Regional close to the bottom? Nowhere near! I took some persuading on this but having heard it from more than one source have to believe it is true. If it is not then perhaps someone in Zambia can correct it.
The pay for a Beech 1900D Captain at Zambian Airways is US$500.00 and change per month! That’s right – there is no zero missing. There is also a per sector payment. Do ten sectors in a long day and you will get the equivalent of about US$3.00 after tax! First Officers get about US$400.00 and change. There are no benefits other than a shirt and tie and being picked up and dropped off at home by a mini-bus. All pilots at Zambian Airways seem to have financial support from elsewhere. Some have help from parents, others have a spouse who works and yet others have another income, such as a pension from previous employment.
There is a constant turnover of pilots and management seems to wonder why! Nobody stays for more than about a year. Apparently that is what is contracted for. Why do pilots go there? Pilots do get the rating paid for by the company - it is done in the plane – and then have the better part of 1,000 hours experience by the end of their one year. Then it is off to greener pastures.
Unfortunately some do not even honour their one year obligation. I was advised that in the past some expats have skipped after getting the rating and enough hours to find a job elsewhere, which has now made it very difficult for non-Zambians to get a look in. However, even Zambian pilots rarely stay for much more than a year at Zambian Airways.
I still find it difficult to believe that they can get away with it. Even the driver of a piston single such as a C206 or C210 gets more pay than that, plus benefits such as accommodation and food if they work for a fly-in lodge type of operation!