Hey Darren! I just wanted to say as a flight enthusiast myself - thank you. I found you on tik-tok and I've been a follower for a couple years now. I love the way you talk about your job, talk about your life and how much you love your family. It truly means a lot to see there are people like you that spread positivity and love. Thank you!
I think I agree with your choice to put it in the next time. I think you're still wanting to fly and enjoy the 777 and travel international a little bit more. But the long term statistics you presented show that the money is basically almost the same but for such such such better QOL long term on the Airbus 320.
You were probably a month behind my class. Very close seniority and excellent breakdown. I've been a CA in NY and PHL for 2 years. If QOL is your goal, may I suggest 1. NEVER commute 2. Wait until you can hold a line for ANY bid status change
Non-pilot but your presentation was not only totally unique from the aviation perspective but thoroughly enjoyable. The ‘inside’ view was really interesting.
Thank you for making your videos Darren, I've been following you since the earlier days on TikTok, you were always one of my favorites and I'm glad you're on here now.
Hey Darren, I don't hang my stuff on the fridge, I actually hang it on the inside door handle of the main door or I'll hang it on the lock. I don't like the fridge because I may not always have something to put in it or it may have one of those decorative covers that blends in with everything else.
That brilliant! I'm glad you're sticking with the 777 for a little while longer. I'll have to get a tracker for my badge, too. I left it in my car. Not as bad but still wasted time and was late.
Awesome video. Very transparent when it comes to income and seniority in your airline. Have been thinking about Commercial Piloting due to me wanting a good QOL. Taking FAA medical exam to see if I qualify soon !
Good luck. Make sure you get a first class even if you only need a third class. Better to qualify for a first class now than find out later there’s an issue that needs to be addressed.
I love the my hips don’t lie tag LOL. When I nonrev, and they throw me in the exit row immovable armrest seats, I tell them that’s not gonna work. I’ll take anywhere but that and bulkhead seats.
Great breakdown. If it were me, I would stay 777 FO and work on getting some of those Asia routes you've mentioned. Why not let your company pay you to see more of the world.
Interesting. One much younger ULC airline Airbus Captain was poached to become a 777fo, on mainline airline, recently went back to driving a Bus as Captain at the same mainline airline. He likes the Bus.
I stayed W FO for 18 hrs. Never thought I would NB Capt. I I did it not to commute. Miss it a bunch but the money is better . I went from 19-20 days off to 17 days off as a line holder.
Same dilemma always. Best QOL and the most $ rarely line up together. A mentor told me decades ago.... "Take CA upgrades when you can because in this business, you never know what trash tomorrow will dump at your feet." I once left the house without my ID. Called the wife, pulled over on the highway and waited for her to meet me. Ever since then, my ID is kept in my flight bag whenever it's not around my neck. If I go to work without my flight bag, then I have more problems than just forgetfulness. That tag is just one more thing to forget to charge...and that's when the ID will be forgotten. lol
Hey Darren, first of all I love the videos, thanks for putting so much effort into them. You had mentioned that you were taking a compounded medicine to help with your admirable weight loss. Congratulations. What is the medicine called and do you need a prescription. Thanks again!
@@geekontheflightdeck thanks Darren, now that you have more time it would be awesome y you can create like workshops / sessions on how to manage the system so it works on your favor, I’m only been with the AAirline for +2 years and really want to know how to improve my QOL and pay, give it a thought 💭, I’m sure you would have a lot of clients willing to pay you for that piece of advice!
I can't wait till I start training, just waiting on the faa to decide on my medical because the ame I saw for the medical wasn't sure is the medicine I'm on (ozempic) was an approved medicine or not
@geekontheflightdeck i knew that going into the ame office and I told him that he could look on the faa website to confirm that but I guess he wasn't confident enough to make a decision so the ame differed the decision to the faa. The ame gave me this form for me to get my primary to fill it out with any prescriptions I'm on and my a1c level. And I sent it to the faa. It's been almost two months and nothing yet. Back some years ago I could see me getting denied with how bad my health was, but you would figure with losing almost 400lbs and being almost off all my meds that I wouldn't have a problem. Funny thing is that my uncle was nice enough to gift me one of his aviation headset
Very interesting and enjoyable, thank you. No interest ininterest in 787? What If Kirkland air were to purchase A350s , would that make any difference to your thoughts?
