The bigger the jet, the more you make?

[Junkflyer]

The heavy guys may fly less legs, but each one could be 5,000 miles. (or more) there is a formula airlines use for productivity reports called revenue passenger miles. Freighters have revenue ton miles.

 

[yournextFO]

(I have no clue how the BA and AF Concorde folks made out flying so fast but with so few pax vs a heavy, but imagine it must have been very senior and hence, well paid.) For want of something better, I guess it was a way to divy out the spoils when bigger, faster airplanes came out.

I always thought that too, until talking with a couple BA pilots on a trans-Atlantic 747 late one night. Their take was that the Concorde had such a limited number of destinations that it really wasn't all that senior.

 

[800Dog]

I know. I'm not knockin' the Heave guys, but I had to vioce my opinion because I felt like I was being slighted and put down infront of other pilots. That is why I framed my argument around PAX. Ha the other gentleman been smart, and not so hot headed, he could have explained that freight, plus the fact that we are flying THEIR Pax is why I have a job in the first place. I still thought it was funny how #'s can be so misleading.

I hear you! As a former regional guy, it has been my belief for quite some time that regional pilots are grossly underpaid. A 50 seat rj captain should be pulling in a minimum of 100k. I do not care how many years of service he has.

 

[cjs]

I don't get the logic here .. the larger aircraft do bring in more money, but theoretically any company pilot can fill those seats. It's not like the new MD80 FO couldn't hack it as a 747 FO if he had the chance. In other words, one company pilot is no more qualified than another pilot to fly one airframe versus another. So, from a supply and demand standpoint, assuming pilots are equally willing to fly one aircraft versus another, it makes no sense to pay an MD80 captain less than a 747 captain.

 

[blzr]

I don't get the logic here .. the larger aircraft do bring in more money, but theoretically any company pilot can fill those seats. It's not like the new MD80 FO couldn't hack it as a 747 FO if he had the chance. In other words, one company pilot is no more qualified than another pilot to fly one airframe versus another. So, from a supply and demand standpoint, assuming pilots are equally willing to fly one aircraft versus another, it makes no sense to pay an MD80 captain less than a 747 captain.

UPS has sorta fixed that problem. A 7 year captain makes 7 year captain pay, regardless what equipment. Maybe all the airlines should go to that. Wouldn't matter if you flew the MD-80, DC-9 or 787.

 

[Jon Rivoli]

Long haul flying sucks, hence more money to entice people to do it.

 

[instructordude]

So untrue; a China Airline 747 Captain is making less than a Southwest 737 FO. It's not about how big the airplane you fly, it's about the airline you fly for.

Yes, but he is in a 747! I'd do it for his wage too.

I doesn't cost much to live in China. Our Chineese brothers live like rock stars over there.