Every day, pilots carry thousands of lives on their shoulders when they enter the cockpit to fly a plane — a crucial job that requires an exceptional skillset. But do they get compensated enough for that?
A Miami-based American Airlines pilot has somewhat shed light on the question, at least for his company. The pilot, who shared his salary statement on Reddit, left many people speechless by the sheer number of zeroes in it.
How much is an American Airlines pilot’s salary?
As per the alleged image shared by the Redditor, who claims to be an American Airlines pilot, his total year-to-date compensation was around $458,000.
The hourly pay, which includes only flight hours, was a whopping $363.87 per hour.
The American Airlines pilot’s salary has left the internet speechless.
The pilot, who shared the image on Reddit, claims he is a captain who flies Boeing 737 Max, one of the largest commercial flights.
However, pilots cannot simply fly for unlimited hours to earn a higher salary. Their hours are restricted due to federal regulations.
According to the aviation website Flying, factors such as rest between flights, time spent on pre- and post-flight duties, and a pilot’s seniority with the airline are also considered when setting their flying hours.
As per Flying, a pilot’s salary can rise based on the size of the aircraft. Captains of wide-body jets, like Boeing 777 or Airbus A350, can earn up to $450 an hour, resulting in even fatter paychecks.
Netizens stunned
The internet was stunned at the American Airlines pilot’s salary, with many saying that they should be compensated with top pay considering the lives they are responsible for every day.
“I don’t get what the problem is, he has thousands of life on his hands he should be payed top salary,” one user commented.
“I am absolutely fine with the bloke who’s in charge of the machine that is holding me 35k ft in the air being paid a lot of money,” another agreed.
Another user reminded us of the sheer amount of work pilots do.
“$458K sounds wild until you realize it’s flight hours only, insane schedules, constant recurrency training, and being responsible for lives at 35,000 feet. Still… that’s elite money,” the user quipped.