Duksrule

I don't have a dog in the fight, as I am only a GA pilot. I do think that pilots should be paid more but where is the money coming from? The general public has already proven that they will look for the lowest fare and if it isn't low enough then they won't fly. So what is the answer? If you raise pilot pay, you have to raise ticket prices in an industry that is already so leveraged that a bump in oil prices could bring an airline to its knees. Oh and then what about all the other people? The mechanic, the flight attendant etc.... I always see a call to arms for pilot pay but what about the folks that if it weren't for them, there wouldn't be a need for that pilot anyway.

For the record I think that Engineers should make more than 40-60K, I think DRs should make over $100K (surprise most don't) and many others that deserve to make more than they do. Problem is, people make what the market can support.

It is easy to be at the top and look down at all the people who are "ruining" an industry. Not just pilots but any field. I would be interested to see how many people that are preaching that "you shouldn't take that $20K a year job" actually had one of those low paying jobs in the beginning. Or how about if the airline said "OK we are going to lower senior Capt. pay 25% and raise the pay of all entry level pilots"? How many of those people up on their perch would be onboard with that? The days of the rich airline pilot are probably gone forever. If you average it out while yes it looks sweet to say a captain makes $250K a year, what did he make over the course of his carrier? I would bet it averages out to be much much less.

I found out personally that it is rough out there. I just retired as a senior Navy department head making 6 figures. I swore that I wouldn't take a job for less than $100K. Well guess what, there aren't any of those jobs available where I want to be. After looking for 6 months I am happy to be in a place making high 60s. The jobs just aren't out there and with the economy in the condition that it is, it will only get worse. So to try to dictate to someone at the bottom what they should and shouldn't accept is out of line, unless you have a job for them making what you think that they should.

Duksrule

I also agree with the customer service points people are talking about with some airlines. I normally fly SW. Plain and simple they have more comfortable seats (in my opinion) more friendly crew and gate agents and just overall seem like a better place to be. A great example of the lack of customer service is my recent trip on AA. Seats suck and are very cramped because they try to stuff as much as they can in less space. It is bad enough that I normally pay the extra when I can to upgrade to first class. Well on the way back I asked at check it about upgrading and get "sorry we aren't even trained on how to do that here because we have no first class seats leaving this airport" then when I got to Dallas I asked again and was told "do you have status of gold or above? No, well then first class is full" (gate agent's exact words). Then when I got home I tried to call the customer service number and I swear a recording came on that said "we are experiencing high call volume, call back" and it hung up on me. I called over 10 times at all different times and got the same. If it weren't for the fact that AA is the only flight I can reasonably use getting to my destination, I would never fly on them again. In fact my next trip I am going to look at flying into an AP an hour away and driving in just so I can fly SWA.

rickair7777

They don't really know what they are getting into in many cases. They have the ATA encouraged, and outdated, public perception of underworked and vastly overpaid airline pilots as a starting point. This perception is then leveraged and enhanced by the flight training industry and aviation colleges to facilitate their milking of the newbies.

I would venture that few student pilots really comprehend what stands between them and holding a line as a major airline pilot.

The internet may be helping improve newbie SA.