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This is true, but this same logic applies also to pilots. The key difference is that pilots are very expensive to train and therefore more difficult to replace,

This is true, but this same logic applies also to pilots. The key difference is that pilots are very expensive to train and therefore more difficult to replace, whereas flight attendants are relatively easy to train and replace.

goatforce5 15y ago
Right. And most customers want their pilots to have as much experience as possible. Having senior experienced pilots on your payroll is seen as a plus. Sullenberger, the guy who successfully managed to put a plane down on the Hudson river, basically epitomizes how you want your pilots to look: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesley_Sullenberger http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesley_Sullenberger You'll never seen an airline advertising how they have the youngest pilots in the industry. On the other hand, having flight attendants to be as young, attractive and perky as possible is probably considered a positive thing.
gte910h 15y ago
On the high end (why pay a pilot 200k a year, etc) that argument may hold, but on the low end, it causes sleep deprivation as pilots struggle for workable living conditions close to work, etc. I'm fine paying $10 more a ticket if the low end pilots make 40k or more a year and can afford a good nights sleep. They're someone I don't want many mistakes from.
- shpxnvz 15y ago
  Pilot rest time is regulated by the FAA in the U.S., regardless of salary. The regulations specify minimum rest-opportunity time prior to flight duty, as well as maximum hours of flight duty per day, per week and per month. Does the U.K. have similar rules?
  - lucasjung 15y ago
    The problem is that there are plenty of ways to undermine these rules. For example, most junior pilots commute to work because your duty station is a function of seniority and they don't want to live in the shitty places they have been assigned to. So, such a pilot might start his day in the city where he actually lives, catch a ride in the jump seat from there to his duty station and then begin his work day, which is allowed to be up to 16 hours long (the actual hours of flying allowed is less than 16, but the time from when he shows up to work to when he has to stop flying is 16 hours unless the airline imposes a more conservative limit). Depending on how long his commute was, he might make his final landing after being awake for well over 20 hours.
  - encoderer 15y ago
    And what compounds the reply Lucas made just above (below?) mine here is that you've got entry level salaries for pilots often as low as $20-30k and senior pilots making $150-250k. (Philip Greenspun has a great write-up on this if you care to google for it). So when you've got that kind of disparity, you're going to have guys who are quite ambitious and willing to sacrifice long hours to move up into the more livable parts of the salary range available in their profession.

goatforce5 15y ago

Right. And most customers want their pilots to have as much experience as possible. Having senior experienced pilots on your payroll is seen as a plus. Sullenberger, the guy who successfully managed to put a plane down on the Hudson river, basically epitomizes how you want your pilots to look: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesley_Sullenberger http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesley_Sullenberger You'll never seen an airline advertising how they have the youngest pilots in the industry. On the other hand, having flight attendants to be as young, attractive and perky as possible is probably considered a positive thing.

gte910h 15y ago

On the high end (why pay a pilot 200k a year, etc) that argument may hold, but on the low end, it causes sleep deprivation as pilots struggle for workable living conditions close to work, etc. I'm fine paying $10 more a ticket if the low end pilots make 40k or more a year and can afford a good nights sleep. They're someone I don't want many mistakes from.

shpxnvz 15y ago
Pilot rest time is regulated by the FAA in the U.S., regardless of salary. The regulations specify minimum rest-opportunity time prior to flight duty, as well as maximum hours of flight duty per day, per week and per month. Does the U.K. have similar rules?
- lucasjung 15y ago
  The problem is that there are plenty of ways to undermine these rules. For example, most junior pilots commute to work because your duty station is a function of seniority and they don't want to live in the shitty places they have been assigned to. So, such a pilot might start his day in the city where he actually lives, catch a ride in the jump seat from there to his duty station and then begin his work day, which is allowed to be up to 16 hours long (the actual hours of flying allowed is less than 16, but the time from when he shows up to work to when he has to stop flying is 16 hours unless the airline imposes a more conservative limit). Depending on how long his commute was, he might make his final landing after being awake for well over 20 hours.
- encoderer 15y ago
  And what compounds the reply Lucas made just above (below?) mine here is that you've got entry level salaries for pilots often as low as $20-30k and senior pilots making $150-250k. (Philip Greenspun has a great write-up on this if you care to google for it). So when you've got that kind of disparity, you're going to have guys who are quite ambitious and willing to sacrifice long hours to move up into the more livable parts of the salary range available in their profession.