FOs flying to near the max -- how does the pay work?

[shon7]

Have heard this numerous times but am unable to figure out how it would work. If a First Year FO at a regional is making $20-$23 an hour with a 70-75 hour guarantee -- by picking up all the extra hours he can get and say flying 999 hours how would he be able to make 30K + for the year. Lets factor per diem at $1-$1.50 per day.

 

[Mr Wu]

It's not just flight pay, it's pay credit. Pay for reserve, deadhead, cancelled trips, per diem, etc. For example, last month my pay credit was 40 hours more than my flight time. 106 Vs 66

 

[Hugh Johnson]

The problem is, and its a big one, is all the overtime and open time you pick up is on less pilot your company has to hire. I know its tough to make a living as an FO, but you are basically shooting yourself in the foot if you fly time that could be flown by another hired pilot. Thats just another seniority number you don't have and longer for you to upgrade. Good luck.

 

[BlackPilot628]

Picking up a lot of Overtime can help you a good bit. I got paid for 140 hours for my first 3 months online at CHQ. My take home including per-diem was about 2700/per month.

 

[indianboy7]

I've been getting paid 120 hours a month since I started and I'm on reserve. They only call me a few days out of the month, and I usually pick up a trip or two on my days off.....total of 8 to 10 days of work a month.......you just gotta learn to pimp the system....every airline is different in how they pay for work on days off, overtime, etc. etc. etc......I wouldn't include your per diem in your figure for income because sometimes you spend it in the course of the day, and sometimes you don't........imp:

 

[PilotOnTheRise]

Not that $30K is a great salary, but it sounds as though a first year regional FO has the potential to make a good bit more than the dreaded $19K that many speak of, at least at the more decent regionals? Would you all say this is correct? Again .. $30K isn't great, but for someone single, it is livable, and better than $19K.

 

[YourPilotFriend]

There is no reason a first year FO should make less than $40,000, it's this way because we accept jobs at $19,000. We are moving to bigger jets, maybe a B1900 FO should make 19K but not a 100 CRJ FO. Whats that age old quote, "When pilots stop showing up for Indoc, I have found the bottom of the pay scale."

 

[JustaNumber]

There is no reason a first year FO should make less than $40,000, it's this way because we accept jobs at $19,000. We are moving to bigger jets, maybe a B1900 FO should make 19K but not a 100 CRJ FO. Whats that age old quote, "When pilots stop showing up for Indoc, I have found the bottom of the pay scale."

Remember, you don't earn what you deserve. You earn what you can negotiate. If you negotiate for less rather than for more, then ultimately that is what you deserve.

 

[PilotOnTheRise]

There is no reason a first year FO should make less than $40,000, it's this way because we accept jobs at $19,000. We are moving to bigger jets, maybe a B1900 FO should make 19K but not a 100 CRJ FO. Whats that age old quote, "When pilots stop showing up for Indoc, I have found the bottom of the pay scale."

I agree, but let me throw in another angle.

Most 2nd year FOs, so it seems, make close to, or in some cases more than the $40K you mention. A few have said they have made close to $50K.

If you look at the starting pay for even places like CAL and UPS, their first year FO pay is only $30/hr. Is it safe to say that there is a reason the regionals pay first year FOs so little? Is it safe to pull someone straight from Cessna 150s and place them into a jet, and then pay them large sums of money? Or, do you give them a year or so, at less than desirable pay, and make sure they can handle it, and then in their second year give them the $40K you mention first year should be making?

Not to start a pay debate, but many of the salaries you all mentioned in the "Compare your pay" thread are not that different than what people in your typical average american career are making. Especially those captains pulling in $70K or more. Note that the average american income is somewhere around $45K.

 

[shamrock]

Not that $30K is a great salary, but it sounds as though a first year regional FO has the potential to make a good bit more than the dreaded $19K that many speak of, at least at the more decent regionals? Would you all say this is correct? Again .. $30K isn't great, but for someone single, it is livable, and better than $19K.

Well, despite what I and others have said on other threads, I would consider ASA a decent regional and I have a hard time seeing anyone making close to $30K first year here. Looking back at my paystubs for a particularly horrendous month where I was abused by scheduling every day for the entire month my gross pay for 81 hours of credit and approx 230 hours of perdiem was less than $2000. Take home was about $1600. Of course we have no trip or duty rigs and no way to pick anything up while on reserve so that could affect things. Assuming you can average 90 hours a month (and including per diem, which really shouldn't be included) you'd be within shouting distance of $25K, but still not near $30K.

On second thought, I'd have to conclude that ASA isn't a decent regional after all. Disregard the above.