This is the point that I think many miss....especially those hired 2010 and after. (For some reason I can't access delta pay statements 2017 and before) but as a 767 capt with over 12 years service(I actually had about 20 yos) I made 175K in 2006 and 179k in 2009( these are the 2 years I remember) It took C2012 to restore some of the pay rates and cC2015v2 to get them to what they are today. We have 3 year guys making as muck/more today and a 16% DC.


The frozen DB(North) and PBGC was not too bad back....15 years ago when it went down....now fast forward 10 more years from here....it will be at half the purchasing power. The DC of 16 % now is great....great because the % is much greater than it was , coupled with the monstrous pay raises that took 10-12 to achieve. So, by and large, I think the 2010 and later guys look at what they are now getting and just assume it was kinda like that for the 30 years prior and can't imagine how, other than malfeasance, the 30 year pilots don't have more money than Midas.


My last 4 years of W-2from Delta have been astounding....average that with 28 years of mediocrity( 4 1/2 years B-scale and 10 years of bankruptcy wages) and the average is less than eye-watering. Enough to retire on?....Sure. But certainty not what most young guns think it is. (I am not poor mouthing my situation.....just attempting to provide some perspective.)



What's that saying...."If I just made as much as my neighbor thinks I do?" ..... same/same