Originally Posted by
tecnamflyer
That all helps immensely and the bit about the raises does make sense, thanks as always .. I'm just sticking all these figures into an excel and building a big picture. Yes, I am aware you won't be "rich", at least not if living in the UK. However, I do believe I'd last longer in BA as opposed to say Emirates, who according to my calculations blow BA out the water in terms of salary (yes I always knew this, I just didn't fully appreciate how much by), but I don't know how long I'd last in the ME. So leaving the likes of Emirates after say 15 yrs, I'd be 45 .. then what? Back to the LCC? I'm ready to leave this for good and to never look back, as much as I am thankful for them giving me the flight experience that they have. Like most pilots I have always wanted to "fly the flag", accepting a hit to the pay and realising you get it back in other ways is perfectly accepted.
However, it is sobering seeing the actual numbers, and noticing that to get what Emirates give you in your first year as an FO (~$12k incl. house allowance), you would need to be a PP34 LH captain at BA, and in my case I'd only be on that salary for a year (of course presuming I am alive and healthy by 64), using a nominal GBP15k flight pay/pa. That's before we speak about profit shares (yes I know they aren't reliable, hence I'm not factoring them, but the last 2 yrs have been substantial).
All open ended questions and I don't know the answers. I'm just trying to do my due diligence and build the full picture for if I am lucky enough to pass the sims.
The numbers in the sandpit are far higher, but to have any kind of lifestyle you will spend far more as well. You will also work far harder and could loose your job after one piece of bad luck/bad decision or health issue.
I spent 15yrs in the desert, first 9-10yrs were fun... then went rapidly downhill! Especially during/after covid!
I did save far more than I would of in the UK, but given house price inflation and superior pension schemes, not sure I'm any better off than my friends who joined BA.
And as you say what do you do after 15yrs? Luckily I did manage to get LHS in a decent company, but it took a good few years! But my friends in BA will in a couple of years be in the LHS widebody on far more money than I am. In the long run I definitely think they will be better off than me!