Originally Posted by Going2Baja
$70k at 250 hrs a month TAB / 30 days = $9.33 I think that was where he was going with the low wages. If you were to compare your $70k with a regular 9-5 5 days a week for $70 I think we all know who wins there?!?!?
BTW - your 6 yr capt job at $70k is the same as a 6 yr capt was at Pan Am flying the whale in 1980. Go figure eh???
Baja.
Dogpilot and baja are the only people in the world who thinks he ought to be paid for the 100hrs a month he spends SLEEPING in a hotel and spending time checking out the layover city. That is not working! Everyone knows airline pilots spend time away from home (just like military folks), but they spend a lot less time away from home and the pay usually makes up for it.
I think regional pay is fine as long as you are young and you only spend about 5 years there at max. I am 22 and I plan to be at a regional in under 6 months. By the time I am 27 that means I would potentially make $65,000 a year. That's plently for me at 27!
For people who think regional pay is low, think of it as your "starting job" as everyone else in the non-aviation world does.
EXAMPLES:
Baseball players in the minor leagues (Less than $1000 a month)
Airline management that starts out as CSR's or flight attendents. (Low pay)
Store managers that start out as minimum wage clerks. (Minimum wage)
ETC...
I mean, I have an aerospace engineering degree and I am making the same as a CFII as many of my friends in the industry. My work is fewer hours, easier, and I downright LOVE my job.
My point is you need to "learn to walk before you can learn to fly." A few years at a regional is ok if the result is a major airline career at $150-$200K a year later on in my career. As long as all flying does not switch to regionals, this is ok.
This is where USAir took the right course on making the EMB-190 a mainline jet.
This is where Mesa took the WRONG course. Anything 75+ or so belongs at a major. No more 90-100 seat jets at regionals.