Hey Darren, first year AA 57 year old 320 FO PHL here! Considering moving over to the widebody out of Philly. But wondering what your comments might be for quality of life, income etc for somebody at my age in the company? Or maybe just push for an upgrade in a couple years in the 320?
787 is fairly Junior in PHL. Not sure you can hold it systemwide for 2-4 more years. If you want to experience it I’d say bid it but you might have better QOL and income being more senior in the 320.
If I’ve learned one thing from this video, it’s that the pilots union is doing great thing for you and the other pilots. Wish other professions had the attention span to unionize
Hi again 😂 I just saw your reply to my comment on the previously themed video. I am curious how many more years you’d have to be a 777 FO before you’d have the seniority to start the hustling you described as an airbus FO on the 777? Also what’s the most senior trip for the 777 at your base, and is that the trip you’d want to fly or is there a different trip that’s catching your eye??? Thanks for being one of those guys who responds to questions. It’s very helpful for me when im trying to make informed decisions on which airline I wanna work at one day and the aircraft I wanna fly.
I guesstimate it would take 11 years on property ( I have almost 7) to hustle in DFW. For Miami by contrast I could do it right now. The most senior trips on the 777 are FCO, ICN and NRT as they are high time 3 days. I’d do any of them. I hope to get to ICN this year. I do my best to respond to every comment. I know what it is like trying to figure this career out from the outside. I don’t know everything but happy to share what I do know.
The big imponderable in this is what “Kirkland Air” does in terms of fleet distribution and any type changes. More or less of say the 777 or A320 V’s 787 or 737 in DFW can change what works best. Same would apply if Boeing build a “mid market” aircraft, your company buys it and bases some of them in DFW. I guess all you can do is each bid window reassess your plan based on information correct at the time and don’t get upset if the plan changes .
One advantage I have is living in the largest hub. Every fleet is here. Other bases like CLT PHL BOS ORD PHX DCA have 1-3 aircraft. Any new aircraft would need negotiated pay rates of course.
What happens if your airline were to add a new fleet type? Say they brought back the A330 or added the A350 (hypothetically). How does this impact bidding and seniority in the future?
Another great video giving us insight into the life of a commercial pilot. Two questions: What happens if sometime in the 2030s your airline retires the 777s (772s will likely be gone by early 2030s and 77W perhaps a few years after that)? Does the seniority list just transfer over to 787-8/9 (and maybe -10) or do you have to redo all your calculations?
If a fleet is retired the pilots are displaced and have to find a new fleet based on what each pilot seniority can hold. There will likely be 1 for 1 replacements so it shouldn’t be a shock to the system.
I suggest you read an article by one of your colleagues at your airline that ended up there through two mergers after originally starting at AWE, His name is Eric Auxier and he wrote an article for the magazine Airways (March 2022) under the category/Left-seat Chronicles/ titled "Goeing Boeing: An Airbus A321 Captain Checks Out on the Boeing 777".
Thank you very much for the video, it was very interesting. A couple points: the A320 fleet at is AA is awful for the passengers, each of them I've been on have been worn out hand-me-downs from USAir. How do you feel about the long term prospects of AA's 777 (and Boeing's support of the type) fleet for the next 20 years?
I just flew from phoenix to Dallas to New Orleans and back the same way over the last 2 days all on the A320-321, in first class and the seats all felt and looked brand new. The WiFi even worked on each flight which is not something I get to say too often.
Good question ! But, i think your taxes are based on where you reside. for example, when he was commuting to Chicago, I'm sure he wasnt paying illinois rate income tax.
@@geekontheflightdeck Interesting. I have a nephew who is an app developer for a New York City based software company for the last 2 years. He lives in Vancouver Washington state (which has no income tax) he pays New York income taxes even though he only goes there once a quarter. I thought the same but his CPA has him writing those checks to New York. 🤷 Thanks for the feedback!
