Originally Posted by
ninerdriver
Dude, there are third year FOs at JetBlue pulling down over $170K. Is it $220K? No, but once you're making that much, if you're happy with it, then why does it matter whether you're at the Big 3 or an LCC?
Oh, wait. Because pilots.
When the kids hit university age, it’s the difference between them having no debt, or student loans to pay off. Your example of $170k vs $220k is $50k a year over a decade or more before college. An extra 3-4% direct contribution is over a million over an entire career.
Yes, they are perfectly good jobs, but if you’re only a few years in and a legacy calls, you go. Exception being if you’re older or live in Base. Once you upgrade at your LCC it’s too late to jump and then play catch up unless you’re very young.
It’s easy to see, just run a spreadsheet with the current rates and compare each airline.