I've heard that twice in a month from two different Airbus captains. Really? Does that mean starting pay for new pilots might be higher than that of the gorillas that thrash the luggage?

Starting pay at Great Lakes last time I checked was like 15.60 a flight hour (when I worked there). That's where a "new" airline pilot might start.
Thats like 1200 a month, I'm pretty sure the baggage folks make more than that.
First year United pay however is much different, it's a whopping 32 bucks an hour! that's like almost 40k if you get to fly 100 hrs a month. Or another way to look at it is the same you would make if you got a job at 18 an hour and worked a 40 hour week. The difference being you would be home each night.
Don't know what the rampers make but I'm sure they feel good about themselves and what they do. Not so sure about an airline pilot.
I just had a "retired" airline pilot teaching me ground because the airline "took" his retirement.

Well, always look at the bright side of life. You'll still be making more than a nuclear power plant operator. Or so they say.

I have no idea how this will all play out in the end. Once the first guy sat down in the left seat for less than the next guy the spiral started. I wonder what the ratio between folks that travel by air is now compared to what it was when they traveled back in the '70s? I once rode in a 737-400 from Seattle to Orlando for about half what it cost me to get from Fairbanks to Seattle. Same airline. It's no fun when the pilot is the cheapest thing the airline owns. A bachelors degree, PP,CP,Multi, CFI, CFII, 2000 hrs multi. What's all that cost? Probably about the same as an Ivy league degree. Nobody's making any money right now. I'm sure glad I'm retired.

Best wishes to all you young farts trying to make a living doing what you love.

With the merger with Continental they have a combined pilot roster of around 12,000. I know the rosters have yet to be merged but they all work for the same company now. Anyway, I'm not surprised, if you take 12,000 divide that by a 40 year career divided by 12 months you get 25 retirements a month. More if you use a shorter career length. I know several American Airlines pilots, none of them are planning on staying all the way to age 65.

Emory Bored wrote:Well, always look at the bright side of life. You'll still be making more than a nuclear power plant operator. Or so they say.

I have no idea how this will all play out in the end. Once the first guy sat down in the left seat for less than the next guy the spiral started. I wonder what the ratio between folks that travel by air is now compared to what it was when they traveled back in the '70s? I once rode in a 737-400 from Seattle to Orlando for about half what it cost me to get from Fairbanks to Seattle. Same airline. It's no fun when the pilot is the cheapest thing the airline owns. A bachelors degree, PP,CP,Multi, CFI, CFII, 2000 hrs multi. What's all that cost? Probably about the same as an Ivy league degree. Nobody's making any money right now. I'm sure glad I'm retired.

Best wishes to all you young farts trying to make a living doing what you love.

Numbers,

In 1970 only 27% of all Americans had ever flown on an airliner. By 2000 the percentage had increased to 88%! Used to be exclusive, businessmen, upper middle class: everyone all dressed up and nice inflight service. Tickets cost a lot and an airline easily made money with a 55% load factor.

Today it takes about 80% to break even although airline employee salaries are only 50 to 60% of what our predeccessors earned. A TWA B-707 captain in 1966 earned the equilivent of $325,000.00 per year. Today a 777 captain at AA earns about $220,000.00. Still a great salary....but the decline is obvious. The cost of airpanes, parts etc. sure have not declined and fuel has risen from 11 cents per gallon back then to $3.00 per gallon. So it is obvious that labor is not the problem. The industry continues to give away it's product . The benefit has come out of the pocket of it's employees.

Yeah senior AA captains are bailing out as about half of their lump sum retirement is based on the stock market performance The senior guys have lost a ton of money in recent months and are bailing before it gets worse. They can look back 3 months and retire at the previous market value. So now is the time to go. About 20% of the 777 and 767 captains have left in the last two months.

For what it is worth an Air France 747 captain earns over $400,000.00 per year. U.S. pilots were once the highest paid in the world. How the screw has turned. So much for the life of misery in the French socialist economy.

By the way....the degree and flight training cost are around $100,000.00 today. Not a good payoff since 50% of the domestic market is flown by regional/commuter, contract operators where the pay is very poor.


Bob

z3skybolt wrote:

Emory Bored wrote:......
Today a 777 captain at AA earns about $220,000.00. Still a great salary....but the decline is obvious. ......

Decline or not, that's still some serious cheese. It's all relative, I guess. I make pretty good money compared to some folks, but nothing even close to this. IMHO anyone with this kind of income who can't take care of himself & his family AND feather his own nest for retirement (in addition to the company pension) really needs to re-think his lifestyle.

hotrod150 wrote:

z3skybolt wrote:

Emory Bored wrote:......
Today a 777 captain at AA earns about $220,000.00. Still a great salary....but the decline is obvious. ......

Decline or not, that's still some serious cheese. It's all relative, I guess. I make pretty good money compared to some folks, but nothing even close to this. IMHO anyone with this kind of income who can't take care of himself & his family AND feather his own nest for retirement (in addition to the company pension) really needs to re-think his lifestyle.

Ditto Hotrod,

(and I am NOT a ditto head) Anyhow you are correct. That is why some are comfortably retired and debt free while others owe hundreds of thousands and are still working long after mandatory retirement.

Come visit sometime. I live in my copilot house built back in 1978. Nice enough home. But you won't be impressed.

Bob

Staying married to the same woman always helps a man maintain a healthy retirement.

If you want to retire before you die, you must live "below your means". Most folks find this very difficult.

tom