AboutDottie Norkus Expertise I can address questions concerning: airline pilot employment & entry level airline careers in the Unites States, women pilots, flight training, pilot certification, flight scholarships (mostly for women), aviation & airline safety topics, aviation accident investigation, air carrier accidents and airline operations.
***Please note, I cannot address flight training or career queries from outside the United States. If you are not in the USA, please direct your question to the message boards at www.PPRUNE.org as you can surely find an answer there. For those in India try http://www.indianpilots.com
Also, I cannot address questions about aero engineering degree programs/careers or aviation management careers.
Experience U.S. Regional Airline Pilot. I have also had 15 years previous experience in airline ground operations, as well as a part 91 commercial skydive pilot and ferry pilot.
Organizations I belong to I am a charter member of Women In Aviation International as well as the International Organization of Women Pilots: the Ninety Nines. I keep a database of flight scholarships for women (mostly SW USA) and mentor student pilots.
Education/Credentials Embry Riddle Aeronautical University certificate in Aviation Safety/Accident investigation.
Question I am very interested in a carreer in piloting and was curious as to the different types of piloting jobs and their salaries. Also, could you possibly tell me about the availability of these jobs? Thanks.
Answer Matt,
I can only tell you about airline pilot careers.
Starting out in this career flying for a regional new hire pilots often qualify for food stamps. Seriously. Only after a few years in the business does the income move into the high $20K range.
In the civilian career path progression, a pilot will usually work at a regional carrier before moving on to a major airline. While some regionals pay close to $30K after 3 years or so, it takes several years at other to make that much. Starting out in this career one must expect to make some very low wages until they begin to build seniority with their airline and move up the payscale.
Largest connection carrier, "Express" or regional affiliate airlines starting gross monthly pay:
# American Eagle $1,725
# Comair - $1,72
# Chautauqua - $1,650
# Mesa - $1,596
# Mesaba - $1,800
# Pinnacle $1,575
# Skywest $1,425
# Trans States $1,628
Pilot pay is something the general public often has a lot of misconceptions about. The general 'glamorization' of the career leads many people to think that airline pilots make $250-300K+ a year and that they work two weeks or less a month. While there are a select few captains at the major carriers that do, they are by far the minority. According to the Air Line Pilots Association, their average major* airline member Captain is 50 years old, with 18 years seniority and makes $182,000 a year. A non-major airline Captain is 41 years old with 10 years of seniority and makes $70,000 a year. The average ALPA First Officer member at a major airline is 43 years old with 10 years of seniority and makes $121,000 per year, while an ALPA non major First Officer is age 35 with 3 years of service and makes $33,000.
*A major airline is a carrier with more than a billion in sales annually. American, Delta, Northwest, United, Continental, US Airways, Southwest, Alaska (and even several 'regional' carriers) are considered majors by that definition. However, not all major carriers pilots are members of the ALPA union, notably AA & SWA who have their own in house unions.
Factors affecting pilot pay:
# Time with the company (seniority)
# Aircraft flown
# Whether they are a Captain or First Officer (seat)
# The hours in their monthly schedule
# The payscale at their specific airline
A pilots pay is figured upon the hourly rate for their seat and their equipment based upon the pay grade for their seniority. Each company also has a set 'minimum guarantee' flight hour pay in their pilot contract. This is generally about 75 hours per month but varies slightly by airline. (A few majors guarantee is only 65!) However, in no case will the pilot earn less than the 'minimum guarantee'. They may fly less than 75 actual flight hours, but they will still be paid for the 75 per their guarantee. If they get a flight schedule that is blocked for more flight hours than the minimum guarantee, they will then get paid for the greater amount of time flown instead, plus per diem. Flight crew make about $1-3 per hour in 'per diem' for every hour they are away from their domicile on a trip to cover expenses. This generally adds a few hundred dollars to their pay check.
A general comparison of starting monthly First Officer pay by airline*:
# AMERICAN - $2,240
# CONTINENTAL - $2,500
# DELTA - $3,640
# FED EX - $3,700
# NORTHWEST - $2,574
# SOUTHWEST - $3,744
# UNITED - $1,950
# US AIRWAYS - $1,875
# UPS - $2,187
*all without per diem, based on minimum monthly guarantee, first year pay in smallest fleet type
Here is a Captain pay comparison* at 12 years of seniority, by the largest type in fleet (best paying). This is the gross top pay scale for each fleet type:
# American 777 - $12,352
# Continental 777 - $14,688
# Delta 777 - $14,040
# Fed EX widebody $14,874
# Northwest 747 - $14,586
# Southwest 737 - $14,196
# United 747 - $11,570
# US Airways A330 $11,520
# UPS (all a/c) $15,390
*all without per diem, based on minimum monthly guarantee, 12 pay in largest fleet type
To find out what the specific base pay is for each major, cargo or charter operator by seat & seniority visit-
AirlinePilotPay.com
As for the job outlook, the industry is constantly changing. The airline business goes in cycles and is very affected by the economy. A few years ago there was a huge hiring boom and now the airlines are still reeling from the post 9/11 fallout. Thousands of airline pilots are still laid off from their jobs, although there are certain financially healthy regionals and majors who are hiring.
I can't comment on the outlook (or pay) of other kinds of pilot jobs like corporate, charter, medivac, aerial survey, crop dusting, ect as I have no experience in those careers.
