It's not hard to figure out, to many pilots. The pilot group as a whole has zero control over the supply of pilots, other industry do it and we don't. Untill then we will have very little control over our pay. SJS(shinny jet sydrome) cost everyone money. This is where ALPA has droped the ball. They have also dropped the ball on educating new pilots that 19.00/hr is the almost equal to 10.00/hr at a regular 9-5. ex 19.00(90hrs) works out to 1710 a month. 10/hr(160hrs((average work month)) is 1600. We all know that the to make the 1710 a month that will cost you about 300hrs away from home. After that "Big first pay raise" it may work out to be the equvilent of
14-18/hr.

 

Rob, whats up brother, how have you been?

 

I don't know where ughflyer went but here is your answer....

prostitution is an industry where they're treated as bad, but unlike most , ashly dupree(she did elliot spitzer,the ex NY gov) and a few others figured if i'm going to spread my legs for some john, i might as well get 5000 a session.

the higher rate also got them away from nutjobs instead of egomaniacs who who think their wife's butt is too large.

so unlike pilots, ashly depree is smarter than we are.

 

If the last 11 years are an indication of the next 11, we'll be making 30% less (adjusted for inflation) and flying 200-seat aircraft. Go Team!

 

As a previous poster said, this isn't just pilots, it's a cultural thing. Pilot pay is a symptom of a bigger trend. I see the American standard of living decline as the rest of the world's standard rises towards our level. Global scale competition.

After WWII the world was in shambles, but the U.S. stood tallest financially, infrastructurally, etc. and we called the shots. Eventually the rest of the world caught up.

Oh how we extoll the virtues of competition and free market in one breath, then in another shout for anti-free market tactics with the next.

Oh, yeah, and we're job snobs. We could be making a decent living at rather bland jobs, and have decent QOL. But no, we want to have "that job." As Americans we define who we are by our jobs before almost all else, pilots included! That's our culture!

 

that is why there is an incredible level of competition for the finest ivy league schools because all those kids march right over to wall st and collect those 50 million dollar bonuses for faxing, copying and talking to lawyers all day... i have concluded the rest of us are all schmucks...

 

To the OP, this doesn't help things any.....

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/hi...-business.html

Maybe if people stopped taking this kind of "JOB" we'd be in better shape.

 

ALPA is currently trying to do this with the Fee for Departure Work Group. Its a monumental task made harder by the fact that there are more than one union and un-unionized pilot groups.

The seniority system is used against us! Its what causes pilot recycling. If only we would be able to retain our seniority as we move to another company when that company takes the planes you are currently flying for your current employer. It makes no sense to fight amongst ourselves while management watches us go back to first year pay.

ALPA is working on an education campaign. They do have a national education committee who talks with high school and college students about what its really like to be an airline pilot and how ALPA has benefited the entire industry through its efforts to make it more safe. But I certainly wouln't say its a campaign to discourage the profession.

 

757-300 as regional equipment that will be the end of US air travel.

 

A dissertation could be written on this, but it would continue beating the dead horse. Bottom line: supply and demand. If everyone could fly a plane 14 days a month and make way more than 6 figures and do nothing else, who the hell wouldn't want to be a pilot? Too many people jumped on that bandwagon and those days are long gone. If all the young folks who want to be airline pilots realize this and there are no young folks doing anything to fly (taking embarassing salaries and schedules), what happens then? Wages have to be increased. I don't see the pool of pilots decreasing proportionately to the decrease in QOL, pay, and retirement though. Why? It's a relatively easy and fun job into which pilots are already hugely invested and pilots in general are not willing to do anything else.

As for the blue collar part, we are a blue collar work force with a skillset that takes a lot more intelligence and training time than that of most other blue collar work...that and we have a much more fun job. If we didn't like what we do, we would quit and do something else. The problem is, pilots spend so much time/money getting to where we are, we don't want to cut our losses and do anything else. Sit at a desk? Hell no.

Most pilots are smart enough and capable enough to be successful in other career fields. They choose the pilot path, even while complaining about pay/QOL.

There are alternatives out there. If you can get $100k into debt getting ratings, you can do the same to get an MBA which will typically yield a much larger return on that investment. You can get the military to pay for flight training and have no debt other than years of service (with a higher salary than you would get at a regional and in a lot of cases at a major). You can join the Guard/Reserves and fly for kicks on weekends and still have a civilian job. You can instruct on weekends and work a 9-5 where you aren't so "expendable" and your experience and continuity matters.

If you put all your eggs into one basket (the $400k/year 747 captain basket), you will likely find yourself dissappointed. There are a lot of other options and ways to fly that don't limit you to a cardboard box and ramen. You are as expendable as you let yourself be. If airline pilots are an expendable commodity and you don't want to be expendable, get a job where employees matter more. When enough people do this, pilots won't be expendable when airlines have a shortage of us.