Aerospace Notebook: $213 an hour for pilots who fly 7E7
By JAMES WALLACE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Northwest Airlines is the first U.S. carrier whose pilots now have a pay rate should they ever fly Boeing's 7E7 jetliner.
The Dreamliner job would pay $213 an hour for a Northwest pilot with 12 years' experience as a captain.
But Northwest has not ordered the 7E7. In fact, no U.S. airline has placed a firm order for the $120 million jet since most are still trying to recover from the industry downturn and turn a profit again.
Even so, the new Northwest pilot contract -- they took a 15 percent pay cut -- reflects rates for possible new planes from Boeing and Airbus that could eventually be added to the Northwest fleet.
In addition to the 7E7, the Northwest contract includes an hourly pay rate for the Airbus A330-800 and A330-900.
Those two derivatives of the A330 not only do not exist, but Airbus has never discussed jets with those designations in talking about a future derivative of its A330-200.
What Airbus has said is that it likely will develop a longer-range derivative of the A330-200 to go head to head with Boeing's 7E7. But Airbus is calling that plane the A350.
A spokesman for the Northwest chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association said the A330-800/900 mentioned in the new contract would cover future variants of the A330 that Airbus might develop.
The hourly pay rate for the A330-800/900 is the same as that for the 7E7 -- $213 for a pilot with 12 years as a captain.
http://ads.nwsource.com/RealMedia/a...1104f_1c.gif/63373661643630323431396361346630In September, Northwest and Dutch carrier KLM -- at a news media event where they were welcomed into the SkyTeam airline alliance -- told reporters they were conducting a joint evaluation of the 7E7.
Northwest President Douglas Steenland said the 7E7 could fit nicely into the Northwest fleet, even though in recent years the airline has favored Airbus over Boeing.
"We've consistently said that ourselves and other airlines would be well served by an aircraft with the range of the 747-400 but with a smaller shell size ... the 7E7 seems to fit the niche," Steenland told Air Transport World in September.
Northwest this summer was the first U.S. airline to operate the A330-200, which will remain the chief competition for the 7E7 unless Airbus goes ahead with the A350. Northwest operates A330-200s on non-stop flights between Seattle and Tokyo, Portland and Tokyo and San Francisco and Tokyo.
The 7E7, a twin-engine jet slightly bigger than Boeing's 767 but smaller than the 777, will not enter service until 2008. All Nippon Airways of Japan will get the first plane. The long-range version will have similar range to the 777 and 747.
The 7E7 will have a cockpit that is common with the 777, making it easy for a 777 pilot to learn in a few days to operate the 7E7.
The early 7E7 customers are expected to be from Asia and from Europe. Boeing has said it is talking with some U.S. airlines about the 7E7, but only one, Primaris, has said it will buy the jet. Primaris recently announced plans to order up to 20 7E7s. But it could be a while. The little-known carrier, based in Las Vegas, is still raising money to launch an all-business-class service in 2005.
Typically, airline pilots who fly the biggest planes make the most money.
A Northwest 747-400 pilot with 12 years as captain will make $232 an hour under the new contract, or $208 an hour on a 777.
At struggling United, which is reorganizing under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a 747-400 captain with 12 years makes $203 an hour, or the same rate as a 12-year United 777 captain.
Delta Air Lines generally has the U.S. airline industry's highest-paid pilots. But with Delta struggling and losing money, its pilots just approved a new contract that cuts their pay by 32.5 percent. A Delta 777 captain with 12 years will make $216 an hour.
Typically, airline pilot contracts guarantee a certain number of monthly flight hours.
Delta's contract guarantees pilots 72 hours a month.
For a 12-year Delta captain flying the 757 or 767, the typical annual salary now is around $209,000. That will drop to about $141,000 a year under the new contract.
Although the new pilot contract with Northwest covers the 7E7 and a possible A330 derivative from Airbus, it does not mention the A380 -- the 555- passenger Airbus giant that will soon make its debut.
First flight of the double- decker plane is scheduled for next spring, with Singapore Airlines to offer the initial A380 service in 2006.
No U.S. airline has ordered the passenger version of the A380.
And Airbus is likely to have a much longer wait for a U.S. order for its A380 passenger jet than Boeing will have to wait on a firm U.S. order for its 7E7.
Northwest and United are the only remaining U.S. carriers that still operate what until 2006 is the world's largest commercial passenger jet -- the 747.
