Originally Posted by
dragon man
Read it and weep. From a delta Captain , the direct competition that operates two Captains and FOs add 50% for $aus.
Here at DL most A350and 777 Captains makes $400,000 to $650,000 per year depending on much you want to work
This is assuming 9-12 days of work per month
Plus 6 weeks of paid vacation
We are paid about $400 per hour and then 16-18% on top of that depending on how much profit the airline makes
We also have something called “ Green slips”. When the airline is out of pilots ( frequently) they call a pilot in seniority order to see you if you want to do one of these trips . I get one every other month or so
They pay double ($800 per hour) plus the 16%... so are very desirable
Eg idid a 4 day trip LAX SYD LAX
As a Green Slip. That’s 29 hours x $800 plus the 16% $23,000 plus 16%.
But again it’s hard to get the Green slips
The pay is good - but the US3 have tiny international operations relative to their size. Qantas dominates the AUS-US market, for example. It's similar, but not as stark on Trans-Atlantic routes - Delta is the largest, but not by much. Airlines that are a fraction of the size and that can only connect one European country with the US, like BA and Air France, come pretty close in terms of overall TA market share.
I'm sure pilot pay isn't the only part of the equation, but I've always felt that the QF v Delta comparison is a bit incomplete, without factoring in that Delta pretty obviously can't compete with Qantas (or other full service airlines) head to head.