Those pilot 6 days are not ordinary 6 days. A top 747-400 chauffeur is earning $200k but is also working the real long hauls. Those 6 days can involve 6 back-and-forth 12 hour plus time zone changes; they also involve 10-14 hour flights. The "average" work week is nominally 150 hours for the earth-bound. Those 6 days are only half that, if you include air time only. But keep in mind that the pilot is there at the airport a couple of hours ahead to check Wx, dispatch information, flight plan, etc. So a pilot flying say JFK-NRT will have 14 hours flying (albeit with some crew rest time on board), maybe 2 at the airport before the flight, for say 16 hours. Multiply that by 6 and that's 96 hours. Then add the fact that those are "away days", no chance to adjust to circadian rythms, etc. Having travelled internationally quite a bit I can tell you it's no picnic, you can be wonked for days after such a trip. I once travelled to Korea, and once to Chile, to visit a single customer each time and ended up being away only 4 days on each trip, with the majority of my rest time being on board a flight. That probably matches a typical turn-around for a long-haul 747 crew. Let me tell you the fatigue levels afterwards were memorable. And don't forget to toss in recurring sim training, pilot proficiency checks, and you realize that those 6 media days are not quite what they seem. The guy (or increasingly, gal) up front has to put up with all of that, and be directly responsible for the well-being of 300+ souls sitting aft and below. Considering that professional athletes can make in the 10s of millions to fumble the ball on your TV screen for a couple of months a year, $200k for a pilot seems reasonable to me. Mike Gammon ----- Original Message ----- From: <clay.wardlow@xxxxxxxx> To: <AIRLINE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Monday, March 31, 2003 6:09 PM Subject: Business Question > Hello Everyone, > > I know that quite a few companies have HUGE bonuses for their upper management... however... a friend of mine that works for the Port of Seattle (operates SeaTac Airport) said that Delta was giving bonuses to their upper management in the millions of dollars, yet asking their employees to take salary cut-backs. Is this true? Are they crazy?? > > Also, after reading the article Roger James posted, there's no wonder the airlines are in as bad of a shape they are in. What's with this whole thing about a pilot at United being able to make $200,000+ per year while only working 6 days a month!!!!???!!!! NO WONDER they are bankrupt!! Is that what the unions wanted? I don't understand! Am I the only one that thinks that's absurd and bordering on robbery?? > > Clay - SEA >