The American Dream; The Europeans can dream!
 

American Airlines pilots getting 40% payrise taking top scale widebody captains to $590,000/year with significant lifestyle improvements to boot, to match the recent Delta deal. Aviation in Europe (UK specifically) never looked so unappealing.

I can’t understand why the US majors haven’t simply pressured the US Government to open up more visas for experienced pilots and the FAA to start cross-recognising other regulator’s licences. This (amazing and impressive) virtuous pay spiral will cost them billions of dollars in the long term.

Or is the lobbying power of ALPA (et al) so much stronger than we have with unions this side of the pond?

Genuine answers from our American colleagues welcome! In the meantime I’ll just look on in awe.

As an ex-european: No Thanks, you can keep your grubby pilots, I have pulled up the bridge!! Also, every Aussie pilot can come over on an E-3, getting an ATP takes a week if you have the required experience.

What makes the UK uniquely unappealing in Europe

TheYanks have more than enough people to cover their shortage, it’s the training that takes time. Remember this shortage is temporary, so there’s no need to give any visa specifically for pilots.

As for EU, well we will never see such an increase. Maybe the AF/KLM or Lufti might up their pay a bit but as far as everyone else you can forget it. We have a massive surplus of pilots and the EU is not 1 country, it might be a single market but with so many countries with different labour laws and economies it practically makes it impossible. Plus there’s the low cost issue, our aviation sector is dominated by Ryanair/Wizzair and Easyjet so they lead the way in terms of pilot pay and the rest are just gonna follow.

So if you want anything close to what the Yanks are getting make sure you get in to AF/KLM, Lufti or maybe BA. For everything else expect some serious deterioration of remuneration packages in the next coming years.

It is what it is.

BA :ok: good joke

Setting aside the xenophobic and foul insanity of Brexit (which chains most unfortunate remain voting Brits to the sinking ship)!.... try; an extremely hostile fiscal environment for business and employees alike (captains typically 62% marginal tax), and horrendous state services in return (get sick - you die), covid kids barely educated! The country is on a scary death spiral; business and skilled workers are leaving at an astonishing rate. You want more? - it's a long list, but I won't bore you! But just so long as the economically inactive are protected (hooray; full inflation pay rises for all!! (brexit voting pensioners, and benefit claimants alike)!

I disagree. Yes there won’t be an increase like they are seeing over in USA but I reckon we will see an up tick.

RYR still losing masses to the likes of ME carriers.
Brexit may actually help UK licensed pilots.
Anyone starting training now or has just finished have gone or will go EASA route. That gives RYR and Wizz as options to start.
RYR are struggling to fill RUK side of operations.
If you’re jet rated in UK last few months has seen some pretty good options. I know a few people recently who have said to me. “I don’t know where to go?” Been offered Virgin, BA, J2, DHL, Qatar.
UK wise for an FO just looking at ££k J2 is looking mighty. £75k now I think? Summer yes they work hard. Winter though my mate seems to do couple of days work every 2 weeks.
EU land I don’t have my ear to the ground. I do know guys/gals who have got 500hrs at RYR and off to AF/KLM etc.

One thing about the US is yes salaries are looking very good right now.
The cynic in me says yes BUT….. 2 words….
Chapter Eleven.
All bets are off at that stage.

The US has a currency that they can print out of thin air and the rest of the world wants it no matter what. Countries need USD to buy commodities and Americans are reaping the benefits. Cost of living in the US I would say is a lot higher but if you are making 300k as an FO I don’t think it’s an issue. The US is one big single market where as European is a fragmented market.

I don’t think Europe will ever catch up but there are now no American pilots working abroad really so it may slowly lead to salaries increasing in the ME and that has an effect in Europe.

The lobbying power of ALPA is vital in the absense of good social responsibility which simply no longer exists in the world of 21st century capitalism. The 1500 hour bar is ofcourse rediculous but equally rediculous is offering a starting salary of €40k for a new pilot.

