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advancement from first officer to captain, assignments to the most desirable aircraft, and bidding for vacation and monthly trip schedules, are governed strictly by the pilot's seniority number, which measures time in service with the current employer. Pilots lose their seniority numbers if they shift from one employer to another, which significantly affects their earning prospects. Earnings of pilots who don't work for airlines vary considerably. A 1995 survey conducted by Professional Pilot magazine found that "corporate pilot salaries wander way above and below the median but there is no logic to the pay rates" and further noted that "there are many factors other than straight aircraft type that determine salaries."9 The survey reported average salaries for corporate jet pilots flying different types of jet aircraft as ranging between $60,000 and $103,000 for chief pilots, between $50,000 and $90,000 for captains, and between $36,000 and $69,000 for first officers. The salaries for corporate turboprop pilots in different types of aircraft ranged between $41,000 and $51,000 for chief pilots, between $37,500 and $50,000 for captains, and between $25,000 and $32,600 for first officers (Professional Pilot, 1995:68-69). For other types of commercial flying jobs, salary levels are lower. In the early 1990s the FAA reported average midrange salaries for commercial pilots (e.g., patrol, ferry, helicopter, aerial survey) as $20,000 annually, for agricultural pilots as $17,000 annually, and for air taxi/charter pilots as $14 per hour (Federal Aviation Administration, n.d.(a):2). Licensing and Certification Pilots and aviation mechanics, as well as certain other aviation workers such as air traffic controllers, are subject to a series of licensing requirements established by the federal government. Pilots Pilots must be certified before they can operate an aircraft. Part 61 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR 61) prescribes the requirements for certifying pilots and flight instructors and recognizes five types of pilot certification: student pilot, recreational pilot, private pilot, commercial pilot, and airline transport pilot. Part 61 also provides for a series of ratings, including aircraft type ratings that permit pilots to operate specific kinds of equipment, that can be applied to the various types of certificates (Table 2-12). It further establishes the conditions under which the various certifications and ratings are necessary. 9According to a note accompanying the 1995 salary survey results, the reported data are based on reader responses combined with data from within the industry and should be used as a guide only, since salaries are affected more by individual company, size of the flight department, and years of company service than by aircraft size.
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