Here's some math for the evening, all figures are for CA. In spite of the pay raise a year ago, and the retention bonus that went into effect our pay is still absolutely pathetic.

If I dropped out of high school and flipped burgers, here's how my pay would stack up to our 1st year BE99 line pilot.

I am counting time at the layover as time worked. Why? Because if I hired you to mow my lawn, but stipulated that you must mow the front in the AM and the back in the PM, you would expect to be paid for the time you wasted all day, not just the time you are actually mowing.

Minimum wage is $9/hr, which goes to time and a half at 8 hours, and double time after 12.

12 hour day = $126/day or $630 per week.
13 hour day = $144/day or $720 per week.
14 hour day = $162/day or $810 per week.
15 hour day = $180/day or $900 per week.

AMF is $16.35 X 8 units a day for a total of $130.80 a day or $654 per week. The first run I had out of training was 15 hours a day, with late call each day to avoid hitting reduced rest. Thus I was $246 per week UNDER minimum wage. Most runs in my base seem to be between 13.5-14.5 hours a duty day, thus all under what you would be getting paid at Del Taco for the same time away from wives, kids, hobbies etc.

Now assuming you qualify for that $10,000/yr retention bonus, let's see how pay stacks up. Never mind that if you passed your checkride just a few days after a 4 month cutoff window you are ******* outta luck...

10,000/52 weeks is $192.30 per week, which kicks you up to the astronomical sum of $845/wk pre tax. So if you have a run that averages 14.5 hours a week (common) you've finally hit Wendy's drive through level compensation. If you choose to throw in a 4 unit (8 hour half day) you would earn $65.40 at AMF vs 72 working the drive through.

This isn't so much a bash on AMF, as on the industry as a whole. Like I can feed my kids with turbine time. However, the game is changing, and regionals are looking better and better all the time. I've got one foot out the door (thank Christ) so it doesn't really affect me, but Dallas should look long and hard at the weekly compensation vs hours worked if they want to stop the pilot hemorrhage.

I've never seen a breakdown for hours worked vs compensation at a regional these days, though I've been told living in base QOL is much better with similar compensation compared to AMF. Am I way off base?


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