Back in March Delta Air Lines pilots agreed to a new contract. It set the highest pay rates that pilots in the industry had ever received. And it basically set the terms for pilot deals that would be struck throughout the rest of the year.
- American Airlines pilots ratified a deal in August
- United Airlines pilots ratified a deal in September
- And now Southwest Airlines pilots have now come to a deal in December
Pay rates varied by a percent, roughly, with some airline-specific work rule issues and with some variance over how pay would be split out by aircraft and seniority. But overall, after many months and strike threats, airlines and pilots agreed to the rough terms that Delta and its pilots negotiated.
Southwest’s deal was a little trickier getting there because normally pilot pay grows with flying larger aircraft, and Southwest Airlines flies only Boeing 737s.
Here are the rates for Southwest airlines captains under the new contract, which has been negotiated and approved by the pilot union negotiators and officers but hasn’t yet been voted on by members.
The deal they struck was equivalent to “Delta 737 pay plus 1%” which isn’t what Southwest pilots wanted but was all they were going to be able to get. An American Airlines widebody captain earns up to $417.54 per hour in wages which equates to $400,000 per year flying 80 hours per month – plus lucrative benefits and retirement contributions. A Southwest Airlines pilot will never earn that much.
But a Southwest Airlines pilot’s wages gets amortized over fewer passengers. That pilot doesn’t transport as many people at a time. In other words, the Southwest Airlines pilot isn’t as productive, so can’t earn as much. That makes Southwest a less attractive place for many to start their major airline careers.
SWAPA Pilots supporting @WestJet @ALPAPilots as they hold informational picketing in Toronto, Canada. pic.twitter.com/WgtGeRy9EL
— Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (@swapapilots) May 9, 2023
A #pilot career is a leap of faith. You bet on a privilege that can be taken away, health that can escape you, and an industry that is unforgiving.
We fight so hard for pilot contracts because that’s the only advocacy we have for a life fully invested!@swapapilots ❤️#family pic.twitter.com/8vvKnSuqWQ
— Mike Panebianco (@FlyinMikey) May 11, 2023
Delta has been the most profitable airline, in a position to pay the highest wages and with the greatest downside to a strike. United CEO Scott Kirby articulated the argument that higher pilot wages hurt weaker airlines most, and that regional carriers would suffer – since they have the fewest seats to amortize wages over.
Pilots make a lot of money because,
- The training requirements involved are significant
- So it’s costly and time-consuming to be a pilot
- Pilots aren’t easily replaced
- Pilots can bring down an airline even when they don’t officially strike
That’s also why pilot unions lobby for higher entry requirements into the profession, creating a pilot shortage and greater difficulty recruiting replacements. At United and American pilots now even trump passengers for first class upgrades at the airport if they’re deadheading to work a flight.
Other labor groups see the deals they get and think somehow they can be replicated, but none have the leverage. And their members are less able to sustain a strike because they’re less well paid and can’t be out of work for as long.
Meanwhile , how about the flight attendants ?
They start at about 1/10 of the pilots . They ought to get a raise to about 1/5 or 3/10 of the pilots .
You mean the talking coke machine wants more money? Why?
You have it backwards, Gary.
WN pilots are some of the most efficient. WN flies fewer connecting passengers – although the number has grown as they have been forced to take more MAX8s rather than the MAX7s which they want.
Also, when you get into longhaul flying, although those aircraft are larger, they involve augmented crew.
And WN pilots do not spend near as much time in training and switching between aircraft as AA, DL and UA pilots do.
WN doesn’t get the revenue per seat mile that the big 3 get which is why they can’t pay a premium to DL labor rates.
And DL signed first with its pilots and then increased all of its other employees to levels which DL can afford.
And it is funny that UA spouts that regional airlines are most impacted by higher pilot rates – which is true – but UA has the least efficient regional jet fleet because it has the smallest average aircraft size not just for its RJs but also for its mainline fleet.
Good for WN pilots, though.
Here’s hoping their FA union doesn’t end up on ice in mediation for a decade after screwing up the last vote.
I disagree with “Pilots make a lot of money because, The training requirements involved are significant So it’s costly and time-consuming to be a pilot.
Traditionally, most pilots come after serving in the US military, where the US taxpayer paid for all of their education and training and certification.
Given 80% high school morbid obesity and failure to meet military recruiting targets, this may be less of a factor.
Nevertheless, even HR and teaching involve graduate school, massive student loans, and continuing certifications, (and nothing is more important than social justice and our kids) yet their pay reportedly is too low. So this money grab has some falsehoods.
The very small differential between the most junior and senior is great. FA unions should think about adopting the same.
Interesting to see hourly rates. How many hours per year does a captain fly?
BigTee,
the US military is training far fewer pilots; you realize that the conflicts in the Middle East are being fought with missiles and drones?
Add in the aging ex-military civilian pilot workforce and most pilots are paying for their training themselves.
Keep in mind that pilots may fly up to and close to 1000 hours per year, but they also get paid 2x and 3x on certain holidays, get minimum pay per trip, get paid for training etc, get paid per diem, etc. They also get 15% to 20% of their pay automatically into a 401k by the company, etc. By it’s all said and done, they typically get paid for 1500 to 2000 hours per year.
And this is why airfare is so expensive.
