Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Global Salary Survey

[A320doctor]

Hello everyone,

I would like to get an idea who is making the big bucks in this industry. I'll keep it simple.
Currently Im working for Canadas flag carrier and Im endorsed on A319,320,320.
My present rate is $27.80 per hour. The most I'll get as an AME is about $34.00 per hour. This does not include premiums (mids etc) These numbers are in Canadian pesos(oops I mean dollars ;) Obviously cost of living and benefits will be a factor but we can compare these later. Looking forward to your responses (especially europe and middle east)

Cheers, A320doc :p

ps My license covers airframe and powerplant

[e=mc2]

British Airways LAE (top grade) gets about £35,500 give or take a bit for different shift pay.
Some will be on less (lower grades), some on more (past approval pay 'red ringed', as BA no longer pays approval pay)

[spannersatcx]

One of the problems with this type of question is you have to compare apples with apples and not apples with oranges.

There are far too many variables involved.

Some for instance are paid a basic (pensionable) salary and then more for each Licence held each Type held, day shift, night shift, paid O/T or not, the list is endless (well almost). Some people are salaried and reeive no shift, Licence pay etc etc....

For instance you can compare the basic salary of myself and an LAE working at the same airport for a 3rd party company, he is paid a basic, + Licence + shift + approval.

His basic is say 18K whereas mine is 34.5K, mine sounds good. If you then add on all his extras he actually earns about 37k.

The main advantage of my salary is it is pensionable, whereas the other guys basic, 18k, is the only pensionable part.

He can also lose the approval + shift pay etc.....

Cost of living and what's relative is toooo big a thing to try and even work out. :(

[Blacksheep]

To get a good comparison, how about each replies with ratings held, total take home pay, hours worked to get it and how much of that as overtime?

**************************
Through difficulties to the cinema

[near enuf is good enuf]

Contracting:

Switzerland, £30 per hour, 40 to 60 hrs per week = 1200/1800 per week , B757/B767 and A320 rated B2/C.

Have to pay own transport, accomadation etc.etc.

[Nopax,thanx]

How's the Contracting situation in Switzerland these days? I had a lot of mates who were at Jet Aviation in the early nineties; they reckoned that on balance, it was no more lucrative than being in the UK beacuse of the cost of living out there.

Not to say that it wasn't a great place to work, just didn't pay them to be there!

[redtail]

US Airline Mechanic Wage Scale Comparison (http://www.amfanow.org/AMT-Wage_Scales.htm)

[near enuf is good enuf]

I was also at Jet for 4 months, the trick is to live in very nearby France and thus keep cost of living down.

Pretty healthy scene for unlicenced guys but not too much around for licenced.

[Kiwiconehead]

Australian Regional - 146 and Dash 8 EI&R licences.

$30.54 p/hour - 4on/4off roster + little OT = AU$90k last year.

[DoctorA300]

This thing of compairing salaries is a bit academic. It dosen't matter how much you earn, you have to take into account the cost of living. I myself is currently working in switzerland, but living in sweden, so I am making a good living, but if I choose to live in CH the picture would be different because of the cost of living.
Doc

[A320doctor]

Hello everyone,

Thankyou for your responses so far. Keep them coming. The reason Im asking this question is because once I get some more experience in yyz I would like to travel the world. Im holdoing for an A330,340 endorsement. Im assuming the middle east is where to be for the best income. I can pick up and go anytime (no wife or any of that anchor nonsense) Is the middle east still the gold mine (no taxes, housing and car payed for etc.):rolleyes:

Looking forward to your responses.

A320 doc

[Jango]

Mid east is not the money maker it used to be in the seventies and eighties. I only hear sob stories from EK that they do not pay the going rate and that it is a bum deal. However, as had been said before, cost of living and personal circumstances have to be taken into account.

For EK an LAE would on at least 5000 US a month, house and utilities provided, schooling paid, allowance for a car and airline travel perks. But Dubai is a quite an expensive place to live compared to Abu Dhabi up the road. So the guys at GAMCO in AD may be on a bit less per month, but the money could go further.
Even AD aviation a heli operator pays these kind of rates but less perks.

Qatar Awys in Doha have always paid a bit less than EK but I understand of late they have improved the offer.

All of the above are tax free of course which is a saving of 35-45% depending on where you are coming from.

[A320doctor]

Thanks Jango,

Right now Im paying about 35% income tax so if I were able to make the same money as I do now I would still come out way ahead. :p

a320 doc

[Unable to fault]

:eek:
EK engineers earning US5000 per month plus allowances!!!!!! If you believe that then I have a bridge I'd love to sell you.....
Including all allowances, the money (for most engineers) is a lot closer to 4000 than 5000. The basic salary package has changed little in 10 years. In addition to airline benefits, about 90% of educational costs are covered (expensive in Dubai).
Accomodation for engineers is a thorny issue, it is provided but is only apartments which are not really suitable for kids. The issue has caused a number of families a lot of grief.....especially when you see junior FO's walking straight into brand new villas.
Dubai is an expensive place to live and many engineers maintain they are unable to save much, particularly in the first few years.
Lifestyle is good but you have to pay for it, there are a lot of good blokes around but don't go there expecting to leave a rich man.

