I have heard that Air France pilots are the best paid pilots in the world, can anyone confirm this info?  

Cheers,

Henpol747

I've heard that Senior Captains at United are the highest paid.

I've got a buddy flying Hawkers out of Allaire for a corporate client, and last year he brought home in excess of $300,000. He's 64 years old, a former CO pilot, and says this is by far the best job he's ever had, says he wishes he was doing this all along instead of flying DC-10s and 727s all over the place with the Proud Bird!

I'm in the process of researching work in this sector, I'll have reached mandatory retirement age by 2008, and I'd like to continue my career long after the airlines and the FAA say I can't fly anymore!

Top DL pilot last year made over USD$400,000, including working on his days off.

Delta pilots are among the top tier paid pilots here in the US....abroad, I understand that Cathay Pacific provides good compensation...

Even with this paycut, DL pilots will hopefully still be doing well  

DeltaGuy

I've heard either Dragonair or Cathay Pacific, but I'm not sure.

I heard that Iberia pilots are among the best paid in the world and then Delta's (or vice versa).

Is it true that Delta's pilot union signed a contract a few years ago which specifically settled that no other pilot on the same category/aircraft in the world should make more money than theirs?

RM  

It was reported that CATHAY PACIFIC PILOTS are the best paid on earth.

In 2001 a number of top pilots made over HK$ 5 million a year. US$ 1 = HK$7.8

few years ago i was told by one of BA officials that concorde senior pilot earns upto 400,000 pounds a year. match that

It was reported that CATHAY PACIFIC PILOTS are the best paid on earth.

In 2001 a number of top pilots made over HK$ 5 million a year. US$ 1 = HK$7.8

A couple of management pilot salaries hardly makes CX pilots 'the best paid on earth'. Unless if you're talking specific examples.

In fact, it is officially Delta pilots who make the most in this industry. This is an acknowledged fact, as most unions use their salary structure as a basis for negotiations.

Are you sure that covers the industry, or just the USA? I'm just curious.

Also, what constitutes best pay? Best average among all positions? Or highest maximum attainable salary?

Fly 727,

"Is it true that Delta's pilot union signed a contract a few years ago which specifically settled that no other pilot on the same category/aircraft in the world should make more money than theirs?"

I don't believe that it was the "world," but the theme of the contract negotiations was "United Plus." And imagine seeing DL pilots walking around with a United logo sticker with Plus written beside it on their flightbags. They were negotiating to be paid as much per aircraft as United pilots(who were the highest paid at the time), plus one percent more. The purpose of this is that American, Delta, and United have always been the top paid pilots, and its apparently some kind of ego trip for a pilot to say he is paid more than any other pilot in the industry. Even if its only 1 percent. Not that your pay reflects how well you are trained or work, especially when your a pilot. But that was the theme of the negotiations, and they got it, but thats when business was good. Now business is not so good and that pay needs to be competitive.

They negotiated for "United +1", so why are they too good to take it now? Even if they did take the cut that I hear has been proposed, they would still be like "United Plus 20%."

But in general, Cathay Pacific Pilots are VERY well paid. Definitely higher than ANY US airlines.

It was reported in 2001.

I have an acquaintance who is a captain for Fed Ex. He pilots their MD11s out of Memphis, generally to Europe. I would assume that he earns a very good income as well. Recently he purchased a Dodge Viper, and paid cash. My husband is a cardiac surgeon, and I would imagine they are paid in the same range. BTW.... Girls, Captain Bill is still single  

Tasha  

[Edited 2004-06-15 06:06:26]

You're 21-25 and married a cardiac surgeon huh? I'm either gonna call BS on your profile, or that you're a gold digger.  

LOL, I'm so totally just kidding..  

UA definitely isn't at the top anymore...they were in 2000, but then DL topped them. Since then, UA pilots have taken approx. 28% paycuts (even more maybe?) as part of the Ch. 11 restructuring. That agreement was signed in May 2003 and good through May 2009.

What happens at DL? Should be an interesting summer....if DL pilots and mgmt. don't start holding hands and becoming dear friends here really soon, it will be Ch. 11 time in Hotlanta.