Well i've searched through the family history and alas, no sign of any link to the states, so I guess im stuck in brexitland forever more...!

The pilots at the US version of ryan/wizz/easy (SouthWest/Spirit/Frontier/JetBlue) make 90% of the US version of AF/KL/DL (UA/DL/AA), with the same retirement plan and very similar work rules. SWA is the largest domestic carrier in the US. Personally saw the paycheck of a SFO at 12 year pay (Yes, upgrade is that long, because seniority, and nobody leaves). Over $300K. You know how? Because 100% of the pilots in the US that have a decent pay check are Union. It is somewhat interesting how little that is talked about.

You need to stop watching Fox News.
Other news networks are available.
"Get sick =you die" Idiotic statement.

I was hoping for a sensible answer
Sad to see Pprune is going the way of Twitter/Facebook

Not sure why BA has dropped behind in pay so much but the union doesn’t seem as well represented as Nouf US colleagues

But take away the hyperbole and they're not far wrong though are they?

We (as pilots) do pay a lot of tax. Our public services are crumbling (NHS waiting times? Police crime stats? The railways? I could go on...)

The government seems pre occupied with protecting pensioners and the ever increasing number of benefit claimants from the harsh tyranny of a cost of living crisis, while draining the "squeezed middle" to fund it.

Would you really recommend the UK as a place to stay and build a career and family if you were talking to a bright 20- something year old graduate? I dont think i would.

The salaries on offer at the US companies now rival those of the lucrative Chinese contracts of yesteryear. Funny old world.

I don’t have any intimate knowledge of how things work in the US, but I suspect that part of the reason for the higher salaries on average is the 1500hr rule - which Europe doesn’t have. It’s not the only factor, but it must have some effect.

It certainly reduced supply of newly qualified FOs when it was first implemented, but I cant see how that would have such a massive effect on the entire recruitment/promotion flow. There must be a steady stream of pilots who have done 1500hrs elsewhere applying to the airlines? Especially now it's an established rule?

Alrosa, it's the primary factor. 1500 hours experience represents people with lives, homes, families and real world financial needs. By 1500 hours the shine of a career in aviation has worn off. Most pilots would not be interested in a chance to fly a flash pocket jet if it didn't cover the bills. A 200 hour jockey would likely sell his gran for it.

This absolutely nails it. At 1500 hours pipeline patrol or single pilot IFR in a metroliner, you know full well what the job does to you and what you are worth to yourself and your employer. Life experience is a very valuable thing and what seems like a dream lifestyle at 19/20 (and willing to sell your gran for it) is very different when you are 30 with a family and a mortgage - and the 1500 hour rule means most get to the airlines somewhat later in life, with previous experience with other employers, aviation and otherwise.

There are threads on this board with people so desperate to be on a shiny jet they will pay not only for the rating but to be sat there flying fare paying people around. In a market where that exists, you will never see the sorts of ts and cs you see in the USA.

It's a really interesting set of circumstances what's going on across the pond at the moment.

Despite the eureka feelings and starry eyes, there's no doubt that the next 12 months from these pay deals is the absolute peak of the airline market in the U.S. You cannot have salaries like this and not get an insane influx of people training (ie. people are seeing these compensation figures and starting training now in the U.S., If you start training now and get into an airline in 3-5 years, you'll have mountains of people alongside going for jobs) I don't think these figures are sustainable.

I do however firmly believe that there is (and has been for years) a massive imbalance between Europe and the U.S. in terms of comp. At the very least I do believe we can make some assumptions:

• The U.S. comp figures are peaking and in a few years this may cause other issues for the airlines
• European airlines will have to rethink their compensation once the COVID-induced hole begins to hit (it hasn't yet!). ie. Most people getting into airlines now are integrated folks who started just before/as COVID hit and got delayed, modular students are probably still those who started pre-COVID. (My rationale here is just the length of time modular takes and the 6 or so months COVID put a halt to things for).

