"Current Market Conditions"
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"Current Market Conditions"
Courtesy airlinepilotcentral.comIn the span of two days, Southwest and UPS both raised the bar for pilot hourly pay rates. Southwest pilots received a 4% end-of-contract pay raise, while UPS pilots ratified an agreement that positions them as industry leaders in pilot hourly rates over the course of their 5-year deal.
It was a rare feat in the pilot industry in recent memory: two large airlines, already at the top of the heap in pay, pushing the bar even higher.
The industry since 2001 has been turned on its head. With the severe losses the legacy carriers sustained since September 11, pilot unions were forced to give concessions to help save their airlines. Now, slowly, pay raises are happening at some of the airlines as contractual pay bumps take effect, and contracts are being reworked.
Southwest, already the industry leader in the passenger narrowbody pay category, received their final pay bump in the current agreement (amendable Sept 2006) on September 1st. Today their top hourly rate is $198.
UPS pilots, meanwhile, with their unique one-size-fits-all-aircraft pay scale, ratified an agreement that gave them double digit pay raises. By 2012, a senior captain at UPS will be earning $262 per hour, while a 2nd year first officer will draw a respectable $149 per hour.
FedEx will likely join the group in the positive trend in upward wage movement in the next few months, as they will be soon voting on a tentative agreement that roughly matches that of the UPS deal.
Not to be forgotten, the current top hourly pay rates in the industry still belong to ABX Air (formerly Airborne Express) of Wilmington, Ohio. A B767-200 captain there tops out at $239 per hour.
All in all, the industry is still facing a serious challenge with oil at stratospheric levels, the chance of the economy softening, and the ever-present possibility of another successful terrorist strike on aviation. But there was one short stretch of positive news for pilots, and we hope this happens more frequently in the future.
http://airlinepilotcentral.com/optio...Itemid,61.html
it does not reflect the new UPS contract