[Bullishit]

Buy the time you have been at EK in Dubai for 12 years you have a salary of 17400Dhs (dirahms).Plus if your a smart arse you have 2080 lic. pay plus 950dhs (UAE dirahms) car allowance plus 22 dhs telephone allowance.
When you start,you are on about 11500 basic.
No tax no nothing.

[Jango]

Any expat post you are not going to save anything in the first year at least. Especially if you have wife and kids in tow. By the time you've bought cars, furnished places, etc etc what ever tax free dollars you have will be eaten up.

Housing in Dubai is becoming an issue across the board. You either end up in a high density apartment building or miles out of town. The landlords hike up the prices in the prime areas out of reach of airline staff allowances.

At the end of the day it is a quality of life thing. Nice weather, safe family surroundings, good lifestyle (at a price! but at least you have the disposable income to have the choice) compared to freezing your nuts off on the ramp in LTN/YYZ/ABZ or wherever and having to put in 70 hrs a week just to pay the tax man half of it.

I've been an expat 20 years in various parts of the globe and in some instances could have earned more staying put in UK, but feel I would have missed out on a whole lot more.

[nilnotedtks]

. . . Well put Conehead !

[Bullishit]

A320 Doc
For a single man you will save a mountain of dlrs out in DXB,but i cant garentee that you will be here for to much time before you are hitched.
They all said that (including myself) & look where we are now.
But its still a good life

[A320doctor]

Thanks for the responses guys. Will 319,320,321 be enough or should I hold out for a 340? What are the chances of an endorsement when I get hired? Most importantly what are the women like?

a320doc;)

[mutt]

Just brush up on your "Russian" and you will be fine...... :):)

Mutt.

[HiSpeedTape]

A320Doc

Hope you know more about the 320 (as your handle suggests) than most of your fellow countrymen that are over here at the moment. It seems their combined knowledge and skill quota amounts to diddly squat from what I've seen. Maybe a qualification in Bulls**t is more appropriate for them than a type rating.

[A320doctor]

Im working on my french right now. Moving to Montreal in the fall to speed up the process. As far as knowing my airplane I can't say I know it all (does anyone?) but I have 4 years on it and will probably stay for another 1 1/2. After that who knows. Should I assume there is alot of russians working in middle east?

a320doc

ps tell me about the women

[Jango]

Actually when you said "working Russians", you kind of hit the nail on the head. Don't think there is a bar left in Dubai without a standard quota of Russian, African or Mainland Chinese slappers...so I'm told.

[A320doctor]

Should I consider that a part of the cost of living?;)

a320doc

[plane tired]

HighSpeedTape I guess you havn't witnessed the Fls expertise at leeds, newcastle and manchester:eek:. Those are your fellow uk engineers that I wouldn't let touch my bike let alone my aircraft.Even if they wanted to touch it I doubt they would have the energy to get away from the tea and biscuits to do so:D. Don't paint all of us Canadian engineers with the same brush. I know we have our fair share of ******s as do you.

A320Doctor I know the thought of big money and exotic places is attractive but there is no place like home:cool:

JPT

[HiSpeedTape]

JPT

Well I can honestly say that I've not seen or heard much bad stuff about the expertise of the FLS guys at Manchester, Leeds or Newcastle but, I can say that I've witnessed first hand the ineptitude and less than credible level of aircraft knowledge of a number of Canadians from Teesside and Leeds. I have heard that there is some move afoot to discredit FLS in some way in order to make some excuse for SSV to break away from the MYT maintenance provider so that SSV will be able to provide work for their own blokes over here (God help us all).
As for being A1 Bullsh!tters - you guys are the best. But you should really try and reserve your bullsh!tting for those that don't know any better. Don't try and pull the wool over the eyes of those who know a little more than you. Some of the little pearls I've heard may work on Canadians but they won't work over here and I'm sure that if one had a mind to, a nice little letter to TCA and the CAA would sort things out nicely for you.

:D

[jsbs]

Royal Flights in the Middle East pay around 5000 USD per month tax free plus housing etc. You pick up 1-2000 pm in Tips/overnights

[flush control unit]

Seems like there's some discrepancies concerning the caliber of workmanship re: FLS/SSV.....just watch the fist fighting in the Manchester hangar between FLS and MyTravel blokes and that should tell a nice story. What is CAA anyways...?? And what does the Canadian Automobile Association have to do with this topic ?