If you were to go back in time and be able to have the same exact seniority on the 787 and 777 out of dfw which one would you choose? Plane, destination, and QOL/pay wise.
Quick question Darren, With making over 20k a month, you’re in a tax bracket that gets hit pretty heavily. Do you do anything on the side to offset the tax hit, That you feel comfortable talking about?
First. Never take financial advice from a pilot. I have tried to find tax breaks like upgrading my stove to induction, heat pump water heater, solar panels and full home battery backup. Each cost money but also had a 30% tax credit.
The more you put into your 401(K) the more you reduce your taxable income, dollar for dollar!! Still your earnings, just put in a tax deferred vehicle for later and reduces your taxable income. Other investments you make with money out of your own pocket you could do tax deferred variable annuities and tax free municipal bonds. Another one that works too is the 529 college savings accounts. 37 year financial advisor here with my own firm.
the normal HSA ($4150/8300 / year) , IRA (7000 / year) , 401k ($23000 / year) but once you start making second-year airline pilot pay - your income excludes the ability to deduct IRA contributions and excludes the ability to make Roth IRA contributions, and Roth 401k contributions don't reduce taxable income. you can put money into 529 - there is no federal tax deduction for 529s as money going into 529 is all post-tax. the tax advantage for 529s is that 529 distributions are tax free when withdrawn for education related expenses. if the beneficiary doesn't use all of the 529 money for education related expenses - then you can designate/transfer to another beneficiary or if the 529 is at least 15 years old - to keep the distributions tax free - you can roll over a lifetime maximum of $35k into the beneficiaries' Roth IRA up to the annual Roth contribution limit ($7000) - i.e. 5 years to rollover $35k from a 529 into the beneficiary's Roth IRA provided they have $7,000 of earned income that year.
@@siobhanmurphy6301 there are limits on 529 contributions and it varies state by state so you can’t do $108k each year. Most of them have limits between $100 and $200k in total. Like I said, depends on the states plans rule. Some states offer state tax deductions on contributions too. Also, in this guys case if he does the IRA while he is also doing his 401k, those will be non deductible contributions.
Awesome video! Question for you, if you have let’s say 5 years as a FO for your airline and transition to a CA, do you get paid as a first year CA or as a 5 year CA since you have a total time of 5 years in your airline?
Great question. At almost every airline out there it’s years of service at the airline. A 5 year FO on Airbus that bids CA 737 will get year 5 Captain pay. Same if they went to the 777 CA they get year 5 CA pay.
I found this is a really interesting video and applaud you looking into all the details like this. Is a 20k monthly salary the norm for airline pilots?
Great video! Would your seniority go up faster at the Airbus A320 fleet since your company is taking delivery of new A320/A321 planes? The 777 fleet seems stagnant. Would it be part of your consideration to go Captain on Airbus?
Thanks. Seniority could go up faster but it would depend on more senior FOs bidding it as well. I’m fairly certain I will go to Airbus Captain when I can see I’ll be a line holder
I have. It's rare. Every now and then work gets in the way of life. Right now on a bad day I fly a 777 to London. I'm very thankful for what I get to do.
Are there some assumptions in here about the crew positions staying static? Like say for example, the network became more LAX heavy requiring less DFW pilots. Instead of 200 DFW 777 CPTs, there became a requirement of 150 DFW 777 CPTs, will that throw your numbers out?
It uses historical staffing levels. As in life there are no guarantees. I do live in the largest base and in the city where the airline is based so it can be viewed as more stable than a smaller base.
Only you can make the choice of what's better for you and yours, but what does your wife say if you were to be based out of N. Y.? Always interesting and informative!!
@@geekontheflightdeck This was back in the early 80s and we just had what was called the Ishihara Test. Back then you failed that it was one and done. Believe there is another test that always for a different wavier but I am too close to the mandatory retirement it isn't worth the money to learn.
