every 6 months, could lose his/her medical at any time, and has to deal with the craziness of scheduling. He/she also has the huge responsibility of getting hundreds of people to their destination safely.
 
Well I guess I don't have a clear idea of can be done with 70K. My parents probably don't make that much together and we still manage to live in a nice town house and live a comfortable house. However, we are not like some people who buy EVERYTHING thinking they can and before they know it are in debt.

I understand where you guys are coming from, but if you all keep on saying that the glory days are over, why are you expecting more? It is ridiculous how they are cutting salaries, pensions, and etc from pilots, but what do you guys expect? It's just a question, how much do you guys think a pilot should earn and how is it going to be done. It's not like everyone thinks like the people here in JC think. If you don't want to take a $70K job at a regional, someone else will. And the problem is that there will ALWAYS be someone who will take your job for a lower pay.
 
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If you don't want to take a $70K job at a regional, someone else will.

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That's the problem.. someone else will. And until low time pilots realize that taking jobs at regionals like GoJet and Freedom that undercut the industry and lower payscales for all pilots, wages will continue to drop & those "dream" jobs of flying internationally will be few and far between. Wake up people- flying a jet load of pax around and maxing $70k/year is a shame. It is those that will fly for companies' listed above in an attempt to advance their own career by flying a shiny jet for next to nothing that are partly responsible for the diminishing salaries today.

Sorry for the rant, but my .02.
 
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If you don't want to take a $70K job at a regional, someone else will.

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That's the problem.. someone else will. And until low time pilots realize that taking jobs at regionals like GoJet and Freedom that undercut the industry and lower payscales for all pilots, wages will continue to drop & those "dream" jobs of flying internationally will be few and far between. Wake up people- flying a jet load of pax around and maxing $70k/year is a shame. It is those that will fly for companies' listed above in an attempt to advance their own career by flying a shiny jet for next to nothing that are partly responsible for the diminishing salaries today.

Sorry for the rant, but my .02.

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So, you're saying that $70,000/year is bad money?
 
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If you don't want to take a $70K job at a regional, someone else will. And the problem is that there will ALWAYS be someone who will take your job for a lower pay.

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Yeah, and the solution isn't to be happy with less money. The solution is to have everyone grow a pair of you know whats, and say, fine, Mr. $30 million Exec. You want to bust my balls about X K a year? Shove it where the sun don't shine.
 
Are there any predictions on the amount of pilots in about 11 years. I hope to have ratings and all in 11 years. I heard RJ fleets might double. Atleast travel is coming back up and hopefully to pre 9/11 numbers soon.
Who knows maybe in 15 years it will be a good profession and all.
I know alot of us hope for a pilot shortage now that would be something. Just imagine a pilot shortage in 15 years.

AA mims for 757 FO are.
1200TT
350 Twin. FO $95 Per hour, CAP $130.
And American Eagle ERJ is
450TT
100 Twin.
CPL. FO pay per hour ERJ-145 $37 $58 for PIC.
Yea we all wish. Hey maybe some day.
To bad the job market in the US is not like the market in Europe.
spin2.gif
 
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And until low time pilots realize that taking jobs at regionals like GoJet and Freedom that undercut the industry and lower payscales for all pilots, wages will continue to drop & those "dream" jobs of flying internationally will be few and far between.

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Yeah. They'll just move to the $70K a year jobs at Comair, Pinnacle, Mesaba, etc, etc. ALL regionals have crappy pay, the GoJets and the Freedoms go after quality of life issues as well, and THAT'S what makes them suck so hard. How much did someone make on a turboprop back in the 90s? 80s? Pay has always been low at regionals, the difference now is they're flying jets and there's very little upward movement to the majors now. The reason those international jobs are few and far between is b/c you can't fly New York to Heathrow on an RJ. If ya could, I'm sure someone would be doing it right now.

While I agree that pilots should be paid more overall, $70K a year for a regional FO is not that bad, IMO. Based on a 70 hour guarantee, a topped out captain at CHQ (which takes 17 years) makes $87,500 a year. Hop over to CAL, and by year 5, and FO in the 737-500 is making close to $70K a year, and he still has 7 years to go before he's topped out. For me, I'm also concerned about where I'm living, how much time I get to spend with my family and how much I'm being abused by management. It's more than just about money. If I'm making $90K a year and never get to see my family, you can bet I'll roll back to a $70K a year job if it's got better QoL issues.
 
