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Pilot, Mechanic Shortages Drive Airline Salary Increases
This year's Aviation Week Salary Survey revealed
that an airline captain with the maximum number of years on the
scale and flying the heaviest of aircraft earns $178,800 per year,
an increase of 5.4% over the 2000 average of $169,674. The largest
increase was at Delta Air Lines, where the senior-most captains
now make $248,040, up from $209,388 a year ago, an 18.5% increase.
Southwest Airlines may have an edge in attracting
new pilots because of its designation as one of the “Top Companies
to Work for in America” by Fortune magazine. |
According to Kit Darby, president of AIR Inc.,
the Atlanta-based company that provided the data for airline salaries,
the increases are due to several factors—base pay increases, plus
the introduction of new aircraft and technologies to manage and monitor
the performance of the aircraft.
During the past year, entry-level pay for first
and second officers at the major airlines rose 1.4% from an average
of $32,269 a year ago to $32,724 this year. FedEx continues to offer
the highest entry-level pay, while Delta pays the highest maximum
level pay for pilots.
So what is the key differentiator for airlines
as employers?
Recruiters say it is the type of aircraft flown,
the rates at which pay increases throughout a career, retirement
packages, number of vacation days and policies that allow pilots
to sell flight days for training purposes.
Because of a shortage of experienced pilots,
Darby said airlines are changing their recruiting requirements to
meet, not exceed, FAA minimums, including eyesight correctable to
20/20. Some airlines also are providing assistance in gaining ratings
prior to hire, as well as facilitating career transfers from affiliated
regional airlines to the majors.
At Southwest Airlines, pilot applicants no longer
need a 737 rating in order to get an interview. Instead, they can
be selected and then given six months to earn the rating. The change,
according to Southwest's Lorraine Grubbs-West, director of field
employment, reflects the increased competition for the best pilots.
For military pilots, the pay scale is moving
closer to that of commercial carriers, according to John Bird, program
advertising officer for the U.S. Navy's Recruiting Command. Base
pay for a naval pilot with five years' experience is $57,264 versus
approximately $87,732 for a commercial pilot with the same amount
of experience. The difference is that the naval aviators also receive
housing/subsistence, incentive and continuation pay. The gap between
military and commercial pilot pay escalates over time, but the Navy
continues to boost incentive and continuation pay to offset the
difference.
A shortage of airline maintenance technicians
has most companies scrambling to attract and keep talented mechanics.
United Airlines led the hiring surge last year by filling 60-80
mechanic positions per month. UPS Air Services plans to hire more
than 125 maintenance technicians in 2001. Most airlines will continue
to hire maintenance technicians this year to support an increase
in the number of aircraft they have in service.
Brian Finnegan, executive director of the Washington,
D.C.-based Professional Aviation Maintenance Assn., said there are
140,000 licensed airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanics in the
U.S., although the number of people who actually work in the industry
is lower.
Finnegan said the shortage of mechanics shows
up most in the inability of companies to grow their maintenance
businesses. "There is more work than there are people to get it
done," he said. "I have people tell me that they are busy, and if
they had 20 more mechanics with real experience, they could build
another hangar."
In addition, fewer students are enrolling in
A&P programs, and only 30% of those who begin actually finish. Part
of the problem is the focus of U.S. educators on preparing every
high school student for college rather than directing some toward
trade school.
"That's a real shame," said Finnegan. "There
is a good return on the investment in an A&P education, and it can
be a stepping-stone to increased responsibility in the maintenance
and flight operations field."
Finnegan and others are working to attract young
people to the aviation maintenance field.
Predictably, maintenance technician compensation
has increased steadily during the past decade to reflect the shortage
of qualified personnel in the industry as well as the growth of
responsibility and advancements in aircraft technology.
Some airlines are paying sign-on bonuses, and
base pay for maintenance technicians ranges from $11-18 per hour.
The actual compensation level depends on whether a maintenance technician
works for an air carrier; a maintenance, repair and overhaul shop;
a corporate flight department; or a fixed-base operator.
A&P training may even be an entree to entreprenuership.
The Assn. of Women in Aviation Maintenance reported last year that
one of the fastest-growing business ownership opportunities for
women in aviation is owning a small maintenance, repair and overhaul
operation.
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Annual Average Airline Pilot Base
Pay
|
|
Position |
2nd/1st Officer |
1st Officer |
Captain |
Captain |
|
|
| Yr.
|
Entry |
5 |
10 |
Max |
| Alaska |
$39,228 |
$77,208 |
$146,556 |
$148,320 |
| America West |
36,552 |
77,220 |
125,832 |
132,504 |
| American |
27,792 |
92,400 |
143,976 |
201,384 |
| Continental |
30,000 |
95,184 |
147,420 |
193,656 |
| Delta |
33,720 |
97,896 |
157,152 |
248,040 |
| Northwest |
30,180 |
94,416 |
142,992 |
207,372 |
| Southwest |
37,212 |
84,528 |
144,624 |
147,804 |
| TWA |
30,000 |
58,452 |
98,940 |
109,776 |
| United |
32,076 |
102,324 |
148,464 |
216,048 |
| US Airways |
36,000 |
87,792 |
140,532 |
180,744 |
| Airborne Express |
26,268 |
79,356 |
134,508 |
164,388 |
| DHL |
26,796 |
72,180 |
122,352 |
143,388 |
| FedEx |
46,284 |
96,972 |
156,228 |
191,436 |
| UPS |
26,004 |
101,892 |
192,732 |
196,560 |
| Average
Annual Pay |
32,724 |
87,732 |
143,652 |
178,800 |
| Source:
AIR Inc. |
|
Airline Pilot Pay
|
| Position
|
2nd/1st Officer |
1st Officer |
Captain |
Captain |
|
|
| Yr. |
Entry |
5 |
10 |
Max |
| Major Airlines Annual
Average Pay |
$32,724 |
$87,732 |
$143,652 |
$178,800 |
| National & Jet Operators
Annual Average Pay |
$26,256 |
$43,392 |
$79,912 |
$89,016 |
| Source:
AIR Inc. |
| Aviation
Maintenance Technician Wages |
| Airline |
Starting Hourly Pay
|
| Delta |
$15.27 |
| Southwest |
$16.70 |
| US Airways |
$16.65 |
| Continental |
$13.11 |
| American |
$14.18 |
| Northwest |
$15.61 |
| United |
$15.17 |
| Alaska |
$14.35 |
| TWA |
$13.82 |
| America West |
$14.79 |
| UPS |
$13.40 |
| FedEx |
$16.71 |
| Airborne Express |
$16.00 |
| Aloha |
$16.71 |
| American Trans Air |
$10.71 |
| Hawaiian |
$15.02 |
| Source:
Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn. |
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