LOL...as a pilot, Currently enrolled in school to learn how to drive a truck so I can put food on the table for a few months till I can fly again (the economy sucks, and I have 7000+ hrs accident free, clean record, and 15+ years experience), I can tell you VERY FEW pilots make "big money" these days...the old gray beard guys do OK (anybody under the age of 45 is kinda SOL)..they have old UNION contracts, like some of the older UAW guys in Detroit, but for the most part, we took huge pay-cuts, benefit reduction, furloughs, and layoffs over the last 10+ years. Our hotels have gone from Hyatt to Red Roof (no joke), and we brown bag lunches (well, buy it at a food court for $8.00 BK combo meal...the airline will not even give us a sandwich or bottle of water unless our contract says they must. If a crew member want a bottle of water, it is an "expense"....a cost center....most contracts get you a 1 liter bottle per day... As to the body scanner for pilots....doing it several times a day, is a pain, and at this point it is BELIEVED to be safe for lots of use, but so was Asbestos, Cigarettes, and many other products in the past that have proven to be dangerous after a time. And Pilots DO OPEN THE LOCKED DOOR IN FLIGHT. We just get the curtain to closed, get am attendant to block the isle, and use the LAV. :eek6: On all but the widebody(with an extra jump-seat), trying to use a "truckers buddy" (a bottle) in what may be a mixed sex cockpit would be nearly impossible...everything is built around you...in some ways you have less space than a MINI...and much of it is sensitive to moisture....
very sad truth [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKQJx3L_CDQ]YouTube - Michael Moore's 'Capitalism: A Love Story' - Pilots on Food Stamps[/ame]
What kind of money are we talking for a 45 year old pilot with some experience?? Most of us don't get free lunch or drink either.. Contract or no contract.. We all are feeling the crunch one way or another..
If you have not been "blessed" and gotten a job at a major carrier, 60-75k is pretty standard....pay scales for pilots are kinda odd... Most of us go to school..a full 4 year degree, usually at a private school..$$, and we pay an extra 25-50K in fee's to do the flying portion...this gets a typical pilot a job that pays 18 to 25 k, no benefits for the first two to fours years...then the first commuter jobs usually pays about 24k....(try to pay off you student loads on that...most pilots moonlight on second jobs for many years). Majors hire on at about 40K first year, but can go up pretty quickly to about 70k or so in 5 years..but many places have 2 or even 3 tiered pay scales... All this is with 60% of you life on the road, waking up at 3 AM in hotels, not even knowing what state/country you are in till you glance at the phone, leaving the hotel on a crew bus/van (missing the hotel breakfast of course) and starting the day...most company's schedule you for the MAX 14 Hours EVERY day they can..so 14 working, 10 hrs off...so if you include a meal, transportation, showing sleeping, you are lucky to get 8 in the sack...if the heater is not buzzing, ot the neighbors are not keeping you up....Do that for 10 days in a row.... I'll give you a somewhat local example for you..I spent a bunch of time flying corporate, and quite a bit of time in your neck of the woods...The Hampton Inn/LaQuinta by the Haines mall is OK..till the train drives by, or the trucks roar by with their jakebrakes on...:cryin: But is is one exit away from a MINI dealer... The international guys have slightly different rules...but it is safe to say the "GOLDEN AGE" of aviation is LONG gone...very few folks ever do the mythical 150,000K working a few hours a day, 10 days a month...that was what killed most of the major airlines...in part caused the bankruptcy's. Now add in going 4 or more years with just pay and benefit CUTS, does it explain why the people at the airport could not care less?! I know many folks that have spent more of their professional flying carriers doing things like selling houses, or driving truck for more cumulative years than flying..... Flying is done for the joy of it, a bit for the lifestyle,,there can be occasional benefits, but very few folks do it for the pay. The lack of job security (chance of loosing a job every 6 months due to a check-ride, or anytime due to a medical issue, not to mention company shutting down in a 100% seniority controlled industry--so even if you are 1 year from retirement, you start all over!!:mad2), and time away from home makes it an interesting profession....very different than most people would ever suspect. Still it can be rewarding, but still hard, and getting harder everyday! Do I love it? Believe it or not YES. Will I miss it?! YES. Do I want to get back "in the seat ASAP?". YES. I must be nutz...then again I do Drive a MINI!!:cornut:
The difference is we can't "step" out of the office, or even go to the "water cooler"...No vending, No Roach Coach...and they don't want you delaying a flight with 150 PAX when you arrive a few minutes late (from a prior flight), to get a meal...so they make you do a 40 Minutes load/unload, and you loose you 20 minute break, and chance for food....so now you have been working for hours, trying to stay alert, and are hungry, and the company got EXTRA productivity and labor from you cause you skipped a break...