All due respect that's an incorrect statement having flown both. They are both have fly by wire systems and have computers interpret flight control movements
omg - look who showed up on my youtube feed powered by some AI BOT algorithm ... good seeing you again - used to share AM/PM standby with you on DFC before they closed DFC and moved all 47 planes to OFC - way back when... obviously you stayed and either flowed to AA or got hired to AA OTS don't know which... I bailed and have been a minion/banana DFW 320 captain for 11 years now. anyways good seeing you again. lol
@@geekontheflightdeck good deal - watching your other video - i think you should stick with 777 FO until it makes upgrading to Captain gets you better QOL. go with QOL... plus with all of the money pilots should be able to sock away into retirement. we start having IRMAA issues and RMD issues if the 17% company non-elective contribution is traditional. that's what im working on trying to reduce now since all of my airline's 401k employer contributions are traditional and not Roth. as you say - first world problems. being a CA is not all it cracked up to be - you get to deal with all of the FA drama... there is no amount of money that's worth having to deal with squabbling FAs... i do enjoy being captain, but i try to fly as little as i can get away with and pocket the money. i could honestly just retire - so i'll just wait until the airline goes chapter 7 and be done with it.
As an airline pilot, I can't believe you refer to yourself as a nerd or geek. You have a great responsible job which pays well. I assume at thirty-nine you worked for another airline or were you a military pilot?
I don’t know…Why do you feel the need to discuss this with the world on TH-cam? There are 15000 other pilots at AA that are in your position that don’t feel the need to broadcast how much they make and what their seniority progression will be. You’re not doing yourself and your colleagues any favors by bragging on how much you are making right now….
It’s not bragging. It’s discussing a part of the career that many don’t understand. The pay is public. How is this causing an issue? What part is bragging by the way?
YOU made the decision to take the 777 bid instead of the upgrade and now regret your choice. Man up and fix it instead of making video after video complaining about to. Making all pilots look bad thanks to you.
You guys are getting paid way too much for what you do! In fact the technology is long overdue to replace you. Given the ongoing economic malaise that is nowhere near peaking your fate seems inevitable especially considering the costs you are incurring. There is just a mental and psychological factor that has kept you from being replaced. But once that is overcome and commonplace some of you will be able to continue working from the ground as drone pilots at significantly lower wages.
You’re ignorant of what pilots actually do and the limitations of even bleeding degree technology along with the trust of that technology with the flying public.
Hey Darren! I just wanted to say as a flight enthusiast myself - thank you. I found you on tik-tok and I've been a follower for a couple years now. I love the way you talk about your job, talk about your life and how much you love your family. It truly means a lot to see there are people like you that spread positivity and love. Thank you!
I think I agree with your choice to put it in the next time. I think you're still wanting to fly and enjoy the 777 and travel international a little bit more. But the long term statistics you presented show that the money is basically almost the same but for such such such better QOL long term on the Airbus 320.
Right seater for 8 years so I was looking forward to upgrading. Love being in the left seat (again).
This man always has awesome informative vids!
ALWAYS !
You were probably a month behind my class. Very close seniority and excellent breakdown. I've been a CA in NY and PHL for 2 years. If QOL is your goal, may I suggest 1. NEVER commute 2. Wait until you can hold a line for ANY bid status change
As someone who is heading to one of legacies soon, I really appreciate you candor and diving into the numbers.
Non-pilot but your presentation was not only totally unique from the aviation perspective but thoroughly enjoyable. The ‘inside’ view was really interesting.
Thank you. I try to keep everything down to earth and not sensationalize anything.
Thank you for making your videos Darren, I've been following you since the earlier days on TikTok, you were always one of my favorites and I'm glad you're on here now.
Thanks for making the trip over here and the kind words.
Hey Darren, I don't hang my stuff on the fridge, I actually hang it on the inside door handle of the main door or I'll hang it on the lock.
I don't like the fridge because I may not always have something to put in it or it may have one of those decorative covers that blends in with everything else.
That brilliant! I'm glad you're sticking with the 777 for a little while longer. I'll have to get a tracker for my badge, too. I left it in my car. Not as bad but still wasted time and was late.
Excellent explanation as always!
Love these videos very informative!
Always informative and entertaining. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome video. Very transparent when it comes to income and seniority in your airline. Have been thinking about Commercial Piloting due to me wanting a good QOL. Taking FAA medical exam to see if I qualify soon !
