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How much of my airline ticket doesn't really matter. Airline industry have enormous fixed costs such as fuel, leasing, etc. that cannot be changed anyways.
Fuel costs are enormous, but most airlines would be interested to learn fuel costs are indeed fixed. What's the source of your opinion suggesting aviation fuel costs never vary? A whole lot of dinero is invested in forecasting and identifying the best projected price points; sure would be easier if no underlying variance occurred.
My answer would be biased since I am a pilot. As a captain I would hope a passenger would value my service at least $50 (it's actually only about $2 for a typical 2 hour flight), as first officer $30, mechanic $20, flight attendant $10, air traffic controller $15. Again this is if I actually had to pay them directly from my pocket, not what I would actually propose as a pay scale. Also this would be assuming you have a single mechanic or air traffic controller assigned to the flight.
Perhaps a more interesting way to ask the question would be "how much per hour should your pilot make?" Americans understand pay by the hour because that's how most of us start in the workplace and many or most continue to be paid hourly their entire working lives. In round numbers we work an average of about 1900-2000 hours a year, so would you be happy with making a hundred dollars an hour? That would put the average customer share at about $1.75 for your two hour flight.
Of course the airlines' unique way of counting hours would need to be taken into account. If your first flight of the day puts you "on duty" at 7 AM and you enter your final "paper work" after three or four legs at 5 PM you need to be paid for ten hours. Counted this way, how many hours would you estimate you would "work" in a year? No fair counting dead head time or overnight layovers because your best customers do them also without any extra pay.
Fuel costs are enormous, but most airlines would be interested to learn fuel costs are indeed fixed. What's the source of your opinion suggesting aviation fuel costs never vary? A whole lot of dinero is invested in forecasting and identifying the best projected price points; sure would be easier if no underlying variance occurred.
Well, not fixed in terms of does not vary. Just fuel costs are a huge cost factor that always have to be taken into account and make up a huge share of the costs of a flight. It is not like service industry where labour makes like 70-80% of the total costs. The pilots salary only makes a relatively small share of the total costs of a flight.
Perhaps a more interesting way to ask the question would be "how much per hour should your pilot make?" Americans understand pay by the hour because that's how most of us start in the workplace and many or most continue to be paid hourly their entire working lives. In round numbers we work an average of about 1900-2000 hours a year, so would you be happy with making a hundred dollars an hour? That would put the average customer share at about $1.75 for your two hour flight.
Of course the airlines' unique way of counting hours would need to be taken into account. If your first flight of the day puts you "on duty" at 7 AM and you enter your final "paper work" after three or four legs at 5 PM you need to be paid for ten hours. Counted this way, how many hours would you estimate you would "work" in a year? No fair counting dead head time or overnight layovers because your best customers do them also without any extra pay.
Yes, all true. Since I myself am a pilot, I am well aware of all this. I asked the question the way I did because I wanted to see how most passengers would approach the question of pay not from the industry practiced pay scheme, but from what a passenger would be willing to pay directy to a pilot. I kind of figured this would be a difficult concept and suppose I could have worded it better, but am surprised how hard it is for people to think in theoretical terms just for discussion sake.
But you precisely hit the key point that I was getting at with your $1.75 calculation. Does it seem logical that you might tip a hotel or airport shuttle drive or skycap a few dollars to handle your luggage, but you are paying the pilot just $1.75?
But you precisely hit the key point that I was getting at with your $1.75 calculation. Does it seem logical that you might tip a hotel or airport shuttle drive or skycap a few dollars to handle your luggage, but you are paying the pilot just $1.75?
Well, depends on the helpfulness ^^ If the pilot is helping me to carry and stow my luggage in the plane, one might pay him a bit more than the $1.75. But as a pilot is not in any customer contact, I do not see any tipping.
I could ask what would people be willing to pay the people assembling cars or trucks or what would they be willing to pay the farmers picking crops. All of that doesn't make much sense. Those people are paid by their product, not by any service.
Well, depends on the helpfulness ^^ If the pilot is helping me to carry and stow my luggage in the plane, one might pay him a bit more than the $1.75. But as a pilot is not in any customer contact, I do not see any tipping.
I could ask what would people be willing to pay the people assembling cars or trucks or what would they be willing to pay the farmers picking crops. All of that doesn't make much sense. Those people are paid by their product, not by any service.
So a pilot provides a product not a service? A pilot has no customer contact? What if he/she stands in the cockpit doorway and greets passengers as they board and deplane? Would all it take for each passenger to pay me a few dollars more to be for me to throw their luggage in the overhead? I'm in! Heck, I'd quit flying and do that for a living.
But you precisely hit the key point that I was getting at with your $1.75 calculation. Does it seem logical that you might tip a hotel or airport shuttle drive or skycap a few dollars to handle your luggage, but you are paying the pilot just $1.75?
It doesn't seem logical to even compare it that way. If I was one of 40-50 people loading my bags onto a big cart and all the skyc ap did was drive the cart across the lobby, I doubt I'd pay him $2 per bag.
Or if I knew he was pulling in 100K. The fact is one of the reasons we tip certain occupations is because they make little salary. Pilots, while maybe not making CEO money, are making an upper middle class income. If I knew my pilot was being paid $20/hr I might pop into the cockpit, hand him a fiver, and ask him to find us some smooth air.
Yes, all true. Since I myself am a pilot, I am well aware of all this. I asked the question the way I did because I wanted to see how most passengers would approach the question of pay not from the industry practiced pay scheme, but from what a passenger would be willing to pay directy to a pilot. I kind of figured this would be a difficult concept and suppose I could have worded it better, but am surprised how hard it is for people to think in theoretical terms just for discussion sake.
But you precisely hit the key point that I was getting at with your $1.75 calculation. Does it seem logical that you might tip a hotel or airport shuttle drive or skycap a few dollars to handle your luggage, but you are paying the pilot just $1.75?
It does to me. If you take 135 people for a ride three times a day that's $1.75 times 400. The others don't serve that volume of travelers and get stiffed more often than they get tipped.
Those are very low now. Probably close to double those figures nowadays.
Yeah I was gonna say it's quite different now. And it's about damn time.
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Would all it take for each passenger to pay me a few dollars more to be for me to throw their luggage in the overhead? I'm in! 