To current regional pilots-
Are Regional pilot salaries really that bad? I was wondering because I noticed on a Recent trip to the Atlanta airport, that pretty much half of all the planes were CRJs and other Regional jets. All of those pilots must make it work some how. How do they do it?

What do you mean by that bad? What is your standard? If you live in rural Misssisispi then it's not bad. The majority of RJ FOs pilots that you see, black berry sporting or not, make around 30-35k. The CAs make about 50-60K. The FOs are all in poverty, they scrape by living in parents basement, sharing a room, etc. Some have saved enough so that they can actually have some kind of a life. The CAs do OK though 60,000 is barely enough for a family unless you live a simple life. etc. The point of it all is the compensation vs the job. For the ammount of sacrifice we all put into the job like being gone about 60-80% of the year though non consecutively still adds up. When you add all the hard things associated with the job it's definitely not worth what we're being paid and it certainly not worth the view at 40K that is why so many are leaving the airlines.

It's doable, but don't expect to have lots of "expendable" income. Eat cheap, have cheap rent, cheap car, etc...if you have a spouse who has a decent job it'll make things easier also. As a regional FO, i was living with my parents, and spending part of my time with my fiance, helping her slightly with her rent (she was a new teacher). I had a "new to me" year old car, which was costing me 350 bucks a month for payments, and something more for insurance, and i was spending equal to what i had coming in...This was without a mortgage or actual rent. On Captain salary (and remember, half of those RJ drivers aren't deprived FO's) I was living much better, saving a thousand dollars out of every check, still helping the fiance, still living at home, eventually bought a house, got married, and got downgraded....Was back to living the poor road again, but we made it work...left the industry 6 months ago for a better opportunity.

The pay is not that bad for a single person under the age of thirty with no expenses other than maybe an apartment shared with a few other kids.

The low pay scales we have today are leftover from when regionals were called commuters and flew small turboprops. A 19-seat prop job simply could not generate that much revenue, and all the commuter pilots expected to move on to high-paying majors in just a few years. It was called dues paying, and there was a reward at the end of the tunnel.

The real problem today is the uncertainty and lack of career progression. If you got hired at a jet regional, progressed rapidly to CA, and could live a modest life in domicile (in a low cost-of-living area) you could get by if nothing bad happened.

But regional pilots are exposed to a wide variety of disruptive factors, both economic and lifestyle. Assume that you will experience one or more of these: medical issue, base closure, loss of contract, furlough, bankruptcy.

You can barely keep your head above water, if the water is calm. But it's not always going to be calm...basically we don't get paid enough to subject ourselves to the uncertainty and personal economic risk which is an occupational hazard. Certainly not if you have a family...

thanks for the incite! How long before FOs start making 30,000+?

another off topic question- how did you get trained? Military? Private school? Aviation degree?
thanks

Yes they are that bad. All those pilots you see 'somehow making it work' are holding out hope for a better job 'some day'.

The reason that pilot pay is drawing congressional attention is because pilots are doing insane things to make ends meet. Many pilots, especially first officers who are just starting out have high debt loads from training and college. The debt coupled with absurd starting salaries at nearly every regional airline (sub 20k at many, sub 30k at all) results in regional pilots taking second jobs and showing up to work tired, or sleeping in the airport crew-rooms to save money.

It's my opinion that half of the guys have invested many years and are waiting for things to improve. The other half have yet to learn what the industry is all about and are still just happy to be flying, regardless of the poor wages. It's undoubtedly a tough job on your family and self. If anything better comes around, I'll pack up my bags after ten years and call it a day.

The majority of regional FOs can make $30k in 2-3 years, depending upon the company and type of equipment.

Majority of regional FOs come from the civilian background having trained at small flight schools at the local airport or accredited colleges going through a 4yr degree program while doing a flight training program in addition through the school.

If you decide to stay at a regional and top out it's a decent job. In this business 3 things rule; 1. Seniority, 2. A stable company (at least as much as possible in this business) and 3. Seniority.

2/3's of Eagle's 1000 RJ captains are topped out and make between $80K and $120k (not including per diem) depending on whether they commute and their agressiveness at maximizing the benefits of their contract and playing the system. Most of these pilots rarely get junior manned and miss most, if not all the B.S.

The downside is that it requires patience, luck and perserverance. Most of the RJ pilots of the planes you saw in Atlanta are looking to better things, but unfortunately the overwhelming majority of them will be at the same company 10 years from now due to lack of available positions at major carriers. In fact, most will never see that major carrier, but for many that's a vary painful consideration. It's easier to believe you'll be one of the extreme minority who do make it, so that's what keeps many going...................hope.

Insight or incite? Was that a Freudian slip?