To tweet BA pilots that I earn less than the INCREASE they're demanding?

[CheapSeats]

I earn 18000 a year. BA pilots are asking for an increase of 20000 a year. Yeah I know about skills and responsibility blah blah blah but AIBU to be upset that my holiday might be ruined? They're bleating in the papers today that they're upset that they now only get to stay in 4 star hotels instead of 5.

I think they should sleep in the best hotels available. Like previous posters, I want well rested, happy pilots. It's a stressful job! Also whatever they get paid will not affect my salary... Of course you're entitled to feel upset if your holiday is affected but why not just hope their pay is increased quick and the whole thing sorted.

Sorry but what you earn has absolutely no bearing on what anyone else earns!

@Cheapseats Shall we pay bus drivers 167000 a year then Sandra? Your life is in their hands too.

Pootling along at 30mph is hardly the same league as cruising at 36,000 feet, at 500mph, it doesn’t require the same education, skill set, training, resilience, medical fitness, nor indeed being away from home, medical issues, impact on personal life etc

Sadly plenty of pilots flying for other airlines are not well paid.

I wouldn’t say the job involves “huge risks”, when was the last time something happened to a BA plane? I’d say it’s much safer than being any sort of driver.

Right now pilots are highly skilled and can command high salaries but I think AI will replace them very soon.

I'm on the fence on this one, and I earn the same as you due to being part time. It costs a lot of money to learn to train as an airline pilot, people have been known to remortgage their houses. The only loans available are ones on high interest rates, an equivalent of the SLC for pilots doesn't exist. A job isn't guaranteed when they finish the training (which is also bloody hard work), but they have to start paying the loan back then if they have a job or not. I think some airlines also stipulate/recommend that the pilots have to live within a certain distance of the airport. So yes their salaries are high, but their debts and living costs are higher than ours too.

Shall we pay bus drivers 167000 a year then Sandra? Your life is in their hands too

You can hardly compare a two week course and a test for a bus license, then driving a bus that will rarely go above 80kms an hour during your 8 hour shift, with roughly 2 dozen people on board, with spending years getting your pilots license, then earning the experience to fly a commercial jet (which often involves being a bush pilot in dangerous circumstances or being in the military) that flies at, what, 200+km's an hour at 50,000 ft with hundreds of people on board, for up to 20 hrs at a time.

Ha, anyone can be a bloody bus driver, not everyone can tolerate the pressure of being a pilot. Yabu

Shall we pay bus drivers 167000 a year then Sandra? Your life is in their hands too.

Well no, given that the two are not remotely comparable.

Not a job I’d be up for and I don’t begrudge them the money or request for a decent place to sleep/get some R&R. It’s got absolutely nothing to do with what I earn.

I wouldn’t say the job involves “huge risks”, when was the last time something happened to a BA plane?

And why do you think that is? Do you think maybe, just perhaps, BA pilots have something to do with that?

It costs commercial pilots a minimum of £100k in flight training (paid privately because student loans don’t exist in this space) just to get to the stage where an airline will hire them as a junior. If salaries don’t increase then pilots won’t bother training, it’s as simple as that. Also your comparison with bus drivers is bullshit - commercial pilots from most countries often come straight from the air force, have years of air time and the experience to deal with most problems without panicking, and then also have commercial flight training on top of that. These guys are the cream of the crop. It’s like comparing a neurologist with a care assistant - while both jobs have value, one is clearly more exclusive than the other (and therefore paid more).

You got any idea how much it costs to train as a pilot and maintain your training at the right level?

If you want to earn more, I suggest you retrain.

I know a ba pilot they get too much as it is-forget the life in your hands comment they literally sit there for hours and then land the plane-bus drivers have to negotitate more than they do-theyre rich and greedy

I wouldn’t say the job involves “huge risks”, when was the last time something happened to a BA plane? I’d say it’s much safer than being any sort of driver.

Plane crashes are, thankfully, rare. That is in part because the people flying them are highly skilled. I don’t want the profession to become less attractive to the brightest until AI does actually take over, thanks.

But the risks are still there. Crashes and terrorism, as well as the effects of frequent flying on the body.

They dont come from the air force either-person i know went straight from a normal job into training which he had to pay for as a loan

they literally sit there for hours and then land the plane

It’s amazing they train for as long as they do, then isn’t it? If any monkey could do it...

Maybe they are being asked to fly Boeings 737 Maxes ? In which case it's just danger money .....

I wouldn’t say the job involves “huge risks”, when was the last time something happened to a BA plane?

The ignorance level is high today. Things happen every day. The reason we do t hear about them is BECAUSE of the pilots..

26th July a BA A321 suffered a bird strike climbing out of Tegel airport. Left hand engine was shut down and the pilots returned to the airport and safely landed 18 minutes later.

I'm pretty sure the difference bw a 4 and 5 star hotel is that you can only sleep well in the latter.

And no, they are not doing an inherently dangerous job. They are however doing one with a lot of responsibility and they do have the right to strike. Personally I couldn't say how reasonable their demands are, I though BA paid quite well compared to many airlines.

I agree. My friend is an air traffic controller. He works 2 hrs on. 2 hrs off. They can’t go into work with a headache. They have masseuse on site

And he gets paid a small fortune.

It’s never even entered my head to tell him he doesn’t deserve it. Pilots pay around £90,000 to get trained. Most get sponsored. But they have to be in tip top condition.

Why don't you write to BA and offer to undercut the current pilots then? I'm sure it's only a few days of training after all.

Hear hear Autumn Crow

GabsAlot I know several pilots. They are the first to admit that when a flight goes smoothly the job is easy. The issue is when the flight doesn't go smoothly. That's what they are trained for.

It's like a Nuclear Operator. Normally all they will do is sit at the controls and make sure the buttons light up when they are supposed to. They are trained and paid for the 1 in a million time the button doesn't light up properly.

Hercule yes they have to know the ins and outs of the plane but as ive said hes actuall told me how easy it is
100k is bloody enough

“BA Profits Soar”
www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/ba-profits-british-airways-iberia-sale-iag-a8800876.html%3famp

If I was a pilot, I’d feel entitled to the pay rise too.