Good luck. Make sure you get a first class even if you only need a third class. Better to qualify for a first class now than find out later there’s an issue that needs to be addressed.
Quality of life on the Airbus is unmatched. Truly unmatched. And I'm talking about inside of the cockpit.
I love the my hips don’t lie tag LOL. When I nonrev, and they throw me in the exit row immovable armrest seats, I tell them that’s not gonna work. I’ll take anywhere but that and bulkhead seats.
Great breakdown. If it were me, I would stay 777 FO and work on getting some of those Asia routes you've mentioned. Why not let your company pay you to see more of the world.
Interesting. One much younger ULC airline Airbus Captain was poached to become a 777fo, on mainline airline, recently went back to driving a Bus as Captain at the same mainline airline. He likes the Bus.
I stayed W FO for 18 hrs. Never thought I would NB Capt. I I did it not to commute. Miss it a bunch but the money is better . I went from 19-20 days off to 17 days off as a line holder.
Same dilemma always. Best QOL and the most $ rarely line up together. A mentor told me decades ago.... "Take CA upgrades when you can because in this business, you never know what trash tomorrow will dump at your feet."
I once left the house without my ID. Called the wife, pulled over on the highway and waited for her to meet me. Ever since then, my ID is kept in my flight bag whenever it's not around my neck. If I go to work without my flight bag, then I have more problems than just forgetfulness. That tag is just one more thing to forget to charge...and that's when the ID will be forgotten. lol
You're right routines absolutely help. Whenever I mix things up for a day trip or a short overnight I mess up.
Great video as always
Hey Darren, first of all I love the videos, thanks for putting so much effort into them. You had mentioned that you were taking a compounded medicine to help with your admirable weight loss. Congratulations. What is the medicine called and do you need a prescription. Thanks again!
Nice video!, I’m still trying to figure out how to go above MMAX 92 hrs per month 😂
OG PR having someone drop a trip to you
@@geekontheflightdeck thanks Darren, now that you have more time it would be awesome y you can create like workshops / sessions on how to manage the system so it works on your favor, I’m only been with the AAirline for +2 years and really want to know how to improve my QOL and pay, give it a thought 💭, I’m sure you would have a lot of clients willing to pay you for that piece of advice!
Great idea with the tie in the fridge Darren!
I can't wait till I start training, just waiting on the faa to decide on my medical because the ame I saw for the medical wasn't sure is the medicine I'm on (ozempic) was an approved medicine or not
It’s approved for weight loss not for diabetes. I use it currently.
@geekontheflightdeck i knew that going into the ame office and I told him that he could look on the faa website to confirm that but I guess he wasn't confident enough to make a decision so the ame differed the decision to the faa. The ame gave me this form for me to get my primary to fill it out with any prescriptions I'm on and my a1c level. And I sent it to the faa. It's been almost two months and nothing yet. Back some years ago I could see me getting denied with how bad my health was, but you would figure with losing almost 400lbs and being almost off all my meds that I wouldn't have a problem. Funny thing is that my uncle was nice enough to gift me one of his aviation headset
Very interesting and enjoyable, thank you. No interest ininterest in 787? What If Kirkland air were to purchase A350s , would that make any difference to your thoughts?
Unable to hold it at the time I bid it as far as 787. Would love a A350 any day. If I can drive to work
Hey Darren, first year AA 57 year old 320 FO PHL here! Considering moving over to the widebody out of Philly. But wondering what your comments might be for quality of life, income etc for somebody at my age in the company? Or maybe just push for an upgrade in a couple years in the 320?
787 is fairly Junior in PHL. Not sure you can hold it systemwide for 2-4 more years. If you want to experience it I’d say bid it but you might have better QOL and income being more senior in the 320.
If I’ve learned one thing from this video, it’s that the pilots union is doing great thing for you and the other pilots. Wish other professions had the attention span to unionize
United has the best contract in the industry right now. It's not that way everywhere else.
