Based on the rates I see in the T/A at UPS (assuming it passes) I would say the pax carriers won't catch up any time soon. Maybe another 2-3 contracts during "good" economic times. Thats approximately 20 years, give or take. This all assuming no give backs from the freight dogs. Time will tell.

I could be wrong, but I think DAL's 777 rates slightly exceeded UAL 777 rates before 9/11.

Also, UAL's 747-400s paid more than the 777 pre-9/11.

Delta's 5/1/2004 rate was $267.52/hr for 757/767 captain ($182.72 for F/O). 777 rate was $319.61 (CA) and $218.29 (FO). (Multiply x1000 for approx. annual pay.) It'll be quite a while before we see those rates again. If we surpass the cargo guy's pay rates, it will mostly be because of the cuts they've taken, rather than the raises we've gotten.

That is how us Cargo guys/gals ended up on top..............Not because we negotiated anything, but unfortunately because of the bankruptcy courts chain-sawing all of your guys great contracts! I hope we can do the industry proud this time.........

One factor in your favor: The demand for cargo traffic is more consistent than the demand for passenger traffic. If your employer is consistently profitable, you have much more leverage at the bargaining table.

97-98 $
 

[QUOTE=CVG767A;55243]Delta's 5/1/2004 rate was $267.52/hr for 757/767 captain ($182.72 for F/O). 777 rate was $319.61 (CA) and $218.29 (FO). (Multiply x1000 for approx. annual pay.) It'll be quite a while before we see those rates again. If we surpass the cargo guy's pay rates, it will mostly be because of the cuts they've taken, rather than the raises we've gotten.[/QUOT

Here's the 97-98 Air Inc Salary survey for 12 year W/B,or largest N/B Captains:

ABX 12,189/month
ALaska 10,785/month
AmWst 9,340/month
AMR 14,431/month
CAL 11,168/month
DAL 15,790/month
DHl 10,822/month
FDX 13,689/month
NWA 15,815/month
SWA 11,959/month
TWA 8,9300/month
UAL 15,179/month
UPS 14,210/month
USAir 15,250/month

You have certainly been provided more than enough objective information here to make a decision. I would consider the following things: Money is not everything. I would suggest not making your decision on simply who pays the most. Commuting sucks - I have done it for seventeen years and just this year stopped. Even though my base is not where I would ideally want to live, being 15 minutes from the airport is like heaven and certainly worth what I had to give up. Lastly, I hate redeyes. Some people like them, and as some have said here, FedEx does fly some when the sun is up but I would guess that most freight operations would be at night. You will know what is the right decision after taking into consideration all the good advice here and determining for yourself what is important to you. Good luck with your decision and new career.

I have the DAL and UAL OLD contract rates on a another computer, but if I remember correctly: UAL 747 CA max was 335/hr. UAL CA, 757 was around 225/hr, Airbus/737 was around 200-210/hr.

These ABOUT what I remember, could be off by a few dollars +/-.

Also, this was at higher monthly garauntees, not the 65 hrs/month they have been gutted to.