pilots pay

[pointbreak]

Why is it that most of the guys here in the forum bitch about the increase of pilots salaries in the US or the attitude of the SA guys? Am I the only one who does understand that the cockpit costs of most airlines are almost peanuts compared to other cost factors? (especially with big airlines)

Am I the only one who did see management pay being increased by 300% (in my company) over the last couple of years? I personally am still behind the inflation rate in my country although we got a big chunk earlier this year.
Am I the only one who sees more well dressed lawyers and economists run around our headquarter than workforce in company colors?
Am I the only one who did see airlines throw out big bucks all over the place except for their flying staff?
Why is the 2nd question a reporter asks the new Swiss/Chrossair CEO: will you cut the pilots wages? What is it with those pilots salaries I wonder.
Why do LTU pilots will have to give 10%, the rest of all employees 5%? (the management does not comment on their pay)

Fact is: the big money in the business is spent somewhere else but not in the cockpit!!! Thats where a lot of it is earned with professionalism, doing a good job and flying save!

[Notso Fantastic]

Yes, but this is RUMOURS & NEWS- please read the introductory description of the Forum. There are other places to discuss thoughts on pay

[wassup]

pointbreak well said son! Where I come from the suits in the office also get fatter ,oh about 200-400% in the last 2 years, and get fancier cars at the expense of the company, while we poor souls face pay cuts and even lose our jobs :( Thoose SOB´s sitting in their corner offices are definitely loosing perspective). But what is there to do? :confused: :confused: :confused:
Notso Fantastic, pay is not the issue, but a matter of principle. :mad:

[berry0933]

Hi guys. I worked for US in ALB for 32 years. The suits and the pilots think that the whole airline business is carried on thier backs. It takes all the people doing thier jobs to get those big jets off the ground and to make money. The people on the ground get all the grief and very low pay compaired to the top suits and pilots. We are givin much responsability and work our tails off in all kinds of weather; through bad tempered passengers and on all holidays to make things go more smoothly. Our pay at one time wasn`t bad,but in todays world, we have to work harder and many times very short handed. The pay isn`t keeping up with expenses. In fact cuts are coming. People that want to fly by lower than bus fares should be shown the bus and leave the airline people to doing a good job and not take the blame for airline loses. Its the giving of the product away that is hurting the industry. It should not be thought of as a mass transportation system without the correct fares to pay for all that is needed. We just want part of the pie not the crumbs. Go back to the day when flying on an airline was a great thing. This is the reason the biz jet will be taking more and more of the real paying passengers away. They don`t like cattle car airliners and thier high fares subsidizing the lower cost flying public. This is what happened to Metrojet which was a failure from its first flight. People don`t want to pay the true cost.

[ 30 October 2001: Message edited by: berry0933 ]

[jetjackel]

Its a real simple formula. Can't negotiate with the insurance companys, the fuel companies, the airport landing and resident fees and only marginally with aircraft cost/payments. Employee pay is the only area that airline management can reduce costs. An easy hit. Take or leave it mentality.

[wassup]

jetjackel-my friend, couldn´t have said it better! :cool:

[radeng]

Because a very few older experienced training captains at the top of the scale do well, the media get the impression that all pilots are extremely well paid, and thus the airline management are encouraged. You ask Joe Public, and he'll tell you that a BA captain is on £200K a year.

If the media published the fact that a lot of the people actually doing the flying had salaries that wouldn't keep the average 'penny-a-word' hack in beer, the concept that pay may not be such an area to cut might rub off on the suits.

[burnoff]

The pilot community is always in a disadvantaged position when it comes to press releases.

The management controls the advertising purse-string, and unless the media wants this lucrative income goes to its competitor, it will always publish what the management wants Joe Public to know (to a certain extend) and will never put itself at loggerhead with the management.

To top that off, add the Murdoch recipe for selling more newspaper : sensationalise it. And we have a news sales record !

This is extremely apparent so when the media is controlled by the government.

Think about it.

[MaximumPete]

To the non-airline fraternity who read this thread:-

A junior first officer in his first airline job gets less money than a graduate engineer in his first year in the civil engieering industry.

In addition the pilot may well be paying back a loan in excess of 50K for his licence and be bonded for his type rating with his airline.

MP

[berry0933]

Good advice. You are either happy or not with what you make. Most airline pilots in the states make dam good money. A commuter Dash-7 pilot for USAirways makes $60,000 to $70,000 per year. Thats not bad for only a 37 passenger aircraft. The 737 captains make $159,000 per year. One can`t expect the new kid on the block to make the big pay in the first part of thier career. Thats in any business. And going by passenger load size is obsolete. With that logic a Cruise Ship Captain should make 1 Million per year since they have upwards of 3000 t0 4500 passengers and crew under thier controll. Also most military pilots haav more responsability and training than any airline pilot so thier pay should also be higher. We all want more,but if we go by worth of job and responsability,then many others deserve much more than many recieving high pay. Also the crews that are up and down all day long deserve more that a wide body that makes one takeoff and one landing per crew change. Flying 3000 mile or more flight doesn`t require any where near the effort as being in weather and air traffic all day long. Also we saw on Sept.11 what happens when we have untrained and low payed ground staff. Also many people have education loans to pay back. My son is a graduate in graphic design and has almost $60,000 to pay back. its just not pilots.

[ 31 October 2001: Message edited by: berry0933 ]

[ 31 October 2001: Message edited by: berry0933 ]

[ 31 October 2001: Message edited by: berry0933 ]