The problem with this industry is ?
The problem with this industry is not that the legacy carriers pay too much, but that the locos pay too little.
Maybe this isn't a widely held view but I believe that as recent incidents have shown flying remains an occupation that places very high demands on the individuals engaged in it, even in today's apparently highly automated environment.
I sincerely believe that it is entirely reasonable that airline pilots should be remunerated in line with other professionals such as Doctor's or lawyers so I personally feel that it is entirely reasonable that they should be paid in the £40k-£100k range with senior Captains earning from £100k to £150k in the final stages of their career. After all that's what politicians, Doctors, military officers, headmasters, IT consultants expect to earn.
Equally I think cabin crew should be paid in the £20-£50k range. I for example think a senior CSD on a jumbo with 17 staff and 400 pax to manage is easily worth £50-£60k when you put it in the context of the responsibility for safety, service, staff and as an ambassador for the company.
Factor in the demands on homelife, the physical burden of jet lag and fatigue and the possibility that you may one day face a life threatening situation and it seems to me that the likes of Easy and Ryan paying pilots £1000 a month on a 6 month contract with no job security, pension, holiday or sick pay is beyond a joke it is bordering on criminal. I have no idea what they pay their cabin staff but if that's what they pay their pilots I dread to think.
Anybody else have any views on this? Has the market gone mad? Do the public realise what is going on? Do they care that wages in such a safety critical industry are being pushed so low with the commensurate risk that the calibre of recruits may indeed have fallen? If the merchant banks can make the claim that they have to pay high salaries to attract the best does the same not apply to aviation?
I ask this question keen to hear what people think - I'm a relatively new entrant to flying though have worked in the industry for some 15 years and have family connection to the industry going back 45 years.
Desk-pilot