Please email this CBS News writer

[infoman]

To all,

I just emailed the author of the "overpaid" article. I asked him to take a intro flight on me. I did limit him to a $100.00 to ensure he doesn't charter a Boeing. I want him to expirence a 172. Should be easy .

Have a Happy.

 

[crosscut]

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Cristopher Pummer writes:
a major airline is paying you $19K a year to fly 80 hours a month? Please do tell me and I won't ever fly them again. thanks

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WTF? First he says pilots are overpaid BUT (when it concerns his livelyhood) "he won't ever fly" an airplane piloted by an underpaid ($19,000/year) pilot? Am I misreading something or he can't keep his own story straight?

 

[Steve 737]

I challenged this guy to write a story about the rest of us (99 %) who don't make anywhere near this kind of money ! No reply yet ! Steve

 

[ByeUSAir]

Captain Woerth's Response.

Captain Woerth's Response.


============================================================

14 November 2003

Dear Mr. Pummer:

I read with some interest your recent story on the 10 most overpaid professions in the U.S., in which you included pilots for major airlines. That was certainly an odd choice since the only salary expert you quoted told you that, ?You wouldn?t want to board a plane flown by a second-rate pilot.?

Well, thanks to the finest cadre of pilots in the entire world, you never will have to board such a plane. Today?s airline pilots are the most qualified and well trained professionals ever to climb into a cockpit. The 66,000 members of the Air Line Pilots Association, whom I have the privilege to represent, deliver millions of Americans and thousands of tons of cargo safely to their destinations year after year, decade after decade.

These pilots fly around the clock, every day of the year (including weekends and holidays) in a demanding, increasingly complex ? and dangerous ? environment. My members make a good living, but believe me, they earn it every day. Keep in mind that pilots at the major U.S. carriers have been extremely hard hit, with thousands on furlough and pilots at United, US Airways and American making deep concessions to help keep their airlines economically viable.

As for the actual figures, pilots at Northwest Airlines (my company) earn about $35,000 in their first year. Veteran captains who do earn six-figure salaries are the backbone of the airline and a critical resource for every other pilot in the system. Meanwhile, at commuter airlines such as Mesaba, pilot pay ranges from about $17,000 a year for new pilots to $24,000 a year for third-year pilots. A Mesaba captain with over 14 years of experience earns about $75,000 a year.

Remember, airlines consider that pilots are ?working? only when their airplanes are moving. Time spent flight planning and performing required pre- and post-flight checks is not counted, although they?re still on duty and responsible for your safety. Add in time waiting in airports between flights, and it's not uncommon for pilots to work a 12-hour day but only be paid for five. In fact, the typical pilot spends over 300 hours ?at work? each month.

Please revise your list.

Sincerely,
Captain Duane E. Woerth
President
Air Line Pilots Association, International

 

[FlyBoeingJets]

I challenged this guy to write a story about the rest of us (99 %) who don't make anywhere near this kind of money ! No reply yet ! Steve

He won't do it. His employer would probably blast him for not being "Independent minded" (read liberal).

His friends wouldn't invite him to pot smoking parties anymore either.

 

[YaMama]

I seem to remeber from safety school that pilots and mechanics cause roughly equal numbers of mishaps. Personally I think in time we will go the way of the Radio Operator, Stewardess, Flight Engineer and Navigator. That is we will be rendered obsolete.

Yes, but CFIT is still the biggest killer in aviation - that would seem to imply that the pilots have a more important safety role.

I don't think pilots will ever become obsolete - there are just too many variables, too many things that can go wrong in aviation to program a computer that can handle them all. Heck, they still have people driving subway trains, that run on *rails* underground for chrissake. Maybe one-pilot crews will happen someday however ....

In fact, the typical pilot spends over 300 hours ?at work? each month.

300 hours a month, yikes. Maybe I should stop complaining about the CFI lifestyle (not getting paid to hang around the airport staring at ice-laden clouds or stiff windsocks).

 

[DH106]

300 hours a month, yikes. Maybe I should stop complaining about the CFI lifestyle

Aw, go ahead and complain all you want. You've earned it! Hell... that's the essense of this post!

Yes, 300 hours TAFB (Time Away From Base) is typical at the airlines. I'd still rather do the time away than freeze my n**'s off driving a 150 around the patch in the middle of winter! I have felt your pain!