So I do think Europe is yet to see the "crisis" of a pilot shortage as in the U.S - (some of you may laugh at that, and understandably so with how under-staffed some airlines are!). Look at Aer Lingus - they had insane amounts of applicants for their recent DEFO scheme - it just shows that airlines with relatively good compensation and lifestyle have their pick of the European job market.

It is largely accepted that we lag the U.S. aviation market in Europe by a few years (financial crisis, COVID recovery, shortages etc.), but the U.S. shortage is much more profound because of the 1500hrs. That said, I firmly believe Europe hit rock bottom in terms of comp over the last decade and that we'll start to see an uptick as the U.S. resets the bar for how airline staff should be paid. We can all agree we won't get near where the Delta/American pay deal got to, but I do think we'll see strong rises over the next few years (provided we don't see a big economic downturn :})

Sincere question: Since, due to visa hurdles, EU pilots can't flee the scene in droves over there to take advantage of the hiring situation in the USA, how does the compensation in the USA put pressure on EU airlines to pay their pilots more ?

I don't see any pressure on Euro airlines due to the fact that 200hr pilots can and are occupying right hand seats, getting upgraded with just a little over 3000hrs. Most of the LCC-s are even bonding (eg. deducting from salary over the span of 2-3 years) for A320/B737 type ratings. Getting into legacies is mostly restricted for nationals due to requiring to be at least conversant in local language and oftentimes they have their own cadet schemes.

Not directly I would imagine. But the feeling if they can do it, so can we will eventually set in. All of this driving up more demands and union negotiating.

In fairness, it’s quite difficult for an American to obtain citizenship and the right to work in EU as well.

With regards to your second question, I’m not aware of a massive effort by ALPA or APA (AA pilot’s union) to keep visa holding pilots out of our flight decks. The real fight on capital hill is against EU flag of convenience carriers like Norwegian. 787 Captains making somewhere in the neighborhood of 140K (I think). We certainly don’t want that getting any traction on this side of the pond.

Here’s Isom in his own words btw.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....63e2b4c35.jpeg

Pretty funny…

Ha ha ha!

Funny, cos it's true!

So what is there to actually disagree with in that post prey tell??

Hello AAGpilot,
Did a search for that, would call it, maybe a 'Memo' by Rober Isom, but could not find it anywhere.
Probably it was published may be in a social network, FB, or similar, stuff that I normally don't use.
Would be interested in obtaining a copy of it. Would it be possible to provide a link to that ?
It can be by private message if you prefer.
Thanks

or is it internal stuff of AA, and therefore not available to the outside ?

Not here to judge the system but... It is what Ryanair wants. Make a max 10 year blitz career from 200hrs and only keep the training people that can handle the sytem for the future.

While in a regular airline one has to work the ranks to get promotions, Ryanair hands qualifications out like flyer adds to balance the uncertain work conditions (base closures etc...). When the new crisis arrives, "tired-by-the-system qualifications" are replaced with new "motivated & funded" FO's that feed the training system from the bottom.

While in a regular mainline airline you need a magnifying glass to find a captain at the age of 30, in the low cost business you have to question yourself why you aren't a TRI/TRE already by that age (if you wanted to be one...). Once you have all you wanted from Ryanair, you move on.

Different worlds.

Exactly this BraceBrace. That's the model and they are proud of it. The RYR, WZZ and EZY pilots who don't look shagged out by age 40 have won the genetics lottery.

Its a transcript someone wrote up of a video Isom put out internally. I tried to up load the video but this site won’t accept the file.

Agree in it is what RYR want. Ideally they want an aviation slump to dump some pilots onto the market.
At the moment that’s not happening. What I saw was FOs ready for upgrade saying thanks but no thanks. The drive from FOs I met was there to be LHS. Captain salary at RYR not worth it when can go to ME and earn much more, BA FO at LHR £5k after tax with all the other benefits and option to go LH or Jet2 for pretty good salary for less work.