By JAMES WALLACE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Northwest Airlines is the first U.S. carrier whose pilots now have a pay rate should they ever fly Boeing's 7E7 jetliner.
The Dreamliner job would pay $213 an hour for a Northwest pilot with 12 years' experience as a captain.
But Northwest has not ordered the 7E7. In fact, no U.S. airline has placed a firm order for the $120 million jet since most are still trying to recover from the industry downturn and turn a profit again.
Even so, the new Northwest pilot contract -- they took a 15 percent pay cut -- reflects rates for possible new planes from Boeing and Airbus that could eventually be added to the Northwest fleet.
In addition to the 7E7, the Northwest contract includes an hourly pay rate for the Airbus A330-800 and A330-900.
Those two derivatives of the A330 not only do not exist, but Airbus has never discussed jets with those designations in talking about a future derivative of its A330-200.
What Airbus has said is that it likely will develop a longer-range derivative of the A330-200 to go head to head with Boeing's 7E7. But Airbus is calling that plane the A350.
A spokesman for the Northwest chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association said the A330-800/900 mentioned in the new contract would cover future variants of the A330 that Airbus might develop.
The hourly pay rate for the A330-800/900 is the same as that for the 7E7 -- $213 for a pilot with 12 years as a captain.
http://ads.nwsource.com/RealMedia/a...1104f_1c.gif/63373661643630323431396361346630In September, Northwest and Dutch carrier KLM -- at a news media event where they were welcomed into the SkyTeam airline alliance -- told reporters they were conducting a joint evaluation of the 7E7.
Northwest President Douglas Steenland said the 7E7 could fit nicely into the Northwest fleet, even though in recent years the airline has favored Airbus over Boeing.
"We've consistently said that ourselves and other airlines would be well served by an aircraft with the range of the 747-400 but with a smaller shell size ... the 7E7 seems to fit the niche," Steenland told Air Transport World in September.
Northwest this summer was the first U.S. airline to operate the A330-200, which will remain the chief competition for the 7E7 unless Airbus goes ahead with the A350. Northwest operates A330-200s on non-stop flights between Seattle and Tokyo, Portland and Tokyo and San Francisco and Tokyo.
The 7E7, a twin-engine jet slightly bigger than Boeing's 767 but smaller than the 777, will not enter service until 2008. All Nippon Airways of Japan will get the first plane. The long-range version will have similar range to the 777 and 747.
The 7E7 will have a cockpit that is common with the 777, making it easy for a 777 pilot to learn in a few days to operate the 7E7.
The early 7E7 customers are expected to be from Asia and from Europe. Boeing has said it is talking with some U.S. airlines about the 7E7, but only one, Primaris, has said it will buy the jet. Primaris recently announced plans to order up to 20 7E7s. But it could be a while. The little-known carrier, based in Las Vegas, is still raising money to launch an all-business-class service in 2005.
Typically, airline pilots who fly the biggest planes make the most money.
A Northwest 747-400 pilot with 12 years as captain will make $232 an hour under the new contract, or $208 an hour on a 777.
At struggling United, which is reorganizing under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a 747-400 captain with 12 years makes $203 an hour, or the same rate as a 12-year United 777 captain.
Delta Air Lines generally has the U.S. airline industry's highest-paid pilots. But with Delta struggling and losing money, its pilots just approved a new contract that cuts their pay by 32.5 percent. A Delta 777 captain with 12 years will make $216 an hour.
Typically, airline pilot contracts guarantee a certain number of monthly flight hours.
Delta's contract guarantees pilots 72 hours a month.
For a 12-year Delta captain flying the 757 or 767, the typical annual salary now is around $209,000. That will drop to about $141,000 a year under the new contract.
Although the new pilot contract with Northwest covers the 7E7 and a possible A330 derivative from Airbus, it does not mention the A380 -- the 555- passenger Airbus giant that will soon make its debut.
First flight of the double- decker plane is scheduled for next spring, with Singapore Airlines to offer the initial A380 service in 2006.
No U.S. airline has ordered the passenger version of the A380.
And Airbus is likely to have a much longer wait for a U.S. order for its A380 passenger jet than Boeing will have to wait on a firm U.S. order for its 7E7.
Northwest and United are the only remaining U.S. carriers that still operate what until 2006 is the world's largest commercial passenger jet -- the 747.
