Agreed, 50K should be the absolute bloody minimum for flying a turbine aircraft full of people in almost all weather.

2,500 hours, fresh pilot, fresh ATP, turbine experience.

I moved on after they weren't hiring and I couldn't get interviews when I reached the magic numbers. I have regrets about what equipment I fly, but my lifestyle is much better and I'm compensated well. I'd like to go to the airlines, but:


1. 50K should be starting pay.
2. Those who commute should have company hotels and crashpads on off days. Nice ones, which treat pilots as professionals.
3. A retirement plan that begins building when you start at your first 121 or 135 carrier and transfers with no penalties as you switch carriers, because now everyone has to,
4. An ounce of respect from those that interview, schedule and manage pilots. The public holds pilots in great esteem, but I've noticed the corporate culture at airlines is leaning towards not just poor compensation, but looking down on pilots.
5. Laws that require airlines to pay pilots when they are performing ALL duties, not just when the door is closed. It's shameful that a pilot can be required to be somewhere and not paid.
6. Unions gone. No more crooked racketeering, no more buyouts to help send the career to the bottom, no more union dues, nothing.
7. The ability to strike and walk the **** out. Anyone who does not like their job should be able to walk away from it at any time, even en masse. That's what liberty is.



I am someone who, with the current rules, should be a ripe candidate for an entry level part 121 job. The problem is, I'm a qualified and college degreed professional already. You never stop learning because there is always a next step, but I'm light years away from someone who should be treated or paid like an intern. I won't go.