Is aviation still a career?????????

[LegacyDriver]

I just realized this profession costs more than ever to join but pays nowhere near a comparable rate of return. It is easier in many ways with automation but... When you meet a 15-year American Airlines 737 Captain and see he makes only $150,000 annually... Something is wrong!

My question then becomes...will corporate departments use lowball airline wages as an excuse to lower wages for their own pilots?

"Why should we pay you 100 grand on a Legacy when American only pays 150K for a much larger plane?"


????? !!!!! ???? !!!!!

 

[Gulfstream 200]

I just realized this profession costs more than ever to join but pays nowhere near a comparable rate of return. It is easier in many ways with automation but... When you meet a 15-year American Airlines 737 Captain and see he makes only $150,000 annually... Something is wrong!

My question then becomes...will corporate departments use lowball airline wages as an excuse to lower wages for their own pilots?

"Why should we pay you 100 grand on a Legacy when American only pays 150K for a much larger plane?"


????? !!!!! ???? !!!!!

not from what I have seen. I have not heard of any wages going down.

Many departments are/will be hiring and the supply of qualified, local applicants is not huge.

Dont sweat the airline comparison thing, I dont see too many airline guys filling the openings anyhow. A few with good rec's? sure, why not?!....taking them beacuse they are cheaper? no way. Corporate dept's look for guys with corp backgrounds. I have never seen wages compared to airline #'s...apples and oranges.

size?..what does size have to do with it? most GV/GLEX pilots make more than major airline 767 pilots now. I have a good friend who is a 5yr DAL pilot on a 757/767 who is making less than 6 figures. Who would have thought? - and trust me I dont think this is a good thing!

Supply and demand has/will always be the market rule. Corporate, by chance, seems to be a good place to be right now.....not that this wont change again someday...

 

[LegacyDriver]

Whew. Thanks G200. I was wondering if I should consider selling mortgages or something. Maybe optimism is in order still.

Just thought the 10,000 pilots on the street would force wages down over the next twenty years...

 

[Headwind]

I'm sure the starting pay on your Legacy is more than that of a CRJ. Why is that? Could it be that the airlines hire low time pilots and your Legacy owner has higher standards? Some say that the regional pay is low because regional pilots are willing to work work for nothing. I don't know of many top corporate operators looking to hire this type of individual. In the 70's & 80's people took corporate jobs to build experience for the majors. Now some must take regional jobs to build enough experience to go corporate. Times change and I also feel it's a good time to be in corporate aviation.HEADWIND

 

[LegacyDriver]

Whew. Thanks G200. I was wondering if I should consider selling mortgages or something. Maybe optimism is in order still.

 

[Gulfstream 200]

Whew. Thanks G200. I was wondering if I should consider selling mortgages or something. Maybe optimism is in order still.

selling mortgages is a real scumbag business. Plus you have to work like a dog to make good money.

Better to be lazy and fly airplanes!

 

[pilotyip]

Again why is making a 150K as a AAL pilot anything but a good deal. It is in the upper 98% of income in the US. No intent to flame

 

[Way2Broke]

I think the point was that the regionals are paying close to what the majors pay these days. OR...... something like that.

 

[LegacyDriver]

For the level of responsibility and such it seems an awfully pitiful sum for 15 years on a seniority list (in addition to all the other sacrifices and training required to get there).

It just struck me as pitifully low. Esp. Without retirement attached to it... Just struck me as odd.

 

[bell47]

I just realized this profession costs more than ever to join but pays nowhere near a comparable rate of return. It is easier in many ways with automation but... When you meet a 15-year American Airlines 737 Captain and see he makes only $150,000 annually... Something is wrong!

My question then becomes...will corporate departments use lowball airline wages as an excuse to lower wages for their own pilots?

"Why should we pay you 100 grand on a Legacy when American only pays 150K for a much larger plane?"


????? !!!!! ???? !!!!!

Why don't you respond with " Well why should I fly your little plane when I could go fly something much larger and get paid 50,000 more a year?"

 

[thatpilotguy]

Some of you know from reading my recent posts that I found out last week that our company is selling the plane and I am loosing my job at the end of March. Difficult times.

I heard someone once say, "Aviation is a great hobby, but a terrible career."

I'm not ready to make that assumption yet. I am a corporate pilot. I started in corporate aviation would love to have the opportunity to stay in corporate aviation. I had always thought that the salaries where never going to compare to the airlines, but the QOL would be better if you worked for the right group.

When it boils down to it, I think that many of us are the same. I think that QOL is a major reason we are in corporate aviation. That and we get to play with some cool toys.

 

[pilotyip]

This is still a great career for someone who likes to fly airplanes, where else can a high school grad have a good shot at making close to 100K by his mid-30's and still be doing something he loves to do. But you do not have much control over your life as demonstrated by thatpilot. Still living a 5-year-olds dream from 58 years ago.

 

[b757driver]

$150,000 a year? It's all relative. For some, $150,000 a year would be manna from heaven!!!!!!
The industry has been screwed up for at least the last decade and certainly, on the airline side, will likely never be the same.

Thatpilotguy - you sound like you this is the first time you have lost a job. Take heart from an old hand who has survived all but two of his former employers and is still in the game despite being laid off for a record seventh time!!!!! Welcome to the club and reality.

$150,000? A pipe dream for some. I think I'd take the QOL and a stable, single company job any day. If such a thing existed.......:crying:

 

[coogebeachhotel]

I dont think there are 10000 pilots on the street any more. I would say the furloughs have for the most part have ended with a few exceptions(Mesaba, Independence, NW ). Most guys who were furloughed during the bottom dropping out have hooked up with something. Others have just quit. I think in 5 years every major will be hiring. There will be a very small pool of people available. Senior Captains at regionals are gonna stay. Corporate guys will look at the pay and QOL and stay and military guys can make more staying in now. Just look at CAL,SWA,Airtran,Jetbleu hiring close to 3000 pilots alone this year. That is sucking potentialy almost every captain out of Comair, Eagle, and Express Jet. How many years of 3000 a year before there will be a serious shortage?