Air Canada Jazz | AirlinePilotCentral.com

The CRJ pay is significantly higher than US Regionals, especially for FOs. Why is this? Is the cost of living that much different or what?

 

The Canada government taxes you to death.

 

This is largely a myth. If you take into account how much money comes out of your paycheck in the States for services that are provided in Canada, the actual amounts are much closer. In fact, at some income levels, your take-home pay would be higher in Canada.

We just have more line-items in the 'deductions' part of our pay stubs, so we spread the dollar amount around more. Largely, it's down to healthcare. If you didn't have to pay for healthcare, your check would be bigger. If your employer didn't have to pay for your healthcare, how much more would be in your check?

 

Ticket prices (?).

 

The per diem is $84.50 a day. That adds up too quite a bit.

 

As a Canadian now working in the US, I can assure you this is not entirely true. Tax brackets are similar, but the total deductions in Canada to FAR higher due to health care, public pension that you will never see until age 67, and employment insurance you won't see either unless you lose your job. All of which you won't get back nearly what you put in.


The reason jazz pays higher is because you need minimum 3000 hours to get in. Though that has changed lately.

As it would be, aviation in Canada is taking a HUGE dump right now. The aforementioned jazz pay scale has caused air Canada to start farming their flying to much cheaper places, like sky regional and air Georgian. An Westjet is outsourcing all their flying to their in house regional, encore. It is literally the Genesis of the regional program we have here in the US going on right now.

As well, I'd rather live off us regional wage in Msp or Iah then Canadian regional wage in yyz or yyc. Cost of living is comparable to NYC in most major Canadian cities

 

You aren't kidding.. I had a long overnight in Montreal once.. by the time I paid for my beer I had no money left for food!

(2 beers = $17USD)

 

Consider the CA vs FO compensation. At Jazz, the CA makes about 41% more than the the FO across the board. At US Regionals, the CA/FO compensation difference is not a flat percentage. It starts at about 65% and peaks at about 91%.

US Regionals need to get real with the pay. It's going to get to the point where they're going to have to hire illegal immgrants to fly their RJ's because there's no way US Citizens are going to continue to put up with this crap. Someone has to be the FO and they shouldn't have to suffer because of it.

 

MSP vs IAH: Texas has no state income tax, and the sales tax is about the same. I figured living in Houston and commuting to MSP, I was better off paying for two apartments and keeping TX as my home or record than moving up north. Basically, if I moved to the land of 10000 lakes, I needed to earn about 25% more gross to equal my Texas standard of living.

Oh, and I don't need a permit to fly model airplanes in Houston, but in Eagan, MN, I was for a short time taken into custody for flying a model (Cox .049 powered control line airplane) without a permit. (NO, I am NOT kidding).

 

It's been this way for decades. It will not change and people will continue to put up with... unfortunately.