Who makes the most money in aviation?

tom d. friedman · **Posted:** Wed Aug 26, 2009 5:02 pm

steve hinton & kermit weeks must rate in their as pilots / collectors in warbirds, but i'd say boeing & northrop grumman on the company / corporate scale.
:pirate

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

tom d. friedman wrote:

steve hinton & kermit weeks must rate in their as pilots / collectors in warbirds, but i'd say boeing & northrop grumman on the company / corporate scale.
:pirate

Is this question about individuals or job categories?

I'm sure Kermit is in a league of his own, but doesn't make much money from his aviation endeavors. They are a labor of love. Same with Paul Allen I'd guess.

As for Steve, he might make more money from the movie industry than he does from other sources, but of course that is speculation on my part.

Either way, people of this notoriety in aviation are not the norm.

m50a1ontos · **Posted:** Wed Aug 26, 2009 8:19 pm

I'll chime in here...

Mechanics here make about $26 an hour. More if they have certain qualifications, work night shift etc. No A& P needed....just prior military experiance in type platform or NEC, MOS etc.

The company I work for is hiring and can't fill certain spots fast enough.

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

Boeing in SoCal pays excellent union wages for aircraft mechanics, but the union layoff bump was about 14 years of service as I recall, so it would be a very long time before there would be any newhires. There hasn't been a layoff in a while (a year or two), but as SoCal programs shrink it is inevitable. Some of these mecahnics make great money, especially if you can get the limited overtime available, but there is zero opportunity for anyone new. The average mechanic's age is probably in the mid to late 50s. Since retiree health care was cut back retirements went way down so the workforce is really aging. I started my career in 1985 (not as a mechanic though) and I'm a youngin!

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

bdk wrote:

Boeing in SoCal pays excellent union wages for aircraft mechanics, but the union layoff bump was about 14 years of service as I recall, so it would be a very long time before there would be any newhires. There hasn't been a layoff in a while (a year or two), but as SoCal programs shrink it is inevitable. Some of these mechanics make great money, especially if you can get the limited overtime available, but there is zero opportunity for anyone new. The average mechanic's age is probably in the mid to late 50s. Since retiree health care was cut back retirements went way down so the workforce is really aging. I started my career in 1985 (not as a mechanic though) and I'm a youngin!

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

Freakin' can't be edited Off-Topic Forum pisses me off!

m50a1ontos · **Posted:** Wed Aug 26, 2009 11:56 pm

bdk wrote:

Boeing in SoCal pays excellent union wages for aircraft mechanics, but the union layoff bump was about 14 years of service as I recall, so it would be a very long time before there would be any newhires. There hasn't been a layoff in a while (a year or two), but as SoCal programs shrink it is inevitable. Some of these mecahnics make great money, especially if you can get the limited overtime available, but there is zero opportunity for anyone new. The average mechanic's age is probably in the mid to late 50s. Since retiree health care was cut back retirements went way down so the workforce is really aging. I started my career in 1985 (not as a mechanic though) and I'm a youngin!

All the Boeing guys "in the other hanger" have all been there for years....and they're all mid 40's early 50's in age.

Everybody here in the hanger I work in are all mil retirees or "just got out 20 somethings". We're union as well.....

Our problem is nobody wants to live in Ridgecrest. You either love it here or hate it! :lol:

JDK · **Posted:** Thu Aug 27, 2009 4:14 am

http://www.pprune.org.uk/

Terms & Endearment sub-forum. Interesting in who is doing what to whom, if short on the actual cash numbers data.

warbird1 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 21, 2007 6:25 pm **Posts:** 2760

CAPFlyer wrote:

warbird1 wrote:

I don't know if it's still true, but as of a few years ago, FedEx 747 Captains were supposedly the highest paid commercial pilots in the world. They could easily make over 400K a year. I believe the UPS Captains are right up there as well.

A Fed Ex 747 pilot once told me that each time one of their Fed Ex 747's cross the Pacific and fly, let's say, from San Francisco to Japan, Fed Ex makes in excess of $ 6 Million net profit. At those kind of profits, it's no wonder that Fed Ex pays its pilots so well!

FedEx hasn't flown 747's in decades. Their MD-11 pilots are the highest paid.

A good source for pilot pay rates is here - http://www.willflyforfood.com/airline-pilot-salary/

I might be getting my planes and/or carriers mixed up. This was about 8 years ago, and to be honest I can't remember if it was a 747 or MD-11. Regardless, my basic point remains - that is, the cargo carriers make buttloads of money, including the pilots.

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