First year pay
Republic First year pay E170 year 1. CAPT $59, FO $23.
Lynx Aviation First year Q400 year 1. CAPT $50, FO $21.

Frontier First year pay A318/319. CAPT $111, FO $37.
Delta First year pay A319/320. CAPT $143, FO $52.

Third year pay
Frontier A318/319 CAPT $117, FO 73.
Delta A319/320 CAPT $145, FO 90.

Looks like the out look is a lot of pilots are going to be flying for the regionals and low cost carriers. Lets leave the low pay and dues paying in our carriers to the college campus. I think first year pay at an airline should be at or above the average family income for the city you are based in.

I don't think most airlines will be around for 30 years with out going through bankruptcies. Why do all the unions fight so hard for a contract that pays so little in the beginning and so much more around the 30 year mark.

I think we should push for 5 year pay scales so we can reach our companies top pay in 5 years. If the company you work for goes under when the economy tanks every ten years plus or minus a little you will have maid top pay for a couple of years.

We need to change the industry for the better because what we are doing is not working in a deregulated industry. We have large pay gape between companies and equipment. The largest cost that an airline can control is labor. The largest two cost that are variable are fuel and labor.

If we keep blaming the other guy, the old pilot or the young pilot, the company, management, government, the customer, we are going to get nowhere.

We all have something to offer lets make a difference and stop waiting for some one else to do it for us. How the change will come i don't know but i think all of us want to see the the profession change the direction it is going.

I love to fly i don't want to do something else. If i have kids i want them to fly if they so choose. If you guys feel the same way lets do something lets work for a common goal.

The industry is changing and we are fighting to restore the old way. Lets find a new way.

check out the link it is along read but worth it.

Aircraft Pilots and Flight Engineers

Job Outlook [About this section] Back to Top
Regional airlines and low-cost carriers will present the best opportunities; pilots attempting to get jobs at the major airlines will face strong competition.

Employment change. Employment of aircraft pilots and flight engineers is projected to grow 13 percent from 2006 to 2016, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Population growth and an expanding economy are expected to boost the demand for air travel, contributing to job growth. New jobs will be created as airlines expand their capacity to meet this rising demand by increasing the number of planes in operation. However, employment growth will be limited by productivity improvements as airlines switch to larger planes and adopt the low-cost carrier model that emphasizes faster turnaround times for flights, keeping more pilots in the air rather than waiting on the ground. Also, fewer flight engineers will be needed as new planes requiring only two pilots replace older planes that require flight engineers.

Job prospects. Job opportunities are expected to continue to be better with the regional airlines and low-cost carriers, which are growing faster than the major airlines. Opportunities with air cargo carriers also should arise because of increasing security requirements for shipping freight on passenger airlines, growth in electronic commerce, and increased demand for global freight. Business, corporate, and on-demand air taxi travel also should provide some new jobs for pilots.

Pilots attempting to get jobs at the major airlines will face strong competition, as those firms tend to attract many more applicants than the number of job openings. Applicants also will have to compete with laid-off pilots for any available jobs. Pilots who have logged the greatest number of flying hours using sophisticated equipment typically have the best prospects. For this reason, military pilots often have an advantage over other applicants.

In the long run, demand for air travel is expected to grow along with the population and the economy. In the short run, however, employment opportunities of pilots generally are sensitive to cyclical swings in the economy. During recessions, when a decline in the demand for air travel forces airlines to curtail the number of flights, airlines may temporarily furlough some pilots.