BCAInfoSys,

My husband is 13 years older than I, and yes he is a cardiac surgeon. Hmmm, you might think all surgeons are ancient LOL   !!! And if you have to ask a lady her age, I'm 22.

Tasha  

First of all trying to compare pilots salaries from around the world is pointless unless they are all on a universal currency. They are not.

Especially with recent valuations from USD to EUR and GBP, it is impossible to declare a true value to any one currency in relation to one another, unless the currency is paid out in "grains of rice" or some other type of universal barter system.

Saying that a DL pilot makes $400,000 (which is highly doubt to begin with) is better than a Air France pilot that makes 300,000 euro or whatver is pointless, as you cannot compare the two since they are reimbursed on an ever changing market.

Unless someone has a good system of dealing out grains of rice to everyone based on the actual payment they recieve that is non variable i would welcome more discussion about this. Simply converting a currency to another to compare at any one point in time is useless. Unless you have a good measure of the CPI for each area, comparing exchange rates for specific currencies is a horrible way to compare compensation and is totally a useless measure.

SQ pilots are treated pretty decently, not the highest paid...if you wonder why the airlines in the US are in such financial hole right now, its the friggin pilots. we know one at DL and he lives comfortably, but honestly...you cant start cutting their pay...what to do what to do...

Maybe society should consider paying bus drivers a little more. School bus drivers are paid dirt and are responsible for the well being of our children, often 50+ kids at a time. Pilots get a lot, and they are on a piece of equipment that flies itself most of the time with minimal human involvement. What was that stupid joke, Have a pilot and a dog in the cockpit, a pilot to be there if something goes wrong and a dog to bite the pilot if he tries to touch anything? Something like that. Pay the dog more, it has a harder job.

Paying bus drivers 25k a year and watching a delta pilot on an aircraft that flies itself $300,000+ is a joke. Airlines need to figure things out and remind pilots that anyone can be trained to fly a plane, you are not a rare wine or fine cheese.

Don't bother arguing with me about how pilots are the most important beings on earth because I am not buying it, and a lot of others here are not buying it either.

Forget you UALonghaul, you're just another one who believes pilots are a despensable commodity these days. When that underpaid bus driver runs out of gas on his 50 seat diesel, all he'll do is pull it over. Watch what happens if your pilot forgot to top it off....then you'd pay him your life savings to get on the ground safely. That Delta pilot didn't go to school for 6 weeks and get his CDL....more like well over 6,000 hrs to get where he's at now, and they're paid for the responsibility and debt it took to get there.

And Boeings (or Airbusses if you swing that way) can be carrying 250+ kids at a time...same quality of life as your stupid bus. Last time I checked, flying has more possibility of injury then driving a few blocks to school. There's a reason aviation is so safe, and why bus accidents happen more frequently- because we have qualified people up there. If we didn't, everyone would go to being doctors, and the real Greyhound drivers would getting stick time.

Pleanty more to say, but I think you get the drift. Next time you fly, ask your pilot how hard he had to work to get there, and see how qualified he is compared to Mr. Greyhound...

DeltaGuy

What about AF1 Captain or the pilots of some Sheik or President (ahemm...is that term correct???) of Saudi or UAE?
From what I heard about their planes, I can imagine generous wages for the front office clerks...

P.S.: Excuse my lack of appropiate titles for Arabian governments and representatives, help happily accepted...

I've repeatedly heard "FedEx pilots are the best paid in the industry"... Of course, this probably means express/freight airlines, but here again, probably not...

FedEx's compensation systems often incorporate valuable items that do not necessarily mean take-home money. As UALonghaul put it, it would be impossible to measure just in whatever currency, but measurements would need to be made taking into consideration all prevailing conditions in the pilots' habitat and form of living...

I know FedEx pilots live very well, usually have got at least one higher-education degree in addition to being a pilot, and often are highly-decorated ex-military. Can anyone confirm/deny the foregoing?

__Ad.

Correct Ad, FE pilots are just like Delta or American pilots, in terms of qualifications, etc....many guys who are applying for the airlines will apply to all of the afore mentioned, as the requirements are mostly similar. A few guys I knew went that way, but were expecting to go to a pax carrier, but now love FedEx...all in all, it's a great way to go, as packages aren't scared of flying  

DeltaGuy

The better paid pilot is Michael S., paid 5 Millions Euros a month.
He doesn't work for an airline, but for a small car maker.    

