Two US carriers boost pilots' wages

BTN News
Thursday, 15 September 2016

A pilot shortage for US airlines has seen two subsidiaries of American Airlines increase the starting pay for new pilots to US$58,000 or more.


Wages at PSA Airlines in Dayton, Ohio, will increase from US$24.62 to US$38.50 an hour and new hires will also receive a US$15,000 signing bonus. A US$20,000 retention bonus for co-pilots, or first officers, will be paid in installments after their first-year anniversary.


At Texas-based Envoy Air, formerly American Eagle, wages will nearly double to about US$38 an hour plus a US$20,000 signing bonuses.


The news comes as Chinese airlines assess future demand for pilots and offer eye-watering pay packages to lure foreigners who have commercial flying experience.
Figures as high as US$318,000 a year are quoted and some Chinese airlines further sweeten the pot by paying their pilots’ income tax – and by flying them ‘home’ on a regular basis if they opt to leave their families behind.


Globally, there are expected to be about 250,000 unfilled cockpit positions between now and 2035 in the Asia Pacific region overall.


That total dwarfs predicted figures for Europe and North American (both 100,000-plus), Middle East (60,000) and Latin America (50,000-plus) in the same period.
A full report on China's booming aviation market features in the current issue of MICE/BTN, out this week.

Two US carriers boost pilots' wages

BTN News
Thursday, 15 September 2016

A pilot shortage for US airlines has seen two subsidiaries of American Airlines increase the starting pay for new pilots to US$58,000 or more.


Wages at PSA Airlines in Dayton, Ohio, will increase from US$24.62 to US$38.50 an hour and new hires will also receive a US$15,000 signing bonus. A US$20,000 retention bonus for co-pilots, or first officers, will be paid in installments after their first-year anniversary.


At Texas-based Envoy Air, formerly American Eagle, wages will nearly double to about US$38 an hour plus a US$20,000 signing bonuses.


The news comes as Chinese airlines assess future demand for pilots and offer eye-watering pay packages to lure foreigners who have commercial flying experience.
Figures as high as US$318,000 a year are quoted and some Chinese airlines further sweeten the pot by paying their pilots’ income tax – and by flying them ‘home’ on a regular basis if they opt to leave their families behind.


Globally, there are expected to be about 250,000 unfilled cockpit positions between now and 2035 in the Asia Pacific region overall.


That total dwarfs predicted figures for Europe and North American (both 100,000-plus), Middle East (60,000) and Latin America (50,000-plus) in the same period.
A full report on China's booming aviation market features in the current issue of MICE/BTN, out this week.