Pilots sometimes earn less than airport window washers: Airline pilots are widely seen as having some of the best jobs in America. In reality, pay for pilots has been on the decline for years. Recent salary records show that a rookie first officer on a regional airline flying out of San Francisco International Airport may be paid less than the worker who washes the airport’s windows.
First officers, sometimes called co-pilots, are second in command on commercial aircraft. On regional airlines, their starting salaries range from about $20.50 to $29 per hour. That is significantly less than the skipper of a passenger ferry on San Francisco Bay, records compiled by California Watch show. Some earn less than toll takers on the Golden Gate Bridge or state prison nurses.
Pilots for regional airlines “are paid considerably less to work more hours,” says Brandon Macsata, executive director of the Association for Airline Passenger Rights, an independent organization of air travelers. “And it brings up safety concerns.”
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| First-year pay for first officers on regional airlines, SFO vs. other jobs |
A driving force in the capping of pilots’ pay has been the rise of regional airlines. The regional airlines system was born after the industry was deregulated in 1978. Without government regulation, airlines moved to a hub-and-spoke model. Major airlines serve large flights between hubs such as New York and Los Angeles and contract with regional airlines to fly passengers to the hub from smaller markets.
Passengers may never realize they are flying in a regional jet, as they buy their tickets from the major airline and fly on a plane painted with the major airline’s logo. Regional carriers now are responsible for more than half of the nation’s commercial air traffic, according to a February report by the Regional Airline Association. Read more..
A Window Cleaner/Pilot Speaks: -
A Window Cleaner/Pilot Speaks: -
As a commercial pilot, I have to weigh in on this thread.
While the majority of the time the airplane is in flight it is on autopilot this, by no means, means the pilot is not busy accomplishing tasks. He might not have his hands on the yoke and the throttles, but he is taking care of many other tasks that need to be taken care of. Things such as maintaining contact with the appropriate air traffic control facility, monitoring fuel, monitoring the ever changing weather, transitioning from the many different phases of flight, and, God forbid, handling any unforeseen emergency and getting the plane and all it's passengers on the ground safely.
Some things you may not know about a commercial pilot's life. Twice a year I have to get a Class A medical done where the medical examiner checks everything on me from my eyesight and hearing to my having an EKG done. At this medical, I have to report any other medical exams or procedures done throughout the year. I also have to have two check-rides a year done in a simulator where just about anything and everything that could go wrong in an airplane happens. If I fail any of these four event, 2 medicals and 2 check-rides, I could lose my opportunity to be a professional pilot and be out of work. Throw in a few random drug tests and the chance that either the FAA or my company wants to do a line check, where a examiner rides along on a flight to check my competency, and I have ample opportunities to lose my ability to make a living flying an airplane.
Airline pilots are paid only for the time they are flying the airplane. This is the time the airplane pushes from the gate to the time it reaches the destination and opens it's doors. All the other time at the airport preparing for the flight or just the idle time between flights is non-paid. Oftentimes a pilot will be away from home for 3 or 4 days and only be paid for 10-15 hours of that time. So even the numbers in the article are inflated. When it says a regional pilot is making $20/hr, that really equates into something more along the lines of $18-19k/year. A pilot will average only about 80-90 paid flight hours per month. Again, there is much more time and work put in than that, but that is the way the pay is calculated.
Some other stresses and challenges that come with the job are the hours away from home. There's a reason that divorce is as high among commercial pilots as any other profession out there. The company I work for has schedules that keep me away from home for 7 days straight and home for 7 days. This means my wife is a single mom for half the year. I can promise you that the A/C will break or one of the kids will get sick while I'm on the road. Takes a strong wife and a lot of trust between the two of us to make this work. Then there's the personal psychological stress and physical fatigue that comes with constantly changing time zones, sleeping in hotel rooms, eating restaurant food, and constantly trying to keep in touch and connected with those at home. Throw in any weather or mechanical issues and you can very quickly become task saturated and fatigued.
I'm writing this not in defense of anything, but more as an educational piece. I might dispute the comment in the earlier post that window cleaners "work harder" than a commercial pilot but other than that I just wanted to inform others about what a pilot's life can be like.
I started my window cleaning company because, like many people in many industries, I thought I might lose my job due to a shrinking economy. I didn't. I'm still blessed to be flying for a great company and be the owner/partner in my own business. If I had to choose today which one I would give up, it would be a hard decision. I love being in the window cleaning business and being a part of this great community. I just wanted to share a bit of my experience as a commercial pilot to shed a little light on this article and the posts in the thread.
And yes, a window cleaner can make more money that a pilot. I know first hand...
While the majority of the time the airplane is in flight it is on autopilot this, by no means, means the pilot is not busy accomplishing tasks. He might not have his hands on the yoke and the throttles, but he is taking care of many other tasks that need to be taken care of. Things such as maintaining contact with the appropriate air traffic control facility, monitoring fuel, monitoring the ever changing weather, transitioning from the many different phases of flight, and, God forbid, handling any unforeseen emergency and getting the plane and all it's passengers on the ground safely.
Some things you may not know about a commercial pilot's life. Twice a year I have to get a Class A medical done where the medical examiner checks everything on me from my eyesight and hearing to my having an EKG done. At this medical, I have to report any other medical exams or procedures done throughout the year. I also have to have two check-rides a year done in a simulator where just about anything and everything that could go wrong in an airplane happens. If I fail any of these four event, 2 medicals and 2 check-rides, I could lose my opportunity to be a professional pilot and be out of work. Throw in a few random drug tests and the chance that either the FAA or my company wants to do a line check, where a examiner rides along on a flight to check my competency, and I have ample opportunities to lose my ability to make a living flying an airplane.
Airline pilots are paid only for the time they are flying the airplane. This is the time the airplane pushes from the gate to the time it reaches the destination and opens it's doors. All the other time at the airport preparing for the flight or just the idle time between flights is non-paid. Oftentimes a pilot will be away from home for 3 or 4 days and only be paid for 10-15 hours of that time. So even the numbers in the article are inflated. When it says a regional pilot is making $20/hr, that really equates into something more along the lines of $18-19k/year. A pilot will average only about 80-90 paid flight hours per month. Again, there is much more time and work put in than that, but that is the way the pay is calculated.
Some other stresses and challenges that come with the job are the hours away from home. There's a reason that divorce is as high among commercial pilots as any other profession out there. The company I work for has schedules that keep me away from home for 7 days straight and home for 7 days. This means my wife is a single mom for half the year. I can promise you that the A/C will break or one of the kids will get sick while I'm on the road. Takes a strong wife and a lot of trust between the two of us to make this work. Then there's the personal psychological stress and physical fatigue that comes with constantly changing time zones, sleeping in hotel rooms, eating restaurant food, and constantly trying to keep in touch and connected with those at home. Throw in any weather or mechanical issues and you can very quickly become task saturated and fatigued.
I'm writing this not in defense of anything, but more as an educational piece. I might dispute the comment in the earlier post that window cleaners "work harder" than a commercial pilot but other than that I just wanted to inform others about what a pilot's life can be like.
I started my window cleaning company because, like many people in many industries, I thought I might lose my job due to a shrinking economy. I didn't. I'm still blessed to be flying for a great company and be the owner/partner in my own business. If I had to choose today which one I would give up, it would be a hard decision. I love being in the window cleaning business and being a part of this great community. I just wanted to share a bit of my experience as a commercial pilot to shed a little light on this article and the posts in the thread.
And yes, a window cleaner can make more money that a pilot. I know first hand...
By Sam Mezzell, Lindale, Texas of That Window Guy & NetJets.
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