Some people are so dead set in their belief "You'll take what the company gives you and be thankful."  We are in a crazy inflationary period, in the middle of the "great resignation" and people on this board line up in droves to defend why we should not be paid well.  

News flash, just because this industry paid HORRIBLY when there were 10000 'Nam pilots floating around, doesn't mean that our wages shouldn't continue to rise with less and less pilots out there.  Then add inflation.  

Look at the level of responsibility we hold compared to significantly better compensated airline guys who just do a walk around and follow the flight plan on autopilot.  We are WORTH more, but we have this mentality of old times holding us back.  Have you seen the bills your company is charging lately?  For a 20-30 minute flight in the midwest, we're charging 80,000 a pop.  Yeah yeah, non payers, but COME ON.  

It strikes me as defeatist and pathetic.

getting wealthy on backs of pilots who take all of extreme physical risk of piloting the helicopters.  They are dependent on keeping wages low.  Nickel and dimes, they are very greedy.  

the bigger the paycheck. always been. HAA should be a 100k job to start, though. 

If we "Boomers" are wrong and your right, Why have you not solved the problem.  Most of us "Nam" pilots have been retired for a while and we might have set the stage but its now a different industry.  In spite of a "pilot shortage" there is still too many pilots willing to take jobs because they have to eat and some because they want to be "Helicopter pilots" and will do anything to get there.   Its the same in any industry.  Owners know this and will take advantage of it.  You still have a choice on doing what you want to do.  If we keep moving forward "Progressively" you won't even have that.

In addition to what has already been said above. There is also the aspect of HAA hiring A LOT of ex-military guys who already have a pension, benifets, and everything else that comes with that. I have 2 guys at my base currently that have openly said they don't care what the pay is, they are just using this "retirement" job to make some extra spending money and don't really need it. I know I know, not everyone is that way and I'm one base in a huge sample. But, people are also willing to accept less knowing they have some sort of fall back either they say it or not.

Yep, I said it. I bashed the military, let the flaming begin...

P.S. I'm former military.

the robertson drivers who have a $70K flight training debt hanging over their heads? Don't you think that they might be inclined to accept lowball wages just to get that turbine job, etc, etc? They got bills to pay, my dude.

I won't bash you. You are correct. There is a butt load of ex-military pilots out there now, just as there were after 'Nam that will do anything to hold on to the dream of flying for a living. There are good paying jobs out there, but you must be willing to go where the work is and enter some of the riskier flying like in the utility power line sector. Blackhawk and Apache pilots need to consider transitioning to something that is relevant to a civilian career.

Attempt to denigrate free market capitalism. Since the days that term was invented, financial mobility statistics have shown that there is quite unrestricted movement from every financial quintile to any other. Long term IRS figures show that on an annual basis, 7 out of 10 NEW millionaires each year were foreign born. So while some like you were preaching economic determinism, Legal immigrants paid you no attention and got to work taking advantage of the system with the best economic opportunity in the world. More should take their example and ignore people like you.

Identified himself as Smigel. I replied to his post about trickle down economics. An ancient Chinese proverb addresses the situation: Man who says something cannot be done, should not interrupt man doing it.

Hard to compare airline pilots and EMS pilots. Apples and oranges job wise. Not dismissing EMS difficulties or hazards but Airlime Pilots typically fly 700-900 a year to earn those big $$$. 

You can go fly a 74 and make less than HAA money if you want to

You are correct.  According to Air Methods last published corporate presentation, EBITDA margin for their tourism segment was about 19 percent.  For the HAA segment, it was 33%.  So, as an HAA pilot, you contribute more to profitablity than pilots in other segments.  That's economics.  By the way, an argument can be made that Michael Jordan was underpaid- though he made millions- in terms of his contribution to net marginal revenue.  Share this with your HR minion next time you are looking for a raise.  I'm sure they will be glad to hear it.

bother to get approval of the chinese media to come here and complain??? In 5-10 years you better not be worried about your wages, but how you can say "may we please have some soup" in chinese.

The helicopter industry that pilots are a dime a dozen. That attitude was expressed most succinctly when he said he could find all the pilots he needed, rolling around as drunk winos in the gutters of New Orleans. A recent thread that was just deleted compared that attitude by management and ownership to the lying flat movement in China. The great resignation has international and maybe even worldwide implications. 

No one is stopping YOU from buying or leasing an aircraft, hiring the personnel to accomplish the task and reaping in those $80,000 half hour flights you boast about. 

What the hell else would it mean

Everything (or have it taken) to give to the less fortunate.

  the HAA industry would be on par with the Vietnam era pilot compensation.  BTDT and have done the numbers.  Those who want to do away with unions beware.

but constant travel, fly all day, boring, repetitive, earn every penny. no utility operator big enough to organize. the unions are all at the biggest companies.

If you don't want to travel and do what it takes to get the better pay, sit at home and hope you can land that cushy stay at home union job. Good luck.

spending your life on the road to earn a little more money is trade off for fools. 

 is very short.  Ask those on the back side of it and you might just investigate how to live the way you really want without societies' pressure to do so in this or that way.  Simpler the better.  Big house?  Big pain.  Little house, fewer pains.  Extrapolate, interpolate, figure from there.

I don't care what industry you are in; unions are not in your best interest. 100 years ago maybe, but no longer. Unions now will fix a problem for the individual worker when they first come in, then suck up the money for crooked leadership. They have no high ground over the Jimmie Hoffa's. The bad thing ius once they fix your one grief, you keep paying their dues and can't get rid of them due to government rules once you figure out they are stiffing you.

What is the real problem? Can't get a decent flying job because of your attitude? There are plenty of well paying flying jobs around...if you look for them, are qualified for them, and don't think that you are God's gift to aviation. If you were in fact one of the 10,000 'Nam pilots that you reference, it is probably time for you to retire anyway.

Trickle down economics explained: Stuff enough oats in the horse and eventually some will fall on the road and the sparrow will be fed.