3 ms·

Airline pilots are also woefully underpaid, particularly in the regional lines. After spending a lot of time and money on an ATP license and probably a degree (

Airline pilots are also woefully underpaid, particularly in the regional lines. After spending a lot of time and money on an ATP license and probably a degree (the cookie cutter "career airline pilot" programs run $50-70k), pilots can expect to make under $20,000 annually at a regional. During Congressional hearings after an accident, it was revealed that the copilot made $16k. Career pilots a few decades in barely break $60-70k. And many fly 14+ hours a day. Given the race to the bottom in the airlines I would consider ALPA and the airline unions necessary and I am all for treating pilots better. Since pilots, you know, keep aircraft from decorating the sides of buildings. It's pretty sad when a Wendy's manager can do better than a regional captain.

vl 13y ago
Or maybe senior pilots screw young pilots and airlines: http://philip.greenspun.com/flying/unions-and-airlines http://philip.greenspun.com/flying/unions-and-airlines
- Nick_C 13y ago
  That's the actuality of it. It's all based on seniority.
- n09n 13y ago
  Like every union ever. When performance is not measurable, all you have to go on is seniority.
MacsHeadroom 13y ago
That's way off base. A second year DC-9 captain makes $82k/year. A 747-400 captain can _easily_ make a quarter million a year when including bonuses and benefits. http://www.airlinepilotcentral.com/airlines/legacy/delta_air_lines http://www.airlinepilotcentral.com/airlines/legacy/delta_air...
- marvin 13y ago
  You don't get to be captain of a 747 after three years on the job. I think it's pretty well established at this point that there is a significant downwards pressure on airline pilot salaries in Europe and the USA.