your 1980's pay?

[Airpiraterob]

I'm trying to find out the actual dollar number that pilots were paid in the early to mid 1980's. I've not been finding any info online about this and I think it might be either interesting or important to discover the numbers. I know alot of factors were different then. But I'm hoping to find something here to compare things to.

So for those of you who would care to elaborate on this subject, please tell what you made per hour while flying say...a DC-9 in 1985 or an F27 in 1981 or anything else you floew for an airline of any kind. regional or major either way any info would be nice.

Thanks guys.
(if you have any links/sources to this data you can PM them to me or post them....i cant seem to find any)

 

[AA717driver]

I remember in the mid-80's the FAPA magazine (FWIW...) said a UAL 737-200 Capt. would make $110k. Guess things haven't changed that much. TC

P.S.--In '87 I made $25k as a SD360 Capt. and my wife made the same as an x-ray tech. That was the most disposable income we've had in our career. (It was before mortgage, kids and Lexus payments, though. ) That equates to around $85k in today's dollars.

 

[rjcap]

I remember in the mid-80's the FAPA magazine (FWIW...) said a UAL 737-200 Capt. would make $110k. Guess things haven't changed that much. TC

P.S.--In '87 I made $25k as a SD360 Capt. and my wife made the same as an x-ray tech. That was the most disposable income we've had in our career. (It was before mortgage, kids and Lexus payments, though. ) That equates to around $85k in today's dollars.

Using the CPI calculator on the gov't website there has been a 72% increase in the cost of living from 1986 to 2004.

That $110,000 in 1986 would need to be $189,000 today for parity. This doess not inlcude changes in income taxes or housing costs. Those would likley increase that $189k number even more.

 

[Going2Baja]

I think my Dad was making just over $100k in 1980 when he retired on the 747-200 at PAA. I think this was just after a paycut.

Baja.

 

[Airpiraterob]

yeah thats what im looking for.....and that was why. the $$/hour of pay is almost the same now as it was then. I'm going to compare this to other professions incomes and see what trends they have, just as a curiosity mostly. I already know the answer I think but I just want numbers to go to instead of hearsay.

thanks for the input guys. keep em commin. It's kind of a sad letdown about what we make now but at least its interesting to hear these things.

 

[Whine Lover]

1987 - $20,000 (Annual guarantee. F/E L-188)

1989 - $39,000 ( 75 hrs./Mo. F/O L-188 )

 

[Ty Webb]

When I was in college in the late 1980's, widebody Captains at UAL were rumored to make around $14,000./month.


.

 

[pilotyip]

Early 80's Citation Captain at Fortune 500 company, 32K, L-188 F/O in 1979, ALPA contract, 12K

 

[accinelli]

The 80s are over. So are the 90s. Get over it and get on with life.

 

[Whine Lover]

80's and 90's OVER?

Not according to my mullet or my record collection....

 

[thesource]

My dad retired in '84. 747 capt. #7 on the list. $170k. When he started in '49 on the DC3 it was $250.00/ month. Capt. were $400.00. There was a big uproar when the Capt's got a $60/month raise and the FO's got zip.

By the way, he still makes more than I do and he's been retired for 22 years.
Ah the good old days.

 

[jws717]

Yea my old man was making $100 an hour as a 747 FO when Pan Am fell apart.

 

[Ty Webb]

Your village called . . . . they want their Idiot back!

The 80s are over. So are the 90s. Get over it and get on with life.

This question is very relevant in today's environment. If we lose our perspective, we'll be stuck at these wage levels even as the companies start making big money again and management gets fat as hogs . . . . happening already at some carriers:angryfire .


.

 

[Mooseflyer]

Well said Ty. For our future in this career to look any brighter, we need to compare airline pilot wages not nescessarily to historical pilot wages, but to how those historical wages compared to annual income in other professions. Or, put another way perhaps more accurately, how those wages related to actual purchasing power as rjcap alluded to. The worst thing for us would be to become "used to" our current wage scales then look at a 5% raise as being acceptable.

Airpiraterob, I'd be interested to see the results of your study.

 

[800Dog]

This question is very relevant in today's environment. If we lose our perspective, we'll be stuck at these wage levels even as the companies start making big money again and management gets fat as hogs . . . . happening already at some carriers:angryfire .


.

Don't tell that to the LCC guys as they think they are making big bucks! Just ask them.

 

[Piper877]

Using the CPI calculator on the gov't website there has been a 72% increase in the cost of living from 1986 to 2004.

That $110,000 in 1986 would need to be $189,000 today for parity. This doess not inlcude changes in income taxes or housing costs. Those would likley increase that $189k number even more.

I think he was adding his wife's income and his together to get $50k which might equate to the mid $80's today.

I find it very interesting to look at these numbers. Yes, the good ole' days are over, but sometimes it's fun to look back.

 

[jbDC9]

The 80s are over. So are the 90s.

"Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!"

John 'Bluto' Blutarsky

 

[BRA]

"Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!"

John 'Bluto' Blutarsky

Germans?

 

[Airpiraterob]

its VERY tough to find this info out. the onyl reason i knw what a car cost in 79 was because we still have a reciept sitting around from when my grandfather bought a 79 car new from the lot at the end of the carter administration.

finding wage information if not just item price info from long ago is really getting tough. oh well. ill try it.