How many pilots post COVID are now looking for jobs? All the guys and gals I met going through training had qualified just before COVID hit.
RYR need 1200 pilots this year. That’s a lot.

Hi everyone, Delta’s Pilots recently ratified a new for your deal that it is unprecedented in the history of collective bargaining, profoundly changing the economics of Delta’s pilot career; and that’s not just for Delta’s pilots, that deal with determine compensation benefits, and quality of life for pilot across the rest of the industry. That means something extraordinary for American’s Pilots. That’s because our commitment, my commitment, remains unchanged; Our team members, including our pilot will be paid well, and they will be paid competitively.

Let me be clear, American is prepared to match Delta pay rates and provide American’s pilots with the same profit-sharing formula as Delta’s pilots. American pilot’s would receive pay increases of an average 21% in the first year of the new contract; Begin participation in a much richer profit sharing program and receive a bump in the companies annual contribution to your 401(k) in a second year of the deal. The total pay increase for pilots on average is 40% in the fourth year of the deal. Let me give you a few examples of what this would mean by the end of the agreement, factoring in base salary and increase 401(k) contributions from the company; a narrow body, captain at the top of the scale would make $475,000 a year or $135,000 more a year than they do today. A widebody Captain of the top of the scale order in $590,000 a year that’s $170,000 more a year than they earn today; and participation in the new profit-sharing program will increase the payout pool from 5% of pretax earnings too 10%, and up to 20% earnings about $2.5 billion.
And it’s not just about Delta pay, it’s about making sure this works for American’s Pilot. You would see significant improvements to scheduling related and quality of life items. That means improved trip construction, and more certainty when it comes to replacement flying and recovery obligation.

A deal like this would be a game changer for our pilots. It would be worth more than $7 billion in incremental compensation, benefits, and quality life improvements over the term of the four year agreement. This would allow you to join Delta’s pilots is the industries leader’s in pay, but with more quality of life improvements unique to American Airlines. It’s what you deserve and it can be negotiated and made available quickly. Like you I’m extraordinarily excited about the coming new contract and all that it means for you and American.

As we proceed down the negotiation homestretch, I plan to reach out frequently, share updates and make sure you have the company’s perspective and our unequivocal commitment to completing a new contract expeditiously. I want to assure you that there’s no question of our intent; That is we want you to be paid as well as your peers. We want you to have the quality life and benefits the matter most to you and we don’t want you to have to wait, Now lets get this deal done.

Thanks for listening and thanks for all you do every day.

~Robert Isom

There is no way how to compare both markets. It's like to try to compare apple and oranges. The wages in America are like that simply becouse of the oldest law of capitalism... Offer and demand...

Not even 11 years ago...
When things go well, salaries in US are amazing and not even comparable to europe, but when things go south, well, they have no bottom.

I don’t know if you’re familiar with the US regional airline sector, but the airlines featured in your video above are in fact not AA, DAL, or UAL. Regional airlines fly subcontracted lift for their Major airline partners, and although the livery on the plane might say XYZ, it’s actually a company you never even heard of. Republic, Skywest, Go Jet, Envoy, Air Wisconsin, and the list goes on. These airline have their own operating certificates, employees, planes, training, etc. They also often have contracts to provide lift for multiple Majors at once.

Historically they’ve been able to pay their first year FOs the ridiculously low numbers that are shown in that video. The reason people accepted those jobs was to build turbine time and turbine PIC with the hope of getting to a Major. Today even those regionals now pay their Captains hundreds of thousands of dollars, and bonuses that would make one’s head spin. I believe all FOs now start at around 100k too. Envoy, PSA, and Piedmont (operating for AA as American Eagle) pay their Check Pilots $427/hour now! I know, insane. The pilot shortage is real over here folks.

I am familiar with the regionals in the US, and well aware they are separate entities from the majors. And I am sure they pay hundreds of thousands now. But it has not always been the case. Supply and demand, as usual. In both directions. Let's enjoy now, at least those who can, because who knows what the future holds