Originally Posted by duvie
I believe that one of the main reasons pilot wages are dropping is because of the relative ease involved in flying the newer aircraft. Our equipment is becoming so automated that our job doesn't take the skill it used to. Because airline flying is easier now than it ever has been, pilot positions are able to be filled by less intelligent, apt (insert whatever flattering adjective you want) individuals. Aviation is opening up to a larger crowd of people which increases the supply of pilots to companies. Increased supply of "qualified candidates" will decrease our wages.
duvie, wages are controlled by the level of compensation that the worker is willing to accept. In the past, pilots were not willing to work for nothing. Today, a lot of pilots, both military and civilian are willing to work for very low wages. As long as people are willing to work for low wages, employers will pay low wages. Do you buy your auto fuel from the most expensive Exxon station in town or the least expensive? It has nothing to do with how "easy" it is to fly a modern airliner.
I can't speak to your skills, but for me, learning a flybywire airliner was/is a hell of a lot harder than learning (and succeeding ) in a jurassic jet/boeing737OG. The newer aircraft may not need the level of physical skills that the old ones do, but they do require skills even if they are quite different. Ask any Boeing Captain about the skills needed to transition to a new airbus, it ain't as easy as you might think my friend.
You mention the ease of flying a modern airplane and I'll agree that a modern fully integrated, full glass, computer controlled airplane is easy to manage in NORMAL ops. When things start going to hades in hand basket, those
simple systems become about as clear as mud.
You assert that airline flying now is "easier than it ever has been". You obviously don't understand the difference between flying the airplane, and performing the job of an airline pilot. There is a great deal of difference. I could train most any human adult of average intellegence to "fly" an airplane. Getting that same human through a type rating checkride and Captains OE in any part 25 aircraft would be a monumental task. As I said, there's much more to being an airline pilot than just driving an airplane.
This idea of supply and demand is a very basic concept and really can't be argued, so the issue at hand is the difficulty of flying modern aircraft. I don't think many pilots will refute that with all the research and engineering centered on human factors, safety and ergonomics aircraft have become much easier to operate. Compare flying a Beech 18 single pilot IFR to flying a 777 certified for CAT IIIc approaches. Apples and oranges? Sure. However, I think a lot more people could run checklists and monitor the 777 landing itself than could shoot a raw data approach in an aircraft that has more levers (oil bypass valves, cowl flaps, etc.) than very many since.
I could most likely get into a 18 and fly a perfectly acceptable Cat 1 approach. Fail and engine and I could still do the approach. Fail a couple of generators and I could still fly the approach, etc, etc, Now put me into a 777 and allow me to use all of the automation and I'll fly a heck of a Cat3 Autoland. Start failing systems, and I doubt that I, or anyone who has not attended a full 777 training course, could complete the landing. Before you pop off and say "of course a trained pilot could deal with the failures", I'd like to remind you that I could do it in a Beech18 and I ain't never before set foot in one. Maybe I should say that there's a lot more involved in performing a Cat3autoland than just watching an airplane fly itself.
I think that the high level of automation and infrequency of serious emergencies has also lessened the value of a seasoned pilot. With all the standardization, training and information given to new hires the knowledge gap between the Captain and FO isn’t nearly as large as it once was.
Uhh, I think that the high level of automation and the infrequency of serious emergencies has INCREASED the value of a seasoned pilot. I'd much rather be paired with a seasoned pilot when I happen upon the snares of life than I would a newhire FO. Wouldn't you?
I’m not saying that this trend is right or wrong, that we deserve more or less money. I’m just writing what I’ve observed and a possible explanation for why things are the way they are.
The only creedence I'll give to your argument is that it is quite possible that airline managers are more willing to allow a green pilot into a automated RJ, than they were willing to put a green crew into an old Convair.
skybolt