Being the pilot of an airplane means that their can be many lives within your hands or it could mean there are millions of dollars of equipment in your hands. However the pay scale for pilots is all over the place. Pilots for regional airlines are basically working for experience in order to get the big jobs on major airlines. These Airlines want their pilots to take the job very seriously to avoid any conflict or injuries. Also, there are many new technologies to help the pilot fly the plane and autopilot is used on most commercial flights during the flight and during landing.
Regional airline pilots start at an average salary of around $20,000. This salary is very low compared to the average salary of workers but these pilots do it so they have the resume to possible become a captain of a major airline one day. These pilots are working around 72 hours at the control of an airplane every month. However, there are many more hours put into other parts of the job and also many hours of waiting to fly. This is where many of the worlds pilots start their careers and start climbing the corporate ladder. They might even have to do their own pilot luggage but it is worth it in the end.
When it comes to the major airlines the pay is much higher than regional. The starting pay is $36,283 and this number will only get higher as there career gets longer. First year salaries at successful airlines can reach up to $50,000 at Southwest Airlines but they can also be as low as $21,600 a year at US Airways. These pilots have not reached anywhere near the pinnacle yet and the dream job of being a captain and not having to deal with even their pilot bags.
The captains salary of a major airline is on average $165,278. This ranges from the captains of Jetblue that make $123,480 to the captains of Southwest that make on average $181,270 a year. This is a huge range that can depend on the captain’s experience and the success of the certain airline. There are many different expenses to deal with when it comes to an airline including gas, flight bags, attendants, and repairs so they have to budget well. If the company is doing well then they will reward their captains so that they will stay loyal and keep doing a fantastic job to keep everyone safe.
About the author: Michael has 10 years flying planes and likes to blog. For more information pilot bags visit pilotmall.com