To the ignorant SWALPA guy flying a lawn-dart 737: I would be careful about eating the next meal or drink that Coke being served to you by the ‘Talking Coke Machine’. You may not survive the medical exam.
Sounds like you have a chip on your shoulder after getting turned down for a date…
Just sayin’
Good for the Southwest pilots! I have many friends that are pilots and I am glad they are pretty much gonna get what they wanted, and deserve. I’m quite impressed that the company is gonna pay for their hotel and “must ride” them if they get rerouted and miss their commute home the last day. Cha Ching pilots! Atleast from what I see. $$$ way to go!
@22yrFA … Believe it . For every $$$ to the pilots , $ ( 1/3 ) ought to go to FAs . Thus , if a pilot gets $300K , the FA ought to get #100K .
Sorry Alert,
But as SWALPA already told you, the talking coke machine doesn’t warrant that kind of salary. Any idiot can do the job. And compared to Eithad, Singapore, Emirates, and virtually every other international carrier, US flight attendants are usually fat and rude.
And school teachers make less money than the talking coke machine. Which shows you where Murika’s priorities are.
You are welcome.
These unions are corrupt like everything else in our society.
Or is it a timing thing?
In the late 90s it was Delta’s pilot contract that emboldened United’s widebody pilots to seek a big raise that hastened their trip to the bankruptcy courts.
Back then Delta wasn’t unusually large or profitable.
BigTee, The military is putting out very few pilots. It also is facing an attraction/retention problem just about as bad as the airlines. They are paying big bucks to get people to stay in. The average US fighter pilot gets fewer than 150 hours a year (so even coming out of one tour they may barely meet the requirement to be an airline pilot). Bomber and mobility pilots, with typically longer segments, still only run in the under 20 hours per month.
Tim is correct on the efficiency of pilots. The average Delta passenger, let’s say on a widebody transocean flight, is more than likely connecting, so that spreads one person across 4 pilots per one-way journey. Add augmented crew, and that’s 5 (possibly 6). WN passengers are more likely to have one crew for the one-way journey. Yes, WN flies smaller aircraft with fewer customers per aircraft. However, Delta can only amortize across a portion of that passenger’s journey given the connecting nature.
Greg,
yes, Delta took the first mover advantage on labor costs by being first w/ a new pilot contract (among the big 4) and also first with a FA contract.
DL is the most profitable airline in the world, just as it was pre-covid and that is likely to continue in part because of their non-transportation revenue and fuel cost advantage. They know what they can afford and set the bar that every other airline has to clear.
Unlike Scott Kirby which loves to tell the world how smart he is, Delta leads but does so quietly. Delta recognized and implemented the trends that Scott Kirby tries to take credit for. United is more profitable than it has been in decades largely because of very strong international demand and UA’s decision not to retire older aircraft during the pandemic – but all that has left UA with is a much bigger bill to replace older aircraft. There are virtually no restraints on other airlines – including Delta – entering most of the international markets that drive UA’s larger size – but there are alot of restraints and much more competition that will impact UA’s ability to get more domestic passengers -which is what United needs to be competitive w/ AA, DL and WN in the domestic market. Airlines will fly where they can make money; United does not have a monopoly on its ability to grow.
Add in that Delta is at least a step ahead of United in fleet development and aircraft designed to do what UA is trying to do and the notion that DL will take a backseat to UA in anything is fanciful at best.
Alert – nope. Pilots are trained professionals. FA’s are glorified waitresses. For every dollar a pilot gets the waitress should get 1/3? You’re a financially illiterate donkey. The jobs are unrelated. The pay is unrelated. An FA at 100K? GFYS.
“Talking Coke Machines”. Heh. I like that.
As fast as technology changes I would not be surprised if one day your flight is robotically controlled from a control room somewhere, in a T.V show I saw they tried that on a modified 747 but it did end up needing the captain to safely get the craft back to earth I would not want to fly on a big drone,
@Gary, you truly have some rude, very unhappy, angry people that comment on your work. It is very sad and I feel so sorry that they live their life making themselves feel better by calling others names and trying to push down. What a difference they could make in their own lives and those around them if they could find a way to be more joyful. I wonder if they ever get tired. It just has to be exhausting. Merry Christmas from the talking Coke machine. HAAAAA!!!
Delta offers premium salaries to its premium pilots.
When did SWA start paying pilots by the hour instead of “trip pay?” Additionally, pilots have always been worth whatever the union could negotiate.
There are so many misconceptions here.
1) Right now, Southwest captains are easily earning close to, if not more than, $500K a year with various bonuses. These rates are not reflective of hourly, because Southwest pays slightly differently (trip pay) and you have to multiply these rates by about 1.15 to get their actual hourly.
2) Pilots are usually at Southwest for QOL reasons. Fairly predictable, mostly domestic trips that make money quickly and allow for a lot of time off. It is very rare for pilots to leave WN for one of the other Big 4. It is very easy for Southwest pilots to also have side gigs they can run from anywhere, as they usually aren’t far away from their home time zone.
3) The military hasn’t been the “traditional” route to the airlines in close to 4 decades. The military still offers a route, but it is certainly no quicker than the now much more common civilian route. In fact, it takes much longer and requires more time commitment at fairly low pay. The advantage is not having to come out of pocket for training. The other benefit to doing the military thing is you can usually skip the regionals, though regional pay is MUCH better than it used to be.