Why... Just why?

Tangodelta29

Tangodelta29

Well-Known Member
I was wondering if any of you guys/gals could briefly explain something to me. For a very long time now I have been struggling to understand regional airline pay. I know, I know, its a dead horse, I really am sorry. But as someone who will soon be a part of this industry I have never had more difficulty explaining or understanding something more then this.

WHY do these pilots get paid so little? Is there a solid reason or some logic behind this that I'm missing? Why can I make more driving a truck then flying a regional jet? I just flat out, hands down, DON'T GET IT, and its pretty frustrating. :(

Just looking for the true reasons for why it is the way it is.... I'm just really curious. :confused:

Thanks a lot!
 
Supply and demand. Enough pilots are willing to work for the low salaries and therefore the regionals have no impetus to pay more.
 
Tangodelta29 said:
I was wondering if any of you guys/gals could briefly explain something to me. For a very long time now I have been struggling to understand regional airline pay. I know, I know, its a dead horse, I really am sorry. But as someone who will soon be a part of this industry I have never had more difficulty explaining or understanding something more then this.

WHY do these pilots get paid so little? Is there a solid reason or some logic behind this that I'm missing? Why can I make more driving a truck then flying a regional jet? I just flat out, hands down, DON'T GET IT, and its pretty frustrating. :(

Just looking for the true reasons for why it is the way it is.... I'm just really curious. :confused:

Thanks a lot!
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When there's people willing fly for free or even to pay for the flying job, why should management increase wages? Sad but true.:(
 
charlie1017 said:
When there's people willing fly for free or even to pay for the flying job, why should management increase wages? Sad but true.:(
Click to expand...

That is exactly the reason, and that is why I am working my way out of this industry. There will always be pilots who are willing to fly for free, and because of that, I don't see how the industry will ever improve.
 
I keep asking why people insist on titling threads with "Why...Just Why?".

Another 30 seconds wasted on yet ANOTHER topic of pilot pay.
 
Tangodelta29 said:
I was wondering if any of you guys/gals could briefly explain something to me. For a very long time now I have been struggling to understand regional airline pay. I know, I know, its a dead horse, I really am sorry. But as someone who will soon be a part of this industry I have never had more difficulty explaining or understanding something more then this.

WHY do these pilots get paid so little? Is there a solid reason or some logic behind this that I'm missing? Why can I make more driving a truck then flying a regional jet? I just flat out, hands down, DON'T GET IT, and its pretty frustrating. :(

Just looking for the true reasons for why it is the way it is.... I'm just really curious. :confused:

Thanks a lot!
Click to expand...

I saw a post on another thread. Someone said (why do doctors
Make more than us? When they screw up one life is lost. If. A pilot screws up anywhere. From.10-500 lives are lost.
It just does not make dense.
 
Tangodelta29 said:
I was wondering if any of you guys/gals could briefly explain something to me. For a very long time now I have been struggling to understand regional airline pay. I know, I know, its a dead horse, I really am sorry. But as someone who will soon be a part of this industry I have never had more difficulty explaining or understanding something more then this.

WHY do these pilots get paid so little? Is there a solid reason or some logic behind this that I'm missing? Why can I make more driving a truck then flying a regional jet? I just flat out, hands down, DON'T GET IT, and its pretty frustrating. :(

Just looking for the true reasons for why it is the way it is.... I'm just really curious. :confused:

Thanks a lot!
Click to expand...

You are labor. No matter how much you spent, or think you deserve as some one that is flying jets up in the sky. You still are labor, which means there are others that can do your job. Will fly for food, applies here. The problem also has to do with the fact that pay rates have been mandated by the unions for decades so that itself makes it hard to change them. Regionals play the "industry" standard game so that also makes it hard to change them. That's very good if the pay is high, but it's very bad after a decade of concessions of trying to get any of it back. The most important reason though is that the regionals are bottom feeders, they are the lowest bidders. They can't afford to pay you much, because they have to maintain that thin balance of profit/employee needs the next time they offer their lowest bid for new flying. If it were up to them we would all be making minimum wage. Expressjet used to have or maybe they still do one of the best pilot contracts, however very shortly after they got their contract CAL decided to give away their flying to lower costing regionals like RAH.

I wouldn't worry so much about the regional pay as much the fact that the normal career progression that we used to enjoy has pretty much changed. We are going to be at the regionals for very long periods of time.
 
pilot4500 said:
That is exactly the reason, and that is why I am working my way out of this industry. There will always be pilots who are willing to fly for free, and because of that, I don't see how the industry will ever improve.
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I never realized how "desperate" some people are to fly. when you look at it like that, yeah it really is hard to imagine how it will ever improve. :(

thanks for the responses!
 
That's not the ONLY reason. In the past, you needed an ATP just to get some respect in the 135/121 world and lots of TT. The commuter pilots were still underpaid and overworked. It was a way to get experience to get to the majors. Back then it was desperation to get a job at the majors, not SJS. The pay has never been good and likely will never be in general. The SJS is just a symptom of supply and demand. It doesn't have a direct correlation to low pay and poor working conditions, although it does play a role in working to make improvements.
 
Tangodelta29 said:
I was wondering if any of you guys/gals could briefly explain something to me. For a very long time now I have been struggling to understand regional airline pay. I know, I know, its a dead horse, I really am sorry. But as someone who will soon be a part of this industry I have never had more difficulty explaining or understanding something more then this.

WHY do these pilots get paid so little? Is there a solid reason or some logic behind this that I'm missing? Why can I make more driving a truck then flying a regional jet? I just flat out, hands down, DON'T GET IT, and its pretty frustrating. :(

Just looking for the true reasons for why it is the way it is.... I'm just really curious. :confused:

Thanks a lot!
Click to expand...

What is some one with <135 mins worth? Nothing(or atleast instructor wages which is nothing)! Plenty of pilots and management teams take advantage of this! Like someone already said people actually pay to get a POS job. You can only pay what people are worth and are willing to do. If I had a new airline start up where I payed for room and board, per diem, and transportation, but no financial compensation I would still have a stack of resumes five feet high.
 
Start with why people want to fly. (virus) They LOVE it. It is a passion. Doing something that is a passion and get paid for it? Even paltry compensation? But at some point, reality interjects its ugly head and you realize that you are the one paying for the passion, not the company.
 
HeyEng said:
I keep asking why people insist on titling threads with "Why...Just Why?".

Another 30 seconds wasted on yet ANOTHER topic of pilot pay.
Click to expand...

So, something like "Pilot Pay ... where it's at????", yeah? :D

(But yes, please use descriptive Titles.)
 
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