Pilot Shortage?

The normal path for a fledgling airline pilot is to build his/her hours-traditionally as a CFI for pitifully low pay-and get a job with a regional carrier. That new first officer had an average starting pay in the mid-$20/hour range just a few years ago, before the hype of the pilot shortage. Second-year pay jumped nicely, sometimes as much as 50%, but then it stagnated at a few percent a year. A fifth-year first officer might have been making into $40-some/hour.

Frank Bowlin

Sunday, September 16, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The perceived "pilot shortage" is primarily a "pay shortage," as initial and mid-career compensation for airline pilots, particularly at regional carriers, is inadequate given the extensive training and sacrifices required.
Regional airline pilots are poorly paid, often earning under $75,000 annually due to low hourly rates and being compensated only for flight hours, making the profession financially unappealing compared to other careers with similar demands.
While senior captains at major airlines can earn high salaries, this is not the industry norm, and the article points to low-cost leader Southwest Airlines paying its pilots among the highest as evidence that management practices, not just ticket prices, heavily influence pilot compensation.

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The aviation press has covered the present pilot shortage in some detail. One aspect, however, that hasn’t received a lot of coverage is pilot pay. Some cynics in the know have long claimed that we don’t have a pilot shortage, we have a pay shortage, and there’s a lot of truth to that.

The normal path for a fledgling airline pilot is to build his/her hours—traditionally as a CFI for pitifully low pay—and get a job with a regional carrier. That new first officer had an average starting pay in the mid-$20/hour range just a few years ago, before the hype of the pilot shortage. Second-year pay jumped nicely, sometimes as much as 50%, but then it stagnated at a few percent a year. A fifth-year first officer might have been making into $40-some/hour.