ChinookDriver47

Indeed, plus the airlines don't have the "LUXURY" of trying to land a fully loaded airframe at night, under NVG's, in the desert in a total brown out situation with your FE talking you onto target. Believe me, I would rather take the worst line or reserve duty out there than have my airframe shot at by small arms and RPG's.

When was the last time a RJ got shot at and limped home barely above Single engine safe speed? Oh that's right...IT DIDN'T.

We earn every tiny *******ING dollar that is paid to us. The fact that most of us make it to 20 years is a blessing.

I would galdly trade every "dime" that i saved on deployment to have a warm bed with running water and bathroom like the piece of Sh!t Ramada's that I have heard complained about rather than the fart sack, chem suit for a pillow and cold muddh showers that got to use twice a week at the LUXURIOUS Forward operating base that I had the pleasure of being stationed at.

Come see what conditions are like for the military on a deployment for ONE DAY, then see which you would rather have.

Skyhigh, I respect your opinion and wisdom, but on this case, Sir, I think you have your wires crossed.

SkyHigh

Companies would have to pay a massive amount more than they do to cause much change and why would they do that?

Even now pilots earn half of what they did 20 years ago and still they come. I think management is smart. They know that all they have to do is to keep lowering the bar slowly and pilots will still come running.

The down side is that occasionally they will face shortages but all they have to do is reduce the minimums and a new wave will surge in. It is our own fault.

SkyHigh

SkyHigh

I am sure that it is a sacrifice however there are several people on this forum who came to the military with nothing and had all their college, grad school and most every other expense in life paid for. Not bad.

SkyHigh

ChinookDriver47

Considering the time that we are required to put in...and the time it takes us to complete college (7 years BTW due to deployments and duty restrictions), I would say that it is a fair trade.

I don't know what military you were in, but nothing was EVER given to me.

SkyHigh

I wasn't in the military. I am sure that what you have gone through wasn't a walk in the park but you have received a whole lot for your service and perhaps it is difficult to understand the value in that.

There are people on this forum who will be paying for training and education for 20 years. If your intentions are to fly for the airlines then you are in for a shock.

SkyHigh

maximaman

I'm not sure that pay for highly educated people is dropping, but I do agree with skyhigh about pay in specialized trades going up.

maximaman

With all of the education and time that pilots put in the starting pay at regionals should be up their with other professionals in engineering and medical fields. The say accounting degrees are in demand and can earn about 50,000 to start out.

flynavyj

We'd all like to see pay go up, and time away from base go down, but if you think about it differently, better pay, better work rules, and more time at home, might increase the problem slightly too.

Pay will give retention (but we don't really wanna be retained...that bad) however it would be nicer to make more before going onto the next job (as that is the objective of most of us in this industry...move up)

Better work rules keep us happy, but most aspiring airline pilots have no clue as to what the work rules are...in college i knew two things "don't go to mesa, don't go to gojet" that's about it...the rest was a crapshoot, wasn't really sure about what schedules were like, bid periods, pref bidding, block or better, duty rigs, trip rigs, etc....And i don't see "regional" contract 101 being offered in the universities anytime soon.

And the more time the airlines give us at home, the more pilots they'll need to cover the flights. We all know we're "overworked" as it is, and heck, at my company the majority of FO's are sitting with 14 days off a month. If you're able to give your pilots half a month off, allow them to fly less hours, and pay them more, management is going to have to get tons more butts in the seats to cover what the other pilots have "given up"

Another thought. I wonder if the problem can actually fix itself quickly, regionals are having a tough time with staffing, flight schools are seeing less pilot candidates enter their doors, flight instructors are disappearing, and many at the university level aren't getting their CFI rating because it's "not required" anymore, or at minimum not a necessity...If the regionals lower the mins further, that'll help some, but hurt the bottom line, which is they'll continue to need more pilots, and the further the minimums go, the less pilots they'll have to pool from. Where's it end?

chazbird

5 year "captains" at the Golden Gate Transit Authority gross $100,000 a year - driving a GM bus. Some do have a longish day, 9-11 hours - but with several hours off in the middle of the day (go to the gym, lunch & what not). They also have a real retirement.

I did the regional thing in the early-mid 80's. The pay then, corrected for inflation was considerably higher than it is now. (The mins to get in were higher too, in fact FO mins then were higher than captains mins now) So, just because there's a "shortage" now tell me how is it a good time to get in? BTW: I'm one of the people on the Skyhigh's "sidelines", trying to get back in but without starving, or being insulted or treated like trash at interviews, or generally ignored because of experience. I honestly believe that a senior captain at a regional isn't a bad thing at all, provided its where you want to live, and maybe don't have children to raise. But I think only 20-25% of people will make it out of the regionals onto a main-line/legacy gig. High risks indeed.

blastboy

Maybe the other 75-80% don't want it as bad as the next guy. If you want something and you work hard for it, by golly you'll get it. I've gotten everything I've wanted through hard work and perserverance. My goal is to be at AAL within 6 years, based in MIA. If AAL is hiring at that time, I'll be there and I will get the job. Whatever it takes, I'll get the job.