‘BA pays pilots £90k, Ryanair £70k – I’m on £30k, which is a bit demoralising’

13 comments

1. Is it the foot in the door thing especially if its a Boeing

2. It’s actually a pretty good article on-point (from…the Telegraph?!), but the title is 100% click bait…

   > But at the moment, this job works for me. I like the lifestyle. I live a six-minute drive away from the airport and I can turn up 20 minutes before departure; that’s unheard of for the big airline pilots. You are also away a lot if you work for one of the big airlines. I’m home every night. Even with my late shift, I’m home for dinner at 9pm. So I’m happy at the moment. I work two flights a day, five days a week. If I have a morning shift, I’ll start at six o’clock and I’ll be home by 11.30am. That’s quite a nice little lifestyle. 

3. I think this article is a bit biased but that’s a given since it’s an opinion piece. He’s flying small domestic flights. Part of the reason large airliners pay more is the risk. From a rather callous business standpoint, it’s one thing if a little twin propeller aircraft crashes and kills maybe a couple dozen people. It’s a very different kettle of fish if an airbus A380 crashes and around 500 people die. The author claims that larger aircraft are more exciting to fly so why should they be paid more than someone flying a small one. It fails to consider the risk. Airlines don’t pay more because it’s more exciting, they pay more because if you fuck up and kill everyone then they’re probably going to lose hundreds of millions in lawsuits, increased insurance premiums, fines, etc.

4. “If I’m on a morning shift I start at 6 and home for 1130?”

   Fucking cry me a river big chap.

5. I definitely agree with you on the debt front. In all honesty, being a pilot was my dream role for years and still is really. However the reality is my family certainly weren’t rich enough to fund me and there wasn’t a chance in hell that I’d ask them to remortgage their entire house as well as take a loan out myself. To add to that, I also knew that ultimately I just needed to get a job at some point so I couldn’t apply to the forces to be a pilot and sit and wait god knows how many years just to get turned down. So I became a maintainer and maybe one day I’ll win the lottery and have enough money to fund the training.

6. >They are either very determined and from day one that’s all they want to do (I’d put myself in that category), or they are rich kids with Mummy and Daddy’s money behind them.

   I find that statement incredibly glib and having more than an air of self-importance. It’s *absolutely* true that many pilots have to scrimp, save, and forgo luxuries for years to afford the training, or take out huge loans, while others have the privilege of family money. However, that’s not the distinction that’s made above. It’s very strange to imply that the more fortunate ones are somehow less determined or less steadfast in their ambitions.

7. Glorified bus drivers now.

   Honestly very little respect for modern conveyer belt trained pilots.

8. As a software engineer I’m sitting here thinking I’m part of the biggest racket. How do we earn more than pilots?

9. Meh – you can earn a fortune. This chap just needs to up his game and move to another airline. Quit sticking with some shoddy regional that pays £30K a year lol.

   I know someone who is a Captain with a US Airline. They take home about $480K a year.

   Friend at a European airline takes home about £160-180K on average.

10. 90k for a pilot they should be getting more .

    That’s a lot of responsibility.

11. It’s pretty remarkable that train drivers earn roughly the same as a pilot which involves a lot more academical skill and knowledge and one step wrong then you’re dead. Id know which one i’d take my chances on between being derailed at 90mph as appose to falling 38000ft to the ground at around 500mph.

12. He’s going to be even more depressed when he learns that those other salaries are, erm, dated.

    He’s got that holier than thou modular attitude. The fact is, getting a loan and going integrated has far better financial implications.

    If you’re any good, you’re placed with a real airline and on 6 figures within a few years of popping out of school. The investment pays for itself. Far too many modular guys are still doing crap pilot jobs and falling ever behind.

    Oh, and his comment that there are two types – rich and determined, that’s the giveaway. Sorry, I’m very fortunate with how my parents helped me, but I also am very determined.

    I won’t tell him what I make.

13. Why is pay so ridiculously SHIT in the UK even for these top jobs like this.

    EVERY single job is paying shit wages these days