What are the least paid salary for pilot then.
Which airline and what type of aircraft is he flying?

What are the least paid salary for pilot then.
Which airline and what type of aircraft is he of she flying?

Just yesterday a list of the most expensive cities came out. So trying to determine the best paid pilots could arguably depend at least partly on their location. For example, if a jetBlue captain made $100,000 (for argument's sake) and he was based at JFK, and down south an AirTran pilot based in Orlando was also paid $100K, the Airtran pilot would come out way ahead because of where he lives (although obviously a pilot may be based somewhere other where he or she lives.) But the cost of living is far less in Atlanta than it is in Chicago, so a DL pilot and a UA or AA pilot may make the same amount, but their location will raise expenses greatly.

Here is the ranking of international cities (last year's rankings are in parentehsis.)

So a BA pilot may be doing well, but he or she is living in the second-most expensive city on the planet, so when comparing incomes, it is also essential to look at such things as living costs for a certain area.

1. Tokyo (1)

2. London (7)

3. Moscow (2)

4. Osaka, Japan (3)

5. Hong Kong (4)

6. Geneva (6)

7. Seoul, South Korea (8)

8. Copenhagen, Denmark (15)

9. Zurich, Switzerland (9)

10. St. Petersburg, Russia (12)

...

7. Seoul, South Korea (8)

Interesting to see Seoul listed as #7. Having moved from Sydney to Seoul with KE, I'd have to say that you can burn far less cash in Seoul compared to Sydney.

Of course, KE provides an apartment in Seoul so that takes away a lot of the monthly expense. Add to that the difference in paying 7% tax in South Korea compared to 49% tax in Australia and it should be obvious why there are so many of us expats around Asia. Of course, the down-side is that usually everyone is on a contract so job security is perhaps not the same as back home.

Cheers!

Paying bus drivers 25k a year and watching a delta pilot on an aircraft that flies itself $300,000+ is a joke. Airlines need to figure things out and remind pilots that anyone can be trained to fly a plane, you are not a rare wine or fine cheese.

Buddy, it all comes down to supply and demand. Payton, Bryant and O'Neil are, in and of themselves, not worth the money they're paid. But because they bring such large revenues to their organization, it is reasonable to pay them $25 million each, because the organization is making $450 million per year due to their images and ability to captivate millions of Americans and convince them to spend money on Lakers merchandise, tickets, etc..

Unfortunately, school bus drivers and teachers do not generate massive cash flows for their institutions, and therefore it is not feasible to pay them $250,000 per year. It may seem morally wrong to you, but to those of us who run numbers, it is logical.

And FYI, not just anyone can be a pilot. Most likely, you are not cut out for the job. Flying a plane is not something you just train anyone to do. Getting back to economics, if such were the case, don't you think airlines would have figured it out a long time ago? If it were possible to train just anyone to fly a commercial jet, how come airlines haven't done so? The fact of the matter is that the pilots are a very refined labor group that successfully commands a higher wage.

Sorry, but pilots are an exclusive group, and not just anyone is cut out for the job. Don’t believe me? Go apply with the Air Force and tell them you want to fly. See how far you get. And don’t let the door hit you on your way out of the recruiter’s office. Even if you managed to pass the physical and mathematics evaluation, you’d have a myriad of other hurdles to clear before even being considered for flight school. And once in flight school, you could be dropped for any number of reasons.

So why don’t you just sit back and let the economy dictate who gets paid what amount. As much as we may like to think administrative assistants and bus drivers should be paid $300,000 per year, it will not happen. Those people do not generate enough revenues for their companies to make it worthwhile to pay them those salaries.

How interesting, there was a thread on here not long ago asking, "Are flight attendants overpaid" Everyone spoke up saying, NO! they have to deal with a tube full of 200+ pax. Who knows what those dodgy people might do, get drunk, crap on a cart, etc. But, when it comes to pilots, they are overpaid, bus drivers! "We have no simpathy for them" I've said it before, an 18 year old woman/man can go thru a F/A class and get a job right out of high school. A pilot invests years of his/her life and tens of thousands of dollars to get where they are. Sure they deserve what they get.

