Ronin:
This is a serious question, because I really don't know the answer. What is the highest paid position a "rank and file" mechanic holds at UAL? For an average work month, what is the total compensation per year? Thanks.
We all know your above quote is a tongue-in-cheek exageration, but just in case you truly believe that a pilot only works 780 hours a year for 160K a year, can I add some realistic perspective from the pilot's side of the fence?
You always quote the salaries of the very very top of the pilot food chain. FYI...There are 2,005 pilots on the September seniority list in ORD. Of those 2,005, only 64 pilots are B747 Captains and 109 are B777 Captains. That is 8%. That 8% of the pilot group has a "good gig," as you put it. But it took them 25 years to get there, and they do have a tremendous amount of responsibility.
Now this 780 hours per year subject. You do know pilots only get paid when the brakes are released, right? Pilots have to be at operations 1 to 1.5 hours prior to each flight for planning, preflighting etc. 90 percent of the pilot's duty days are scheduled for 8 to 14 hours.
This is how I figure my "average American worker" pilot salary. I took the first 50 lines of flying on the Airbus fleet. There were 174 lines, but I thought 50 was enough to bring the point home. Besides, I've got time, but not that much time. I added up the TAFB, "Time Away From Base," of each line and divided by the 50 lines. The total came to an average of 335 hours per month away from base.
Now, Since you love to throw those completely unbiased and accurate earnings figures our way, let me throw a few back. The above average would equate to working EVERY DAY of the month for 11 hours 10 minutes.
Ya don't want to count the time we are trying to sleep in a hotel at the Newark International Airport field layover in the middle of slumsville missing our kid's soccer game or school play? OK...Take out 153 hours (17 days x 9 hrs/night) of away time. (I used 17 days of work because that was the average of reserve and line-holder days of work) That leaves 182 hours of "work." Divide that by an 8 hour work day, and that results in 22.75 days of work per month, 8 hours a day. I didn't include your lunch break each day, because you aren't actually working right? Can't count that. That is why I used 8, instead of 9 hours. 182 hours of work per month equals 2,184 per year. Oops, just blew the aveage out of the water. People need to stop focusing on the way pilot pay is calculated. It results in a warped view of actual work vs. pay. I think most guys would be fine with cutting the pay rate to one third the current pay rate, and just receive pay for time on duty with UAL.
Don't forget the training days every 9 months. In 320 initial training, I had 80 hours in a Fixed based and full motion Simulator, 40 hours of classroom, and another 12 hours of evac/ditching/ept. This is why they "guarantee" you 65 hours of pay a month. There is more to the pay than flying the aircraft.
Ronin, I know you are with your wife and kids more than double the time the average aircrew spends with theirs. You may take it for granted, maybe not. But when you tell me I make too much for doing too little, I respectfully disagree. I don't see the B747 Captain pay, and won't for 20 more years. I see 20 days away from my family every month. My salary? A guarantee of $70,200 a year as a 6 year A320 co-pilot. Too much? Maybe for some. Fair? I think so. Can I make more? If I work more. Pilot's do make an above average salary. The most senior pilots flying the biggest equipment with the most responsibility make a great salary. Most guys and gals became pilots because it
is a "good gig." Compare your salary to the "average American mechanic," and I bet you find yourself with a "good gig." Positions in any career that demand more responsibility and qualifications and training and experience, etc., will
always pay above average wages. This applies to both you and me.
Do I make 160K a year for 780 hours? Come on, Ronin. You are a smart man. Please stop the inflamatory exagerations. Your rhetoric is a cancer that pulls at the very fabric of our company.
I've wasted about an hour of my time writing this. But, I wanted to write a little something in reply, just in case those folks who aren't in the business read your crap and actually believe half of it.
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