[l1ncs]

Just out of interest what does the average airline pilot earn? Just wondering as i was speaking to a friend of mine who is currently training to be a commercial pilot and is expecting to walk into a 140k per annun job. I thought this was very optimistic. i knew pilots were well paid but i didnt think the average pilot was anywhere near this well paid?

[Stub]

I think with an airline like BA you start off as a First Officer (the guy sitting next to the pilot) on around £50k. Then after a certain amount of flying hours or experience you become a pilot and your salary doubles to around £100k. I'm not sure if its still like that but I think thats how it used to be.

[no1topman]

ahhhh....my dream....first its flight engineer,then first officer then pilot...it takes around 10years of flying to move to pilot.seen as learning to fly commercially costs around £50,000 then the pay is small considering your paying the debt back for a few years.Normally wage for first offficer starting wage is around 30k moving to 50k,captian from 70k to 100k

regards

[LB1985]

I work part-time in the aviation industry and basically the salaries vary enormously.

As nice as £140k would be as a starting salary, even the highest-paid pilots in most airlines wouldn't get very close to this. Starting salaries vary considerably, depending on airline and aircraft type. It may start at £20k or so with some airlines, but nearer £35k with others.

Training will cost an enormous amount - even those airlines that claim to offer some sort of 'sponsorship' in the UK will require you to deposit a cash bond for +/- £60k, and will pay you a reduced salary for the first X years (during which time, you are not allowed to leave, unless you want to get the bill for additional training costs). Basically, unless you have a lottery win, very rich parents or are prepared to get into enormous debt, getting into flying is very difficult.

Stub: Probably not a good idea to let any First Officer hear you referring to them as "the guy sitting next to the pilot"! Both fly the aircraft (the FO doesn't just assist) and both are pilots. The Captain will have more flying hours experience, overall responsibility for the safety of the aircraft and passengers, and in some scenarious, extra responsibilities in training, etc.

no1topman: Flight engineers generally don't 'exist' anymore. Modern aircraft only require two members of flight crew. I can't really think of any UK airlines that still operate aircraft requiring a FE.

Although I am not a pilot myself, I am planning to undergo training in the near future and know a number of pilots with different operators, so will try my best to answer any questions!

[mark1010]

Your mate has been talking out of his backside.

mark

[luqman15]

what type of GCSE'S and A levels will you need to even become one