The pay is really what Samuel Adams and lbh320 said, that converted to our currency isn’t that bad, but still below international standards - that I must say are going down rapidly for that matter.
What I see here is a worldwide trend not at all unique to Brazil. Some of the better known personalities on this forum from Venezuela comment frequently about the pay and conditions at airlines like Santa Barbara (I am sure there are more) and I have made comments about the pay and conditions in Nicaragua-- in fact, same goes throughout Central America. In the US and Canada, the trend is downwards also now that Low-Cost Carriers give the Legacy Carriers a run for their money. Same in Europe. Just wait till the Low-Cost Carriers start competing amongst themselves! In Asia, carriers like Cathay Pacific turned the screws a few years ago, bringing in a "B" and at least for a while, a "C" scale and who knows what will come next while they maintain a leaner business model to compete against other world airlines. For example, in the People's Republic of China I heard a few years ago that a jet Captain may earn the equivalent of $1200 per month (generous in comparison for an average Chinese salary).
I recently read an Australian published book called "Flightpaths." It said that on a Sydney-Melbourne Return Airfare of $221 the costs are broken up as follows:
$54.73 Airport/Security Taxes
$2.21 Company Tax
$35.42 Staff
$33.20 Operating Lease Rentals
$17.71 Fuel and Oil
$11.07 Depreciation
$8.85 Marketing
$6.64 Other
$6.64 Cost of Sales
$4.42 Capacity Hire Insurance
$2.21 Property
$0.66 Interest
$4.43 . . . Profit!!!
The airline industry is the world's least profitable business, often averaging a net profit of only 1.1%. For someone like me, it makes me scratch my head why any sensible business person would assume the risk of starting an airline, but on the other hand, I see why they would try to continuously drive down their personnel costs and why today's environment (supply vs. demand) is favorable to them. As an aviation employee, it drives home the point that "it's always easier to
with people."