I did not mean "you" specifically, I meant "you" generally speaking. As in if a person is going to hate Norwegian Air pilots for making less than pilots at U.S. airlines, then that person needs to hate all European pilots because virtually all European airlines pay less than U.S. airlines.

What is OSM paying their contract guys? Is it the same as what Norwegian is paying the Europe pilots?

I’m not sure what the OSM guys in the US are being paid but I believe it is similar to what I posted. I asked my friend if he was specially flying for NAI, and he said yes. I didn’t ask if he was employed through OSM.

The contracts are different based on the country in which you are based. The contracts must comply with local laws. In other words, contrary to what ALPA has told everyone, NAI cannot base pilots in Denmark on an Irish contract. The Denmark based pilots must be on a Danish contract. Norwegian has just opened a Copenhagen base for 787 pilots and those guys are directly employed by Norwegian, not an agency, on a permanent Danish contract negotiated by one of the two main Danish pilots unions, Flyvebranchens Personale Union (FPU). However pilots based in LGW are employed by either Rishworth/Global Crew UK, or OSM, on a U.K. contract. The Paris based pilots have a French contract through OSM, Barcelona a Spanish contract, and Rome an Italian contract. Each contract has slightly different terms and conditions based upon the local labor laws and whether or not there is a union involved. So it is not quite so easy to make a direct, blanket comparison between the U.S. based pilots and the Europe based pilots. You have to compare it base to base.

I’m sure all this shell-gaming works to labor’s benefit.

Does any airline try to ensure their rules and pay are to labor’s benefit and not that of the business?

It depends. Some countries where there are bases are far more labor friendly. Denmark has some pretty strict labor laws and is very labor union friendly. Yet Norwegian just opened a fairly large long haul base in Copenhagen. I am sure they did not do that in an attempt to screw labor.

Edit - The same goes Norwegian's the Paris base. France is known for very active unions that regularly strike. Again, I doubt they opened a base there for the purpose of screwing labor.

KLM widebody captain (and to get widebody captain at any legacy in the USA you would need 20 years) makes around $300K. Biggest difference, he was hired into KLM at age 20, starting pay $80K, never displaced or furloughed, and retires at age 57 with 70% of his pay. Not saying that the EU LCC are great, but 4 year easyJet captain makes over $200K. WOW, Ryan, Vueling aso are very different.

FOs make 300k a year here in the states, no denying that.

I think your numbers are a bit off (I'm talking easyjet, don't know anyone at KLM) .. plus their schedules are horrendous.



Vueling is one of the lowest paying airlines in the world.

4 year easyJet captain does NOT make 200k a year. Closer to half of that.
KLM is an exception in Europe, and the top pay for straight-up captains is not 300k, closer to 250k. Few make 300k but they often have other positions too.
Starting pay at KLM is around 60k. That's way higher than any other legacy. BA starting pay is around 35k.

BA top captains hit 200k, average is closer to 150k. LH is about the same.
AY, no-one makes more than 150k.
Also remember, these guys pay 50% or more in income taxes, and 20+% VAT etc.
Take home pay, apart from KLM, in European legacies is comparable to good regionals or ULCC's in the US.