Wow- didn't think this was true, but googling found this:
"On the low end, first-year pilots at US Airways would, theoretically, earn a minimum $21,600 a year. For that, they would work 72 hours a month at the controls of a plane (lots more hours are involved in flight preparations, overnights and sitting around waiting)."
Stewardesses face similar issues, though I think some get below minimum wage while doors are not closed.
Its not the glamorous industry make it out to be, it can be worthwhile pay wise if you stick with it. Which is similar to many other jobs.
My cousin lived with his parents for many years flying jets for a feeder airline. He really didn't feel he was doing well till he was flying as Captain with 100+ seat jets.
I had to deal with US Airways for the first time last week (not from the US). It was at Laguardia, all the other airplane companies had flatscreens and whatnot, US Airways seemed to have been stuck in the 80's with letter boards. They were very courteous though. But damn they looked cheap.
This is true of most American companies. A while ago I was travelling a lot to Europe (England in particular) from Brazil. On every single flight you'd get personal entertainment systems installed on fairly new planes and great onboard service.
Now I'm living in the US. Every time I travel (either inside the US or to South America) I feel like American companies are not even trying.
They are trying and succeeding. The only amenity that Americans care about are the absolute lowest prices. (Does your fare comparison site let you search by the availability of entertainment devices? Nope. Because nobody actually cares.)
Considering you can regularly fly NYC-SFO round-trip for about $250, a distance of 5000 miles, I think they're doing a pretty good job.
If you want free food and nicer seats, fly first class.
> Does your fare comparison site let you search by the availability of entertainment devices? Nope. Because nobody actually cares.
I would search by that, if it was an option. But in practice most (airline, aircraft) pairs all have the same entertainment options, so you can figure it out yourself with a little googling.
Try flying a budget airline in Europe. The seats don't recline, no in flight entertainment at all, no food, and you have to ask forthe in-flight magazine.
Your big jet cross-country pilots with 20 years or more of experience are probably closing in on $200k. And working less hours for it. Union pilots bid for schedules, and once you get up in seniority, you can get some pretty choice schedules. Enough so that many senior pilots can run full on side businesses.
On the seniority note, the Vietnam era pilots must be mostly retired by now, they used to dominate the seniority charts. People would get trained to fly by the military and then go straight into the airlines afterward.
"On the low end, first-year pilots at US Airways would, theoretically, earn a minimum $21,600 a year. For that, they would work 72 hours a month at the controls of a plane (lots more hours are involved in flight preparations, overnights and sitting around waiting)."