Originally Posted by
Thunder1
BIG BONUS???
In 1997 I signed the 25K/year bonus that took me out to 20 yrs of aviation service. Due to only having an 8 yr pilot training commitment the contract was for 11 yrs. 275K and 50% up front. That was 16 years ago. Adjust for inflation and they need to be offering at least 35K/year to make it comparable to what guys got in the past. Throw in the large number of airline pilot retirements kicking in now and the writing is on the wall -- mass exodus.
Good news for those who stay though is that promotion rates will skyrocket because you'll be competing against a much smaller number for promotion.
Get out now, go to a major airline, upgrade to CA 9 years earlier. They must think people are dumb. That extra $18750 a year would be negated by the extra $100,000 (x9) they're foregoing by passing on an airline job. The only thing to consider is the military retirement...but will it still be the same in 9 years? We were lucky. We retired at the right time. It scares me to see how bad it will get for guys 9 years younger than us between now and then. Unless they were planning on staying anyway and they're ready for the pain I wouldn't touch this bonus with a 10' pole....