A common misperception is that all airline pilots earn very high wages and that they rarely work. For the great majority of airline pilots, particularly those at regional airlines like Air Wisconsin, that perception could not be further from the truth.

On an average month¹ a pilot will be paid for only 86 hours, even though he will actually spend 129 hours at work, and will also spend 326 hours on trips away from his assigned  base. If the pilot does not live in his base but instead commutes to work, the pilot will often spend an additional 6 nights away from home. This means a commuting pilot may only spend 8 nights a month in his own bed.

What is an Air Wisconsin pilot paid? Let’s look at annual earnings² for each year of the first six years of employment.

Based on this chart the average pilot at Air Wisconsin is by no means rich. If pilots worked an average of 8 hours a day, like most American workers, 326 hours away from base (flying trips) equates to 40.8 days of work per month.

Footnotes:

¹ October 2006, PHL FO
² 2005 Pay Rates
³ For FO and CA the first 6 months of each position is 75 hour guarantee for training and reserve.