Originally Posted by
The Juice
Pay sucks but hopefully one day it will be better with a contract. In 2008 my earnings were 27,400 with 4 months of that year being at 21/hr and the last 8 being 26/hr. So it was about 31,400 gross for the year when you include per diem. I averaged 93.5 hours a month credit and a lot of that was when we were short on FO's so I had a few 120+ credit months in there because of the open time.
I am senior at a senior base so QOL is not that bad. I have 14 days off this month, with weekends off but that is not the case for all.
All in All not too bad. Great pilot group makes up for the issues with mgmt. And lets get real, the industry sucks right now so I am happy to have a job right now.
Well my earnings last year were pretty decent too. it looks like i am just a little junior to you, and I grossed almost 36k. and that is not including more than 3k in per diem. might sound good, but I dont think its relevant to bring up last year's pay to a "prospective" colganite, because it just isn't the same anymore. last year we had it good because there were tons of extra flying to go around. that is not going to happen this year or the next. i dont expect to see more than 25k this year. even if i start off with an 85-hr line i always fall below guarantee now because of maintenance cancellations that only garner 2 hrs credit. nowadays we're looking at (relatively) longer upgrades, no open time, and making bare guarantee at $27/hr while we wait for upgrade. and that's what the prospective guys need to know. you're right, i agree things will get better, with the union... but i think it will be a whiiiile before we see a contract.
and i agree, i've met some awesome guys here, there are some captains who would be on top of my list for "people i'll share with when i win the lotto." but, i'm certain that every other airline has great people as well.