Pilots are the best paid

[touch&go]

The Office of National Statistics say that pilots are the best paid profession, hope the CEO,s don't read this or we will be done for.

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171776_286266.pdf

Read page 6

[3MTA3]

Another bunch of imbeciles basing their study on pay/flight hour...

[westhawk]

hope the CEO,s don't read this or we will be done for.

Wouldn't surprise me to find out that's who's behind this conclusion!

[ATC Watcher]

strange numbers, but if you take average 40h/week x 52 weeks = 95.000 Pounds a year. I know many guys doing more than that at end of carreer . and definitively CEOs doing at least 10 times more than that.
But I have not read the full report that might explain this.

[maxred]

It was argued for years that off shore rig workers were, amongst the best paid. But........when you actually broke it down to an hourly rate, it equated, in some cases, to minimum wage.

Those statistics again.........

[Agaricus bisporus]

A perfect example of lies, damn lies and statistics. What utter tosh.

Garage mechanics are paid far more for a job monkeys can do. £120 per hour to change the oil in our local dealership, apparently.

Plumbers charge £60.

[fa2fi]

Wait until the FTOs get hold of this!

[Dg800]

Garage mechanics are paid far more for a job monkeys can do. £120 per hour to change the oil in our local dealership, apparently.

Plumbers charge £60.

Statistics are very dangerous tools if they're taken out of context. In the examples you cited, in the first case you're not paying £120 to the mechanic as hourly wage, you're also paying for the whole workshop including tools and machines that the mechanic needs to perform the work you need. In the case of the plumber, again how many hours of the plumber's time was required to perform the work? Since he probably doesn't share your living quarters, he actually had to get to and from your house and that might take some time. Then there's tools and so forth and so on.

To get back on topic, professional pilots spend a significantly higher amount of hours at work than just the actual flight hours they log. Simply dividing average pay per average hours flown/month is just plain idiotic.

[Hot Wings]

Best paid? More like most taxed!!!

[Mikehotel152]

Yep, absolute nonsense. One wonders where they sourced their info as they evidently think we only work from chock to chock.

[Sovi3tskiy]

No other career requires as much investment as flying Giving pilots an average wage is utter rubbish, we already take the job of the navigator, radio man, engineer and pilot (probably someone can add something else to that too!). Live of many men, woman, kids are in the pilots hands. Higher health risks and safety issues, look at the life insurance for a pilot too. It only makes sense that pilots should get a good wage, the pay is way too low already.

I remember in a paper or somewhere it said that 85% of statistics is false or misleading so, hardly will take this seriously, but this news will probably be another great reasons to squeeze the pilots even more....


We need to take action to get pilot right back!

[BlackandBrown]

What they fail to consider is that an airline pilot can only fly 900 hours a year and the hourly rate is for scheduled block flying hours not duty hours which can easily reach 1500 hours per year. So at 900 hours a year and £45 an hour a pilot can earn £40500 a year. £40500 divided by 1500 duty hours a year is more like £27 an hour. Then consider the £100000 loan you have to payback at that untaxed rate. A typical flight training loan repayment is £1200 a month so at the REAL £27 an hour rate you'll need to do 45 duty hours a month just to service the loan. So really a true comparison for you is to add those 45 'cost' hours to each duty month which gives 2040 hours - divide the £40500 by 2040 which gives an actual hourly rate 'comparing apples with apples - pilots with waiters' of £19.85.

[fireflybob]

Hope BALPA rebuts this statistical rubbish - an opportunity to tell the real story!

[fireflybob]

This whole thing beggars belief - how can a responsible government agency such as the ONS come up with such bolleaux?!

This nonsense wants stamping on - I for one am writing a letter to my MP informing him of the facts! Suggest others do likewise!

I dread to think of O'Leary spouting off about this - what planet are these people on?

[Artie Fufkin]

Does it actually say that the £44.49 is per block hour?

Pilots are generally paid quite well. Just not as much as they used to be.

[Herod]

Can anyone find me a lawyer who only charges £ 45 per hour? For that matter, a surgeon, accountant... the list goes on.

[Sovi3tskiy]

Pilot wages are horrid for what this career is! Train drivers get paid more, and invest less and do less in their job then pilots! We need an increase in the pay / benefits, get them back up! We do like 4 peoples jobs in a high risk environment, ect ect... The pay has got to be way higher! way way higher!

[D-ENIM]

As long as young wannabe types are footing the bill for type ratings and flying right seat for free or for peanuts, the salary trend in this industry is gonna continue its spiral.

[Artie Fufkin]

Herod, as described above, you are mistaking what someone charges and what they earn. It's like confusing revenue and profit.

[icemanalgeria]

My calculations

I just checked my flying hours / Duty hours for the previous 12 months.

I averaged 74.66 hours per month block time and duty time was 160 hours per month.

My pay is 7000 pounds per month :-

93.75 block hour / 43.75 duty hour

Does not count layovers away from home that would be something like 432 hours per month = 16.20 per hour

My pay has gone down over the last 5 years from 9300 per month ;(