Originally Posted by blaine

In my opinion, the only people who are paid wages that are unfair and unlivable are new hire or low seniority first officers. They make between 18k - 25k the first year and top out the position in the high 30k's to low 40k's. They basically do the exact same job as the captain and can be stuck there for a decade while waiting for the captains seat. The only difference is authority. The entire pilot pay structure should be changed to more accommodate first officers. If you're making north of 50k - 60k, you're just a crying captain, the industry pays you very well. Concentrate the fight on the pilots who really need it. If you're making decent money and still complaining, you're just hurting the industry as a whole by looking greedy. Increase pay for the first 4 years as FO and you'll likely see a dramatic change in applications by qualified pilots. I myself hesitate returning to a regional simply because of the pay, that's it. Plenty of experienced guys like me would fill the demand if the pay were better. If you're going to write a letter to your congressmen, how about explaining the low pay is for FO's and NOT captains. The public knows captains make good money but are blind about FO's, they just think pilots in general make good money. The shortage doesn't have much to do with the 1500 hour rule either, it's about qualified pilots not coming to the regionals because of low FO pay and overall QOL issues. There are industry flight attendants who make more than many pilots, in what world is the even acceptable?