Originally Posted by Captainsouth
Jetstar pilots signed off on $180,000pa Australian which is about $135,000US dollars. Is this really the standard now?
USAirways flies the A330 on International routes and Capt's are paid $160 USD/hr. For a reserve Capt. the monthly guarantee is 72 hours, which would yield about $138,000 USD annually.
So while your figures "could" be correct, it's very unlikely that a pilot is paid the minimum every month for a year. When you consider a schedule holder (line holder) is flying around 85 hours per month, $135,000USD is about 10% too low compared to the US counterparts.
http://airlinepilotcentral.com/airli...s_airways.html
Lower wages are standard now in the US, although I'd expect that wages will rise as all the give-backs help yield sustained profits.