How much did they pay you 'Old Boys'?
 

I'm hoping to unearth the salary of airline captains in the years 1960 to 1965ish. For example, I seem to recall that a BEA Trident Captain was earning about £5,000 a year in 1963. Am I in the right ball-park or can anyone give me more definitive information?
Thanks for any gen.

A bit out of line, I think. I was a new start at the end of 1970 on £1950 pa. I was actually annoyed they were deducting 200 pa for 5 years for the training! Bargain!

I seem to recall that when I applied to join BOAC in 1968 the top point of the captains salary was about £5000.

My first month's take home pay as a second officer was £91.

However you could buy a really large house in Maidenhead with £6500 and a new car could be had for less than £1000.

Sadly, the word is inflation!!!

Giving you 1970 paycheck numbers to you gentlemen would mean nothing.
How many hours flight pay did it take to pay rent, food, gasoline then...?
All I can say, first year was murder (in USA) but starting second year was OK.
xxx
If compared to today's figures, 1970 was much better.
A third of your monthly paycheck would pay for your housing...
The second third would be enough for food and a few beers.
And the last third would pay for a decent car, gasoline, insurance.
Dont forget, we also had benefits, such as medical and retirement.
Travel benefits galore. Commuting from home to base never a problem.
I lived in Los Angeles, based JFK or MIA, often visited BRU...
xxx
My car was a used car, yes, a '67 Mustang in Los Angeles.
Lived in a rented apartment in West Hollywood -30 minutes drive from Malibu.
I shared a studio with 2 other pilots in NYC, often alone, our rosters different.
Even had an old '62 Corvair as "airport car"... Yes...! I had 2 cars...!
xxx
Then all blew up... October War Middle East OCT 1973... Furlough...
Deregulation 1979, recall delayed, airline merges... Commuting overseas base.
Shall I mention DEC 1991, when my airline (PanAm) went bust...?
xxx
Would I become an "airline pilot" if I was 20 years old today...?
No... HELL NO...
What I would do now, is own a TRTO, a simulator, and sell 737 training.
And laugh my way to the bank with the money of wannabees...
xxx
:E
Happy contrails

I recall reading in Norman Tebbit's autobiography that he went in the early 1970s from a £5000 pa BOAC SFO to a £3000 pa MP overnight. Since an MP's salary today is about £60k, that should make an SFO's £100k and a Captain's in the £150-200k bracket. And a gold-plated final salary pension scheme. What happened? Don't answer that, we know. Accountants with MBAs.

Hola BelArgUSA,

Do you recall what was the pension for a ritiring captain at Pan Am
when you started there?

Hola BeachB...
xxx
Scratching my old head here to try to remember... 1970 Greenbacks...
Got hired in OCT 1968. Started Indoctrination DEC 1968...
F/E 727 Initial class started JAN 1969... Line training completed MAR 1969.
Probation 6 mo/pay was $750/mo DEC 1968-MAY 1969.
Final probation 6 mo/pay was $875/mo JUN 1969-DEC 1970.
Per diem was $24/hour entire training period in MIA.
They paid the motel - Management was cockroaches or Cubans.
Then joined ALPA as of DEC 1970.
Salary went to $1,800/mo for 60 hours/mo. Was reserve.
Reserve was boring, so went to 707 as F/E as soon as out of probation.
Got to be 727 F/O in 1971 and 707 F/O 1972. Musical chairs period.
xxx
My best guess, captains retired from 707 near $3,000/mo in 1970.
Captain 707-727 salary/60 hours was about $7.500-9,000 then.
If not accurate, I bet I am close to the figures.
Back then, you could rent 1 BDR Apt in Miami Springs for $300/mo.
And a beer at the pilot's bar was $1.oo + tip...
The highest paid pilots then were Eastern and Delta guys...
xxx
:*
It was happy contrails days...

Pay Scales
 

Left the Royal Australian Air Force in '81 as a Squadron F/E Leader (B707), no other RAAF F/E would have been being paid more. Later joined CX and was paid over 3 times my RAAF salary to go to ground school on the L1011 and the company paid most of the rent, provided free medical and staff travel benefits. Sure was an quantum leap for me.

The company I worked for was paying a BAC1-11 capt $28000 per year in 1968.
If I recall correctly a B707 capt $55000 per year in 1975.

This might help calculate how much a salary would be worth now:

Measuring Worth - Relative Value of UK Pounds

There is a version for US$ as well.

Matty

Hola BelArgUSA,

Those were the good old times, indeed. At least you had a taste of it.
How many hours a month did you guys fly and how many days off?