That is just ridiculous...

 

oh...now it's all crystal clear.

 

We all could pay ourselves by eating beans instead of steak but that isn't really getting paid. It is sacrificing yourself to save money.

Personally I don't care but when pilots include per diem in statements about their income then it is artificially inflating the truth. It also adds to self delusion.

Per Diem isn't pay but it is better than a sharp stick in the eye.

SkyHigh

 

It could go either way, depending on you...

I usually eat out, or eat deli food in, so I was going to spend the money anyway whether I was home or not...for me it's bonus money.

If you usually eat top ramen and bologna when at home, then you might need the per diem to cover the extra cost of eating on the road.

 

one more reason for ALPA to start educating flight instructors and these students at these pilot mills about airline contracts and the good and the bad places to work. I bet a lot of the people who are employed at those less than desirable companies either had no idea what they were getting themselves into or had some ding on their record that prevented them from going someplace better. Most flight instructors don't even know what per diem is...

 

Yes. It wouldn't even cost them a lot of money...I'm sure they could find plenty of line-pilot volunteers willing to spend a couple hours at the home patch or their alma-mater.

 

This is something that the ALPA national Education Committee should be doing more of. Its just kind of hard when the flight instructor is more interested in how fast/high/far your jet goes rather than what the respective per diems are in each pilot contract. I volunteered four straight days to this committee a couple of months ago and this is the type of stuff you deal with.

 

First part is true

Second part as of recently is no longer true, at least on the CAL side. Per diem is automatic and you get a report at the end of the month and only submit a per diem sheet if your numbers do not match theres. I also have to submit my receipts to them such as being reimbursed for parking at the base I commute from. This is just as of the past month though.

 

We seem to be going around in circle's here (as we usually do). To answer the original poster's question I would like to point out two things.

1. Money is money. It doesn't really matter which column it shows up in on your paycheck. What really matters is the amount that you put in your bank account.

2. It seems your trying to figure out whether overnights are offset by the increase in cash. I would say that you shouldn't choose primarily on per diem or not, but it should be a factor in your decision process. If you like less commuting and live far away from your base, overnights are an excellent choice to maximize working time and the per diem is a bonus. Keep in mind that its not a huge amount of money, but just enough to offset living expenses while on the road.

I hope this helps, and good luck to you.