Paying bus drivers 25k a year and watching a delta pilot on an aircraft that flies itself $300,000+ is a joke. Airlines need to figure things out and remind pilots that anyone can be trained to fly a plane, you are not a rare wine or fine cheese.

Obviously enough has already been said in response to this ridiculous comment, but I'll add one more thing...

Not everyone can fly an airplane, and there are also quite a number of First Officers who NEVER make it Captain simply because they are not deemed "Captain" material.

Perhaps your comments are in response to a failed SQ Cadet Application or such...

Surely for someone to participate on this forum they have to have some kind of a respect for aviation, or an understanding about how the industry works and how difficult it is to become a pilot as well as a raft of other jobs within the industry, or simply to be in awe of planes. For these people to then question the fact that pilots aren't on the same tier as bus drivers begs the question; what on earth are you doing on airliners.net?

Adriaticus,

My acquaintance is a Major in the USAF Reserve. I don't know if many of them are military pilots, but I would think so.

Tasha

But in general, Cathay Pacific Pilots are VERY well paid. Definitely higher than ANY US airlines.

It was reported in 2001.

I don't know what report that is, but I highly doubt it included things like benefits or CoL indexes. And on top of that, not all CX pilots are on the same salary scale, so the comparisons on average change yearly, and cannot necessarily be quantified.

I'd love to read it to see what it says. But for now, as stated before, DL CoS is the standard that most airline unions look up to. But then, CX does compensate their pilots quite well.

Granted that when talking about the Best Paid Pilots In The World we may have to take consideration the conversion of currency. But it still isnt impossible to get a rough estimate on which pilot is getting more money. Various curencies, don't fluctuate with extreme differences. And since most people compare their currency against the US dollar then so be it. But it can be done.

Secondly, I don't see why you have to take into consideration, where the person lives. We are not talking about how well a pilot can live, we just want to know who makes more money, very simple  

Tsully,

Excellent response, couldn't agree with you more.....tell it like it is  Seems like these kind of responses come up from time to time. Maybe next time on a flight, the pilots won't show because they weren't paid enough..then let's see how he feels  

Wonder where UAlonghaul went and hid at?

DeltaGuy

For Kuwait Airways pilots these are the (approx) salaries :

Trainee : 2320 US DOLLARS monthly
Co-Pilot : 5800 US DOLLARS monthy
Captain : 10150 US DOLLARS monthy

But not 100% sure of these numbers, having some talk with a few of Kuwait Airways pilots made me note down these numbers for you guys.

Anyone feels there wrong, please tell me !

Guys, I think we are missing the point here, it´s not about where a pilot lives or how well he can live with his salary, but what pilots get more money for flying planes!! simple

As a pilot who's been in the industry for quite awhile, I will NEVER feel the need to apologize for my salary.
By the time a pilot reaches that level he or she has more than paid their "dues".
I watched my friends get out of college and go into various businesses starting at 50-80k, while I got a job as a flight instructor making $10/hr so I could build the time needed to land that $20k/ yr commuter job. That time was just while the engine was running. Factor in the time spent hanging around the airport looking for new students or waiting for the weather to improve, and after 4 years it works out to about $1.60/hr. Another 6 years at a commuter @20-40k.
Flight training is very expensive if you have to go the non military route, as I did. I only recently finished paying off all those flight training loans.
As far as the bus driver comparison, I won't even go there because it's so f###ing far off the mark it doesn't even warrant a response.
O/T I do agree however that bus drivers are grossly underpaid for what they do.
Contrary to popular belief, airplanes DO NOT fly themselves. I'll bet the folks on UA 232 and the Aloha 737 were sure glad there was no "dog" up front.
As a captain, my job is on the line once every THREE MONTHS, either with checkrides or medical certification. An unsatisfactory result in either and my job could be gone. Add that to the constant uncertainty in the industry.
Also I don't recall any airline in history being brought down single handedly by pilot salaries. There are a number of larger issues facing airlines today. Do I think pilot groups should help out? Yes. Do I think they should carry the brunt of cuts just because they make more? No.
As stated in some of the above posts, not EVERY pilot at DL, UA, etc is making 300k...............

