ATC vs. DAL PILOT PAY $$$$$

[bart]

It is simple economics

Supply and demand. Right now, there is a vast supply and small demand (relatively). So there is heavy downward pressure on wages. There are also heavy intrinsic benefits in flying (how much we all love to fly), which makes many willing to sacrifice pay for a flying job.

Me, I have had enough of low pay and long hours, and too much time away from home. Got a good job paying well into the 6 figures with a great company and am looking into buying an airplane. Maybe one day I will hire one of you guys to fly it for me.

Good Luck all.

 

[Wats]

Pay the controllers and thank God they are the awesome professionals they are!

 

[ATCER]

Talk about irony... after a busy 10 hours working today, of which 9 hours we were in SWAP, I came home and decided to catch up on some aviation news and info. Of course this thread jumps out at me...



I wasn't really sure if the original post was a slam at ATC or just trying to compare pilots to controllers. Even though the two work closely together, I don't see any way you can compare the two. I only know few facts about what is going on with DAL pilots, but pilots on the whole get a very bad rap in the press... they are portrayed as these Playboy's of the sky flying a 747 once a month to some exotic location and getting paid $500,000 a year. The public is clueles about aviation on the whole but they have a very misunderstood view of pilots. I'm not sure if that can be changed, but as for labor negotiations it does not help at all. I would like to see the pilot unions start to get some more of their facts out to the public via op-ed pieces in major newspapers, TV, etc.

Controllers on the most part stay under the radar (no pun intended), we are not in the public eyes, or minds. I know about the GAO report that you mentioned but how many people in the general public do you think saw that piece ??? I would guess VERY FEW !

As for pay I think we earn every dollar ... our pay is based on many things including, # of A/C the facility handles, the complexity of that traffic (head on climbing and descending, landing, departing, crossing), size of the airspace, etc.

Anyone who thinks we are underworked and overpaid I invite to apply for the job... see if you can make it where many have failed before you... I would be impressed if those people can just pass the screening in OKC where most are sent packing as soon as they hit the sample ATC problems which are a fraction of what they will see at a busy facility.

Good Luck - http://www1.faa.gov/careers/employment/ATCS.htm

 

[BigFlyr]

I think I picked the wrong career. Had I known I could have made 100K as a controller, I would have gone for that. I won't see that in my current job after 18 years.

You're not the only one! I was considering a career in ATC some 20 years ago (no I'm not that old) but instead chose to pursue my lofty aspirations and became a pilot. No one could have forseen the pathetic state of the airline industry back then, not to mention even 2 or 3 years ago. Bottom line is, after more than a decade of hard work and commitment to a profession, one has no choice but to stick with it and hope for the best.