Can you tell me which airline in Australia pays peanuts?
On their own the figures don't look too bad and of course are considerably more than the average non mining job. Try buying a house in a capital city and raising two children, then the figure don't look so bright unless you can add in a working wife's income.
A Skywest captain in Perth with it's mining boom house prices and a wife at home looking after two pre school children will find his $2000 a week after tax doesn't go that far.
The same applies to a QANTAS captain living in Sydney with an ex wife to support as well as a new family.
You'll find the pay rates quoted don't look so great when compared to other professions which had similar incomes to airline pilots back in the 1970/1980s.