Garner Miller wrote:

In article , Matt Barrow
wrote:


You proved my point. Of all the captains at Delta, for example, how
many have been there 30 years? And how many are on the 777? Far, far
fewer than the entire pilot pool, I assure you.


His numbers are a hell of a lot closer than yours were, and he qualified his
statements.



Fine.

A first-year pilot at Continental makes $25,900. UPS, $26,200.
United, $23,400. At Delta, $43,600. And surprise, Southwest comes
out ON TOP in first-year pay, at $44,900. And the 10-year captain at
Southwest? $166,000 -- *more* than the 10-year 737 captain at Delta
makes.

However, it really is the cost per passenger flown that makes the
biggest difference and the data that another poster provided shows that
Southwest is in much better shape in this regard, apparently largely due
to their pilots flying much more hours per month for their salary.


The thousands upon thousands of them on furlough are making exactly $0,
so make sure you factor that into your average. That's a very real
risk in this industry. Combine that with the mandatory age-60
retirement, and there really aren't that many years where you're making
the kind of money you guys keep -- to use your word -- "spewing."

Yes, those are risks, but they are hardly unique to pilots. Layoffs are
common in many other industries. Few have legally mandated retirements,
however, most large companies now strongly encourage retirements by
employees starting at 55. Sure, the employees don't HAVE to retire, but
it often is pretty much made clear that you don't want to say no.


Matt