Reason for low pay for pilots
 

What do you think is the reason that pilot pay isn't what it used to be? I was talking to some friends of mine, they were saying that the deregulation of the airlines had something to do with it. What's your opinion?

Like most things in life, it is 100% supply and demand.

I think the way seniority works is largely to blame. The way the system is set up now I can either take a 'concession' or go look for work and start at year 1 pay and seniority at another airline (IF i even find another job).

I agree with Phuz. The seniority system is causing most of the trouble. I'm not in an airline yet, but I intend to do some research on the pros/cons of a national seniority list. From the little I know about it, it seems like an excellent idea, but there must be some reason it's not implemented yet...

In the late 70's, as deregulation was approaching, there were many ALPA council members and pilots and who saw this problem coming, and asked ALPA National to address the issue with a national seniority list. Needless to say nothing was done, and now we have a real mess on our hands.

I'm just really having a heck of trouble deciding if I want to persue an airline career or not. Its been my dream for awhile, but now with the economy in the dump and the price of oil rising with no end in sight, I'm really starting to wonder if it would be a wise career path.

Is it really worse now?
 

Obtaining and keeping a high-paying airline job has always been a long shot. The difference today is that low-paying airline jobs are plentiful, resulting in a lot of disgruntled pilots instead of disappointed non-pilots. It may sound worse now, because those who missed the brass ring in the past would just disappear into another career field, and not join a forum like APC (which didn't exist then anyway).

The airlines, unlike the cargo and corporate world, essentially wh*re themselves for revenue. Since deregulation, the average airfare has dropped dramatically resulting in more airlines, more flights and more cheap seats.

Of course who needs respectable pay and quality of life when you can soak in the glamour of flying a regional jet for poverty wages?

Sage advice for someone who's been around. I've looked at it this way. The commuters were the "minor leagues" and the mainline carriers were the "major league" (I'm going for a baseball anaolgy here). The problem is that the folks who run the airlines figured out that it was better to expand the minors at the expense of the majors. The pilot unions let them do it and the customers didn't see a difference. The worst is over since pilots won't work for the minors very long, if they don't see a chance to get into the majors.

Great analysis.... I think that you are right. There are many more guys who are flying today (although at lower pay) that in the past would have never seen a cockpit. Look at the numbers of airline pilots in the US when the pay was supposedly really high----