Pilots sometimes earn less than airport window washers | California Watch

 

Well that's depressing. We should post this article in every crew room. Also the dorms of UND and ERAU.

 

No sympathy. Pilot's who willingly choose to fly for the regionals get what they deserve. You know what it is going in. I agree, pay is atrocious, but until pilots value themselves better, why should the airlines. There's no shortage of pilots who will eagerly jump at the chance to fly a fancy jet. Remember, the flying public could care less how much you get paid so long as they get to fly for cheap. I don't mean to sound harsh, but with so many horror stories about QOL and pay, you have only yourself to blame.

 

Did anyone else catch the part that said "Pilots are allowed to work 100 hours per week"?

 

What continues to amaze me is how ill informed the public is regarding compensation for 1-?? year FO's. Time after time after time when the subject comes up with friends, coworkers (non aviation), and strangers how pilots are compensated and the work rules they must endure in order to make their way up the fish ladder, they turn pale white and wonder WFF!!?? Most still think a first year FO makes 75K a year! When I tell them its about 20k if you are lucky they are completely blown away and many wonder just how long this situation can continue until airlines run out of wide eyed wonders wanting to fly their air frames for peanuts. What a freaking house of cards!

 

No one asked for your sympathy. Your statement is very ignorant and does not help the cause. Obviously your knowledge of the airline industry is very limited or nonexistent.

 

Tell me where I'm ignorant here. Also, what cause should I be trying to help? It's either cut pay for window washers or raise pay for airline pilots? Everytime we see a comparison between "menial" jobs and airline pilots in terms of pay what is the goal? To point out the fact that we're not paid enough. So in some sense you're asking for sympathy. Sympathy to the cause of making sure airline pilots are treated to standards commensurate with their level of training and experience. My lack of sympathy is mostly to those who go to the lower end regionals (I don't have to list them) and then complain they don't get paid enough. You can hold out for better opportunity and pay in this industry.

I'm not going to argue about my "limited or non-existent experience" with the airline industry. I have an opinion and I stated it. Posting something that we all know about already is tantamount to throwing a pity party (no offense to the OP cause I agree with the article). The question is what are we doing about it?

 

It's hard to hold out for better pay when your student loan (your PRIVATE student loan that does NOT have to play by the same rules government based loans do) is on its last forbearance and refuses to work with you regarding payments. Not looking for sympathy, just saying there are situations where one might not be able to hold out even if they wanted to. It's a really bad situation altogether and I agree, the article is spot on.

 

The loan thing is a tricky one in this profession, I agree. I've been walking that tight rope ever since I graduated. Trickier for some than others as well, no doubt. I've personally always managed with other jobs in aviation. Instructing, skydivers, aerial survey, charter, tours, ferry, etc. They paid the bills and the plus side is that all my 2000+ hrs is PIC, and aside from the survey gig I was able to be home every night. There are other threads out there about it, but I think one way to help is to educate the student pilots coming up through the ranks. Many of them go into loads of debt going to 0 to hero flight schools that guarantee an interview and nothing else. If they do make it to that first year FO job, they wonder why they can't make the loan payments. And they didn't even get a degree for all that money.

I know a few guys that were able to pay their way through flight school and avoid all the debt. Once they get to the regionals, even at the appalling pay rates, they are able to live quite comfortably through those first couple tough years. After that, I've heard it's not so bad.

My only complaint with an article like this (again no offense to the OP, I know you didn't write it) is it only serves to point out that we should probably wash windows, work in toll booths, or drive a bus to earn money, which coincidentally are all ways to earn money to pay those loans while you're holding out for better pay at the airlines (only joking, sorta). It lends nothing in way of solutions to this "cause" I'm hearing of. Less complaining and more solutions is all I'm saying here.

 

That's exactly why I posted the article, and thanks for asking the question. Obviously posting this article here is "preaching to the choir", I know everyone flying the line is a convert. For those with the dream of flying and a case of shiny jet syndrome, hearing the reality of a regional airline F/O job often sounds like complaining. I often hear from new pilots that somehow it will be different for them.

A startling statistic from the article was the proliferation of regional pilot jobs during the past decade. A tripling of regional jobs since 2001 means that mainline jobs are being outsourced and the traditional "pay your dues" at a commuter airline and go to a major path no longer exists. Regional upgrade times will slow to a crawl as there are less mainline jobs to jump to. Age 65 retirements will help the flow a little, but nothing on the order of how it used to be.

So again, the question is what are we doing about it?