Just out of curiousity, what is the average age of both FO's and Captains at regionals? Are there many captains that stay at a regional their entire career? I would think that some senior captains at regionals would be very happy staying put rather than starting all over again at a major.

BTW the reason I asked about age, is paok said she is 22, which is my age, and I am only at the private pilot level, however I graduate in December and will be full force after that.

Here's some advice. If you're in this business for the "love of flying", don't tell management that little tidbit.

No worries Im 26 and a first year F/O, got my first 121 job a week after my 25th B-Day

Well, I was 19 when I got hired with my 1st regional.
I'm 20 now ;)

Neal I have a friend who didn't take his first flight in a small plane until he was 32...now he's right seat at Atlas.

I think we all have different starting points, but as long as we get there, be it F/O or CA for a regional/major, we should all be happy :)

My dad has always been in the nuclear power industry. He's done moves across the country to a different utility where they paid $40,000 just to move him and all his crap, gave him a sign on bonus, and paid him more than he was making at the other company. Also, lots of places will take a H.S. grad on as an employee, and then pay for them to get a degree on the side, with no reduced pay as a consequence of getting the degree.

I don't buy the cost of training one bit as an explanation for the low first year pay.

Well they have to be able to get their yearly "bonus" somehow. They make millions while we suffer.....welcome to the airline biz.

Maybe someone among you can answer a newbie question for me. For a while now I've been wondering why I'm seeing annual salary figures for first year FOs that are in the teens (ex. $14,000 per year) when the hourly pay rates don't support a figure that low. I assume it has to do with how much an individual actually works. I currently get paid for 80 hours a month at around $15.50 an hour, and pull in an annual salary of over $30,000 before taxes/health/retirement deductions. If an airline has a guarantee of 80 hours a month, and starting pay is something like $20 an hour, wouldn't I be be making more annually than I do now? Does it have something to do with being on reserve for a while? What am I missing?

Depending on the airline you may get reduced guarantee or even nothing during ground training. That can be 2+ months of just a few hundred dollars/month. Guarantee on reserve is usually 75 hours.

2 months x $500 = $1000
10 months x 75 x $20 = $15,000

If you fly a lot you may credit 100+ hours (if you have any work rules) plus per diem can push you to the mid- 20K's.

Also you may have a variety of expenses in training...uniforms and maybe your hotel room.