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Go read the union agreement between united american airlines pilots and united airlines if you want something infuriating. We could have much lower prices and

Go read the union agreement between united american airlines pilots and united airlines if you want something infuriating. We could have much lower prices and operating under the same federal safety guidelines, but rich ass pilots are exploiting collective bargaining to keep their salaries unbelievably high when they don't need to be.

lenerdenator 1y ago
It's said here [0] that they make an average of $160,970 a year. That's not... rich, not in 2025. That's comfortable in most major American cities, but not rich. And then you have to take into account the fact that these pilots are away from home quite often, and have dozens, if not hundreds, of lives in their hands when they do their jobs, and that makes me think they're fairly compensated for doing the actual labor that the company needs to operate. Meanwhile, the CEOs make more in a year than most Americans will make in an entire lifetime [1]. And that's not even getting into some of the dividends that airlines pay people who just happen to possess a piece of paper. [0]https://simpleflying.com/salary-us-pilot-2025/ https://simpleflying.com/salary-us-pilot-2025/ [1]https://onemileatatime.com/insights/highest-paid-airline-ceo/ https://onemileatatime.com/insights/highest-paid-airline-ceo...
- lokar 1y ago
  And to get to that 160k spot they spent years further down the chain working bad routes for much worse pay
- exabrial 1y ago
  [flagged]
  - QAkICoU7IDNkpFu 1y ago
    If put to the test, who would be faster on HN at jumping "out right on queue" The union drone or the engagement bot?
- bigstrat2003 1y ago
  > That's comfortable in most major American cities, but not rich. I agree that's not exactly rich, but that's a damn sight more than "comfortable". That's really good money. I'm not even saying that's the problem with air travel like GP claimed, but let's not pretend that $160k isn't a great salary. That's more than I make as a principal systems engineer in the tech industry!
  - nharada 1y ago
    > That's more than I make as a principal systems engineer in the tech industry! No offense to you or any other engineers, but I actually think the pilot who is responsible for hundreds of lives per flight should make more than us software folks.
lurking_swe 1y ago
Good news - you too can become a pilot, get rich, and stop complaining on the internet! I work in tech but it seems like to be a high earning pilot you just need to: - practice flying for 1,500+ hours. That can take years unless doing it full time. - pay 50k+ for pilot training. - fly undesirable routes at weird times and to weird locations for 10+ years, until you “make the big bucks”. - be away from home for approximately half the year. - be on your “A game” daily otherwise you risk killing yourself and hundreds of passengers on your plane. and more. Wishing you luck on your journey, god speed complainer! /s :) In all seriousness I can personally think of much easier ways to earn $200k+. I don’t think pilots are overpaid.

lenerdenator 1y ago

It's said here [0] that they make an average of $160,970 a year. That's not... rich, not in 2025. That's comfortable in most major American cities, but not rich. And then you have to take into account the fact that these pilots are away from home quite often, and have dozens, if not hundreds, of lives in their hands when they do their jobs, and that makes me think they're fairly compensated for doing the actual labor that the company needs to operate. Meanwhile, the CEOs make more in a year than most Americans will make in an entire lifetime [1]. And that's not even getting into some of the dividends that airlines pay people who just happen to possess a piece of paper. [0]https://simpleflying.com/salary-us-pilot-2025/ https://simpleflying.com/salary-us-pilot-2025/ [1]https://onemileatatime.com/insights/highest-paid-airline-ceo/ https://onemileatatime.com/insights/highest-paid-airline-ceo...

lokar 1y ago
And to get to that 160k spot they spent years further down the chain working bad routes for much worse pay
exabrial 1y ago
[flagged]
- QAkICoU7IDNkpFu 1y ago
  If put to the test, who would be faster on HN at jumping "out right on queue" The union drone or the engagement bot?
bigstrat2003 1y ago
> That's comfortable in most major American cities, but not rich. I agree that's not exactly rich, but that's a damn sight more than "comfortable". That's really good money. I'm not even saying that's the problem with air travel like GP claimed, but let's not pretend that $160k isn't a great salary. That's more than I make as a principal systems engineer in the tech industry!
- nharada 1y ago
  > That's more than I make as a principal systems engineer in the tech industry! No offense to you or any other engineers, but I actually think the pilot who is responsible for hundreds of lives per flight should make more than us software folks.

lurking_swe 1y ago

Good news - you too can become a pilot, get rich, and stop complaining on the internet! I work in tech but it seems like to be a high earning pilot you just need to: - practice flying for 1,500+ hours. That can take years unless doing it full time. - pay 50k+ for pilot training. - fly undesirable routes at weird times and to weird locations for 10+ years, until you “make the big bucks”. - be away from home for approximately half the year. - be on your “A game” daily otherwise you risk killing yourself and hundreds of passengers on your plane. and more. Wishing you luck on your journey, god speed complainer! /s :) In all seriousness I can personally think of much easier ways to earn $200k+. I don’t think pilots are overpaid.