Here’s a disturbing article from the LA Times which digs into how pilot fatigue is a big problem with airlines.
Some interesting quotes:
"Seven of the last nine airline crashes in the United States have involved regional carriers, and pilot fatigue was likely a factor in at least four of those incidents, according to federal safety investigators."
"Critics say the situation has been exacerbated by the airline industry’s long slump, putting pressure on airlines to cut costs by forcing pilots to work longer hours."
"A 2008 study by NASA found that about 80% of regional pilots said they had nodded off during a flight."
"One recent bulletin reviewed by The Times noted an upward trend of pilots taking off without knowing their aircraft’s weight and balance figures – numbers crucial to the way stabilizers are adjusted on a plane’s tail. Improperly set controls have caused crashes."
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This article does not make me a happy flyer.
Fellow road warrior, Josh, recently pointed me towards this interesting page on FltOps.com. It aggregates annual pay based on guaranteed pilot hours for the major airlines.
Josh comments, "The article from which I pulled this link stated that the pilot involved in a regional airline crash last year (maybe it was the Buffalo flight) was making around $16K per year."
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Another road warrior commented, "…if you drop down to the smaller regionals (American Eagle, Mesa, Colgan, Wisconsin), it can get really ugly where a first year co-pilot on a smaller craft is only at $20 per hour flown (only guaranteed 75 hours/month) with a $1.40/hour per diem for time away.
I have a friend who flies for Colgan who would have qualified for food stamps in his first year (if he wasn’t married to a doctor)."
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I’m not sure you can draw any conclusions on this information alone but it does give some insights into how much (or little) a pilot makes depending on their experience and plane size. Unless I’m mistaken, many of the recent airline crashes involved smaller planes and inexperienced pilots.
Does knowing the pay scale change how you think about flying on certain flights?