 

[SWA/FO]

Don't tell that to the LCC guys as they think they are making big bucks! Just ask them.

Yeah! Big bucks baby!!! Sign me up.

 

[Lear70]

This question is very relevant in today's environment. If we lose our perspective, we'll be stuck at these wage levels even as the companies start making big money again and management gets fat as hogs . . . . happening already at some carriers:angryfire ..

BINGO!

That's why, when I hear ANY airline management talk about "ONLY" Cost-Of-Living-Adjustment increases, I'm ALL FOR IT!

Let's see here, in the last 5 years my housing cost, which represents about 35% of my take-home pay expenditure, has gone up by 30% (median house price increase, Coastal states have gone up dramatically more, interior states quite a bit less, that's a rough ESTIMATE of the AVERAGE increase).

In the last 5 years my FUEL prices have DOUBLED, both car fuel AND natural gas for my hot water heater / stove / home heating in the winter.

In the last 5 years my food prices have gone up by 50%, both for eating out which I do a LOT of on the road, meat, fish, and even poultry recently at the grocery store. Some meats have DOUBLED in price.

I could go on and on but the POINT is that a COLA raise would probably be somewhere in the 20% range to have the same spending power NOW as I did back in 2001 when I was making $7,000 a month BASE salary.

p.s. My dad was a 737 Captain for USAirways in the mid- to late- 80's, his pre-tax monthly salary at around 80 hours of credit was around $10,000 a month. In the early 90's as a 757/767 Captain it jumped to around $14,000 a month, and in the late 90's I saw one paycheck as high as $21,000 before taxes. There may have been some vacation fly-through and some training credit in that one, but still... depressing once you think about how far we've SLIPPED as a profession in terms of pay.

 

[Lear70]

Germans?

Oh God... let me guess, you're under the age of 30, aren't you?

GREAT movie !!

 

[pilotyip]

Lear Wow! your housing cost has gone up 35% in last 5 years?, mine has gone down about 10%, due to a abut 2% drop in mortgage rates and frozen property taxes.

 

[ReportCanoa]

Lear Wow! your housing cost has gone up 35% in last 5 years?, mine has gone down about 10%, due to a abut 2% drop in mortgage rates and frozen property taxes.

There are some benefits then- living in Detroit.

 

[Lear70]

Lear Wow! your housing cost has gone up 35% in last 5 years?, mine has gone down about 10%, due to a abut 2% drop in mortgage rates and frozen property taxes.

Sure. If you already owned your property and refinanced at the record-low interest rates of a year and a half ago. I was speaking in terms of PURCHASING a house NOW versus 5 years ago.

You're comparing apples to oranges and, if you haven't noticed, interest rates have gone back up a full point to a point and a half in the last 6 months. I HAVE paid attention, I'm an affiliate broker and help out my aunt on my off-days with open houses and other real estate work for a little extra $$$.

For me and my family, we weren't in the market to buy when interest rates were down to 5.25% since I was still recovering from taking a 50% pay cut from a 727 down to the CRJ, we had just gotten married, and my 2 bedroom condo that I DID own at 5.25% was PLENTY big enough for me; now they're back up around 6.25% (an increase of approximately $200 per month for our new home, or about 18.8%).

The house we purchased 3 months ago last sold 6 years ago for $159,000; we paid $195,000 and the market comp is $205,000 for this home in this area. We got a deal compared to our neighbors.

So, an increase of 22.6% in THE COST OF THE HOME, and from 2003 interest rates to present 2006 interest rates, another 18.8% and you're talking a TOTAL increase in cost of living, if you had to purchase a home today versus 3 years ago, of a little over 41% IN THIS AREA. An increase of almost 23% in the last 5 years.

I know it's more in certain areas (up almost 200% in D.C. and Florida beach property) and less in other areas (up only around 10-12% in portions of Louisiana, for instance).

You like arguing with me just for the sake of arguing, you've proven that in other posts, but what you don't know is that I had an apartment in DTW for a couple years and looked into buying a condo (since I was on reserve for 3 years) so I know the prices and I know that in the NICER areas around DTW, the median home price is up almost 40% from 5 years ago; two good friends DID purchase condos while I was there. Higher prices more than wiped out any cost savings from lower interest rates... even in DTW.

 

[Sluggo_63]

Oh God... let me guess, you're under the age of 30, aren't you?

GREAT movie !!

I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, since "Germans?" is the next line.

Maybe you should have responded... "Forget it, he's rolling"

 

[Lear70]

Yeah, you're probably right...

I just remember the speech, haven't seen that movie in YEARS! I should probably rent it from Netflix for my next trip...

 

[mooney flier]

I'm still looking for the 1980 pay rates but in the meantime, here are the per minute pay rates for a 12 year Captain at Delta Air Lines, effective Jan. 01, 1966:

DC-8 .597250
CV-880 .562916
DC-9 .565833
DC-7 .424416

Night Differential .041666

To get a monthly total, figure 75 hrs. jet, 80 hrs piston. half day, half night.

 

[mooney flier]

Correction! DC-9 should read .509166