We've all heard that compensation for professionals in business aviation has been on the rise over the last few years, but what does that really look like?
Thanks to the compensation analysis I've been doing for several clients recently, I've had the ability to a do a deep dive into aviation compensation increase rates since 2015. The chart below combines average base pay and total cash compensation data from two nationally-respected aviation compensation surveys for positions that are typically found in corporate flight departments. The chart tracks the annual rise (or decline for 2016-2017) for combined pay data from the positions of Director/Manager of Aviation (Flying), Chief Pilot, Senior Captain, Captain, First Officer, Director of Maintenance, Maintenance Manager/Supervisor, Maintenance Technician, Lead Flight Attendant, Flight Attendant, Flight Coordinator / Office Manager, and Flight Coordinator / Scheduler.
Note that from 2018 to 2019, we saw the highest rate of annual increase since 2015, about 5.3%. That's about twice the 12-month rate of increase for compensation paid by private companies as of December 2019, a whopping 2.7%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). When you look at total increase since 2015, the numbers are more astounding. on the whole, business aviation base salary levels have increased approximately 18% and total cash compensation has increased over 19% in total, compared to 12.4% for overall average for private industry according to the BLS.
So, the takeaway here is the BA compensation levels are still on the rise and will be through 2020, even with the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. If you're an aviation manager or aviation executive, don't let current events distract you from setting the right compensation levels for your people. When the crisis ends, flying will resume, and business aviation will be a go-to mode of travel for those who want to avoid the possibly infectious crowds in airport terminals.
This kind of analysis is a small snapshot of what I can provide. If you want to know exactly what your people should be paid, I can provide that data for you, very quickly and very affordably. Email me at chris@aircomprx.com for a quote.
And...standby for something entirely new in business aviation: an online compensation analysis engine that will provide you access to up-to-the-minute, regionalized data for up to twelve positions, five jet categories, and 14 bases across the country. Coming soon!!!!!! Early subscribers will be offered substantial discounts. Stay tuned!!