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 widely discussed "pilot shortage" is more accurately described as a "pay shortage," as starting wages for regional airline pilots are often inadequate given the profession's demands.
Even after years of experience, regional airline pilots, including captains, earn significantly less than professionals in other fields with comparable education and training requirements.
While some senior major airline captains earn very high salaries, the majority of pilots, even at major airlines, earn considerably less, with many making under $75,000 annually.
The article questions airlines' claims that low ticket prices prevent higher pilot pay, noting that low-cost leader Southwest Airlines pays its pilots among the highest in the industry, suggesting management practices are a key factor.

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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.