From my understanding, the numbers have surpassed pre-9/11 numbers. And the "forecasters" (i dont know what they're really called) are predicting a pilot shortage because so many will be forced to retire...and right when i graduate from college too (in 2010). Also the FAA is predicting there to be around 1 billion passengers a year by 2015...which means a definate need for pilots.

Taylor
 
I'll believe a "pilot shortage" when airlines are hiring people with fresh ink on their AMEL ratings. Until then, it's all fluff to sell flight training programs and "how to get hired" books. As far as passengers, I have no doubt they passenger loads will increase, especially if fares keep going down. The problem is if fares keep going down, you need more passengers on a plane to break even. Bigger planes mean, you guessed it, fewer pilots. RIght now, the US airspace system can't efficiently handle the flight load it has. Until that gets fixed, that increase in passengers just means more oversold flights.
 
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I would love to fly jets for 70k a year instead of sitting in a cubicle all day making slightly more.

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Ummmm no ditto what others have said after years of training . Six month recurrents and loads of debt pilots should be compensated far better!
I believe that as a regional pilot the salary level should start at $40-45k topping out at $110-120k.
At the major level salaries should start at $50-60k topping out at $300-450k.
A pipe dream perhaps but I think that is fair compensation!

-Matthew
 
Either way you slice it the industry sucks right now. It sucks that new pilots coming up are willing to fly for less money, but how else will you ever get into the industry? Plus the airlines have a lot of people by the balls. If you love to fly, can't think of any other career you'd want, than you'd be a prime candidate for a $17k salary at a regional. All because its your dream to be a professional pilot and you have "hopes" of making the majors some day.
Business is business and with the ENTIRE economy going to [censored] with inflation going through the roof, you're crazy if you think these Airline owners and management won't cut the throats of their employees to maintain their way of life. Its not just the Airlines either, job security sucks everywhere right now unless you're active duty military. Dropping airfares are a result of trying to fill up more aircraft, because the average salary of a family remains the same while the prices around us continue to go up. Property taxes for us 5 years ago were $6k/year....this year they are $9,500, yet the gross annual income for the household remains the same. (This is in NJ btw). And thats just one example. The problems with the Airline Industry, and every business or industry right now starts with Politics and revolves around this damn war and 9/11. Welcome to the Socialist United States....we're already half way there.

And I'm about to drop $50k on flight training for a starting Regional position of 17-20k, all the while planning a wedding and raising a family...sometimes I wonder if I've lost my good sense. Maybe sticking to my $25k salary in the military is the smart choice.
 
I was staying at Radisson next to Disneyland and I met two CX 747 pilots who told me based on a study that an independent company has done in the next 5-7 years 40-50% of pilots flying for airlines in United States will retire and someone has got to replace them.
And for all of you who think an experienced pilot who has probably spent a lot more time than a car salesman should make around 70,000$, just take a look at hourly pay for FedEx pilots on www.airlinepilotpay.com.
There are still companies who pay their pilots pretty well and the irony is they fly packages not passangers and the aviation community including ourselves tend not to take them seriously.
 
Put it this way man, only more people are going to fly and if you get hired by a REGIONAL and fly for a while making captain you can make over 100k. Plus You will have just as much reach across the globe with the mainline carrier. And that is if you don't get hired by a major. They will have to start hiring within some point in the next 10 years and if you bust through the ranks there you can earn double that. MOST pilots in careers not in their 1st or second year with a respectable employer are doing fine financially.....Airline pilots are still one of the highest paid professions in the United States. That won't change until someone invents teleporting
 
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From my understanding, the numbers have surpassed pre-9/11 numbers. And the "forecasters" (i dont know what they're really called) are predicting a pilot shortage because so many will be forced to retire...and right when i graduate from college too (in 2010). Also the FAA is predicting there to be around 1 billion passengers a year by 2015...which means a definate need for pilots.

Taylor

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Now that would be great! I will be graduating college in 2011.
 
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