Comments on: Is it Here?

By: DE

DE — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:18:33 +0000

Very interesting hmmmmmmm…. Air Wis has lots of older pilots, seems they r in hiring mode now… and announcement of British airways is interesting indeed…

By: Chip Wright

Chip Wright — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:37:48 +0000

David,
I can’t honestly answer right now if I will be going to a major. Right now, I make a pretty decent living, and with two young kids I need to eventually put through college (I’m already paying for it), any decision I make must be carefully and well thought out. However, 15+ years is hard to leave behind, esp. when one is north of 40. While your comment about majors hiring until they furlough is true, a pilot hired on the front end of the wave this time is likely to avoid that–the majors have to replace thousands of pilots.

For example, if one is hired at USAir now, he will be a captain in the top one-third of their list in less than 10 years. Similar conditions await those hired at UAL/CAL when they hire. AMR will be a few years away, but when they start, it will be a flood, as they have thousands of early-1980′s B-scale pilots set to retire. Once Delta starts to retire pilots at age 65, they will need 500-600 a year for several years.

I do firmly believe that the regionals will indeed have to increase pay to attract pilots. The only other solution is a true, guaranteed flow-through, which would allow them to articially keep pay down, but only to certain degree. What I can guarantee you is this: the next few years will be very interesting to watch, and it may very well be the last of the great, RWN5 fundamental shifts in the industry that many have predicted.

By: Donnie

Donnie — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 18:22:24 +0000

I second David’s comments. There was once a time when an airline pilot’s job was a high-paying respectable job. I know everybody has to start somewhere; but there are convenient store jobs that pay more than these new hire ’90-day wonder’ regional airline copilots make.

By: David

David — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 21:21:09 +0000

Chip,

Will you be one of those regional pilots who will be “moving up”? Remember, the majors are famous for hiring until they furlough and vice versa. Are you prepared for a possible 100% pay cut if your major airline begins to furlough again? I’ve been through 2 of them.

The pilot unions that you mention who supported the “voila” age 60 rule change are the same entities who can hopefully press the airlines (regional and major) to raise pilot salaries.

Being able to live on the pathetic wages of regional airlines (and some majors) for your first 5 years just because you were used to the low pay as a CFI is not good enough reason to accept them! The “Shiny Jet Syndrome” continues to artificially depress wages for new cockpit crewmembers. Low labor costs for new cockpit crewmembers should NOT be considered the cornerstone of a successful airline business model. Unless you’re on the board of directors of said airline, of course.

Just think of this: if there’s truly a “pilot shortage”, perhaps the airlines would boost the pay rates of what once was an enviable career. Now, it’s just a low paying job.