Amen VEEREF....and welcome aboard a.net!  Enjoy your stay with us, but you may find more of these little "anti pilot" discussions though...

DeltaGuy

Not a single thing mentioned as of QF. Top seniority there on a 744 is i beleive 350,000 USD. Think about it, they have never had a major incident. They MUST only hire the best!  

I just can't imagine a 35 year old heart surgeon (Tasha's reply 16). The doc who did my dad's bypass was in his early 40's and everybody thought that was young.

Everyone needs to get up from their PC's, do a few push ups and run around the block. I need to practice what I preach.

Now back to pilot salaries...

Cathay Pacific pilots are well paid. And yes there are LOTS of benefits like housing etc. But it was reported in CNN in 2001 during the strike that CX has the world's best paid pilots. Not sure how they calculated that. Top pilots made up to HK$ 4-5 million a year (US1=HK$ 7.8).

And all they have to pay is 10% tax (or is it 15%??? I forgot)

EK/QF pilots are not as well paid as DL and CX for sure

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what the test pilots at both Airbus and Boeing are paid?? I was reading through all the replies on this topic, and I couldn't help but think that the pilot who is going to take the A-380 up for it's first flight, must be paid a decent salary!!

So trying to determine the best paid pilots could arguably depend at least partly on their location

A lot of pilots don't live in the city that they are based out of. Many commute to their bases. This tends to dilute the above statement. I don't think that many of them do this for economic reasons unless they're based out of say Tokyo, NYC, or some other really high cost area. Many pilots sight the reason for commuting as they prefer the area they live in but are unable to get based there.

UALongHaul: You're either paid for what you do, or what you know. Airline Pilots on a day to day basis are paid for what they know. Your dermatologist doesn't do half an ounce worth of work on a day to day basis, yet he can manage to reap in well into the hundreds of thou a year. It's because of his knowledge. He's paid for what he knows. Same goes for airline pilots. So no offense, but don't bitch about what you don't know a thing about.

About the payscale, I've heard on numerous occasion that Cargo pilots make the most. The most I've heard was either a FedEx or UPS Captain making $410,000/y. Something to do with terrible hours, and long time away from home. If that figure is wrong, please correct me.


FSP



[Edited 2004-06-15 20:46:52]

If you pay based upon responsibility, bus drivers would also be paid as well or near pilots. Are you saying that a aircraft filled with people is more valuable than our worlds children? I think you would have a lot of arguements there.

Obviously pilots are not bringing in the cash that they ought to be to be paid so much. You said it yourself that it is a matter of finances. DeltaGuy and your other DeltaFriends are not worth what you are paid, as your airline is struggling because of high wages. If you brought in a lot more than that to make it feasible to be paid that much, than it would work out, but it doesn't, and your selfish ways are driving a once decent airline into the ground.

Their is no other way to say it but face it, you are not worth as much as you think you are worth. If you were, airlines would not be in or around bankruptcy protection because of excess costs. Period.

If you have any other comments Tsully I suggest you revise your prior statements as I did nothing but repeat them.

Kobe and others can bring in the cash and do it well, but pilots (specifically delta pilots) cannot bring in this cash, so their salaries should be adjusted far downward until they can reach equilibrium. Until this happens do not look for a happy future for DL. Get off your high horses.

UAL Longhaul,

Hmmm...last time I checked a pilot's job was to move the aircraft:

1. Safely from point of origin to destination
2. On time from point of origin to destination, in that order.

Nowhere in my job description does it mention me being either a revenue or yield manager. I'm not really seeing the connection between a pilot's worth and how much money that pilot brings in. Are you suggesting that pilots should work on commission based on something largely out of our control?

BTW I work for a smaller airline and do not make as much as DL,FE,CX etc but I am paid at a level commensurate with my responsibility and, as I said in my previous post, will make absolutely no apologies in that regard.

BTW how much does Kobe bring to his franchise? Give us some specific numbers to back up your statements..............

I'm a flight instructor...I'll be lucky if I make US$10,000 this year.