Pilots earn less than airport window washers

S

seaav8tor

New Member



Rarely do you see the story right in the media..... but this time these guys hit the nail on the head.


http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/pilots-sometimes-earn-less-airport-window-washers-12398


...........On regional airlines, their starting salaries range from about $20.50 to $29 per hour. That is significantly less than the skipper of a passenger ferry on San Francisco Bay, records compiled by California Watch show. Some earn less than toll takers on the Golden Gate Bridge or state prison nurses. Pilots for regional airlines “are paid considerably less to work more hours,” says Brandon Macsata, executive director of the Association for Airline Passenger Rights, an independent organization of air travelers..........

...........Financial pressure is intense for regional airlines, says Bob Mann of R.W. Mann & Co., an airline consulting firm. As a result, the regionals offer modest pay and limited mobility. When it comes to pilots, regional airlines are not always able “to compensate somebody at a livable wage,” he says.

Further capping pilots’ pay are flight restrictions. To limit fatigue, the Federal Aviation Administration restricts the hours pilots can fly. Pilots can fly a maximum of eight hours per day, 100 hours per week and 1,000 hours per year. A first officer who earns $20.50 per hour can expect to make a maximum of $20,500 a year.

The regionals give regular raises to pilots as they get more flying experience. But even after five years, their wages often are lower than those of California Highway Patrol officers, U.S. Postal Service letter carriers and city garbage collectors, records show........
 
seaav8tor said:



Rarely do you see the story right in the media..... but this time these guys hit the nail on the head.


http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/pilots-sometimes-earn-less-airport-window-washers-12398


...........On regional airlines, their starting salaries range from about $20.50 to $29 per hour. That is significantly less than the skipper of a passenger ferry on San Francisco Bay, records compiled by California Watch show. Some earn less than toll takers on the Golden Gate Bridge or state prison nurses. Pilots for regional airlines “are paid considerably less to work more hours,” says Brandon Macsata, executive director of the Association for Airline Passenger Rights, an independent organization of air travelers..........

...........Financial pressure is intense for regional airlines, says Bob Mann of R.W. Mann & Co., an airline consulting firm. As a result, the regionals offer modest pay and limited mobility. When it comes to pilots, regional airlines are not always able “to compensate somebody at a livable wage,” he says.

Further capping pilots’ pay are flight restrictions. To limit fatigue, the Federal Aviation Administration restricts the hours pilots can fly. Pilots can fly a maximum of eight hours per day, 100 hours per week and 1,000 hours per year. A first officer who earns $20.50 per hour can expect to make a maximum of $20,500 a year.

The regionals give regular raises to pilots as they get more flying experience. But even after five years, their wages often are lower than those of California Highway Patrol officers, U.S. Postal Service letter carriers and city garbage collectors, records show........
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Those numbers seem all over the place, something has to be off.
 
Funny thing is, you could be gone from home, away on the job for 100 hours in a week.

........... and only get paid a fraction of that time
 
seaav8tor said:
Funny thing is, you could be gone from home, away on the job for 100 hours in a week.

........... and only get paid a fraction of that time
Click to expand...

I'd say it is more sad than funny, but I am sure that's what you meant.

Just as disgraceful is the number of hours pilots spend doing work that is uncompensated, checking weather, pre-flight dealing with passenger issues.....I am sure the company response would be "that is built into the hourly wage" if that is the case then the true hourly wage would be around what, $8-$10 per hour for a new hire? Pathetic.

Whats the point, it is a job, no job that has you away from your family and friends that much is worth that level of disrespect. Don't define yourself by what you do, but by who you are. Flying a shiny jet is a job and you should be compensated for the level of responsibility placed upon your shoulders. Don't let the fact that it is "cool" or "fun" get in the way of the fact that you are being dumped on because of your enthusiasm for the job.
 
I hate to say it, but it is 100% the pilots fault for negotiating these types of wages. The union could've gone with a flatter pay scale, say starting at mid $30's or $40's but ending at mid $70's (for an RJ). Instead we start @ $22.81 (my wage in 2005) and end at over 4x that amount.

We also chose to be paid per flight hour, not per day or per duty hour. Just something to think about...(ie don't blame management).

As far as pay goes as well, last year I cleared $90k which for a 5 year guy on a 50 seat RJ IMO is completely fair and equitable. Yes I worked hard for it. But so do lots of others who get paid <$30k/yr. This year I hope to hit $120k. Again, very reasonable for a 50 seat RJ guy...yes my starting pay was low but I've made a lot more just a few years in.
 
ctab5060X said:
If you can see me, I'm not getting paid!
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I had a lady ask me about a sticker on my flight case that says that. She, for the life of her it seemed, could not figure out what it meant.


Glad to see someone finally discover we don't all make 6 figures with 25 days off a month while we nail playboy bunnies on our overnights.
 
I have been on these boards for two years. This is the first time that I have actually seen someone do something about their pay.

Doing some calculations, if someone flies 80-90 hrs a month, the pay isnt that bad once you are in the airline for a little while.
 
I made more gross income humping bags part time on the ramp in college than a 1st year FO making guarantee on reserve.

I worked 25-ish hrs per week in the school year and 50-ish in the summer and on breaks.
 
mshunter said:
And the general public says "who cares."
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Exactly! Who cares! I don't want the public knowing what we make personally. Nor would I care how much people make in the back of the plane. Very few Americans can gross over $100k per year, and commuter airline pilots can do it. In this day and age, every profession is coming under fire and seeing reduced income, look at all those stories on lawyers who are making $15/hr doing document review or whatever, and accounting majors making $12 as a book keeper. In this recession, pilots have actually fared pretty well.
 
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