Stranger than fiction airline news
Everyone assumes airline pilots have some of the highest-paying jobs in North America. Not so, says California Watch, which says their alleged high-flying salaries are often less lucrative than window washers.
“In reality, pay for pilots has been on the decline for years,” the site says. “Recent salary records show that a rookie first officer on a regional airline flying out of San Francisco International Airport may be paid less than the worker who washes the airport’s windows.”
On regional airlines, their starting salaries range from about $20.50 to $29 per hour. That is significantly less than the skipper of a passenger ferry on San Francisco Bay, records compiled by California Watch show. Some earn less than toll takers on the Golden Gate Bridge or state prison nurses.
Pilots for regional airlines “are paid considerably less to work more hours,” according to Brandon Macsata, executive director of the Association for Airline Passenger Rights, an independent organization of air travelers. “And it brings up safety concerns.”
A pilot for Alaska Airlines makes $29 an hour while a Golden Gate ferry master earns $37.87, the site says. A window washer makes $26.75.
A driving force in the capping of pilots’ pay has been the rise of regional airlines.
In other stranger than fiction news:
A US airline could charge you $450 to check a single piece of luggage, says Joe Brancatelli writing in Portfolio. Com. Also: several carriers have a strict one-antler-rack-per-flyer policy?
“Southwest Airlines, which alone among US carriers still permits you to travel with two free checked bags, has a special fee if you want to check 10 pieces of luggage. And there's always Spirit Airlines, which has two separate mandatory charges for the simple privilege of doing business with them,” the site says.
There are even fees for checking auto parts, live organs and archery equipment, says the Department of Transportation (DOT), which has supposedly cracked down on rising airline fees by setting rules for airlines to publish them.
Airlines have complied but “the carriers have gone out of their way to bury the notice,” Portfolio says.
A careful reading show these include a $35 to $200 charge for traveling with dry ice or a Delta $100 fee for an unaccompanied minor. The site says JetBlue charges $50 to check kite-surfing gear or up to $99 for a “choice” seat assignment at US Airways.
How much all this adds up is debatable. But Portfolio quotes one prominent analyst who uses the figure of US$22 billion.
What is known is that airlines generated $5.7 billion last year in ticket-change and checked bag fees, according to the DOT.
By David Wilkening
David
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