Hi again 😂 I just saw your reply to my comment on the previously themed video. I am curious how many more years you’d have to be a 777 FO before you’d have the seniority to start the hustling you described as an airbus FO on the 777?
Also what’s the most senior trip for the 777 at your base, and is that the trip you’d want to fly or is there a different trip that’s catching your eye??? Thanks for being one of those guys who responds to questions. It’s very helpful for me when im trying to make informed decisions on which airline I wanna work at one day and the aircraft I wanna fly.
I guesstimate it would take 11 years on property ( I have almost 7) to hustle in DFW. For Miami by contrast I could do it right now. The most senior trips on the 777 are FCO, ICN and NRT as they are high time 3 days. I’d do any of them. I hope to get to ICN this year.
I do my best to respond to every comment. I know what it is like trying to figure this career out from the outside. I don’t know everything but happy to share what I do know.
Quality of life is key. As a long haul freight dog Captain, I have very little. 🤣
The big imponderable in this is what “Kirkland Air” does in terms of fleet distribution and any type changes. More or less of say the 777 or A320 V’s 787 or 737 in DFW can change what works best. Same would apply if Boeing build a “mid market” aircraft, your company buys it and bases some of them in DFW. I guess all you can do is each bid window reassess your plan based on information correct at the time and don’t get upset if the plan changes .
One advantage I have is living in the largest hub. Every fleet is here. Other bases like CLT PHL BOS ORD PHX DCA have 1-3 aircraft. Any new aircraft would need negotiated pay rates of course.
What happens if your airline were to add a new fleet type? Say they brought back the A330 or added the A350 (hypothetically). How does this impact bidding and seniority in the future?
It would depend on where it was based and how the seniority worked out. It would be a free for all in initial bid.
Do a video on jet lag, body clock and how you feel during different pairings.
Thanks for the suggestion but that could be viewed in a negative way by multiple entities.
Another great video giving us insight into the life of a commercial pilot. Two questions: What happens if sometime in the 2030s your airline retires the 777s (772s will likely be gone by early 2030s and 77W perhaps a few years after that)? Does the seniority list just transfer over to 787-8/9 (and maybe -10) or do you have to redo all your calculations?
If a fleet is retired the pilots are displaced and have to find a new fleet based on what each pilot seniority can hold. There will likely be 1 for 1 replacements so it shouldn’t be a shock to the system.
@@geekontheflightdeck Got it, thanks!
I suggest you read an article by one of your colleagues at your airline that ended up there through two mergers after originally starting at AWE, His name is Eric Auxier and he wrote an article for the magazine Airways (March 2022) under the category/Left-seat Chronicles/ titled "Goeing Boeing: An Airbus A321 Captain Checks Out on the Boeing 777".
Good afternoon 🌞What’s the most senior aircraft at your airline?
I believe it is the 787
Correct 787
Thank you very much for the video, it was very interesting. A couple points: the A320 fleet at is AA is awful for the passengers, each of them I've been on have been worn out hand-me-downs from USAir.
How do you feel about the long term prospects of AA's 777 (and Boeing's support of the type) fleet for the next 20 years?
I just flew from phoenix to Dallas to New Orleans and back the same way over the last 2 days all on the A320-321, in first class and the seats all felt and looked brand new. The WiFi even worked on each flight which is not something I get to say too often.
Wow, lucky you, I can’t even get a job as a first officer so I couldn’t even dream of all those benefits etc. enjoy ✈️💫
I am curious does JFK and LGA count as one combined base ie NYC at Kirkland?
LGA EWR JFK all one domicile. Thankfully 777/787 is JFK only
If you are out of NYC, wouldn't you have to be on the hook for NY income taxes? That would eat any increases over DFW?
Good question ! But, i think your taxes are based on where you reside. for example, when he was commuting to Chicago, I'm sure he wasnt paying illinois rate income tax.
Taxes are where you live not based
@@geekontheflightdeck
Interesting. I have a nephew who is an app developer for a New York City based software company for the last 2 years. He lives in Vancouver Washington state (which has no income tax) he pays New York income taxes even though he only goes there once a quarter.
I thought the same but his CPA has him writing those checks to New York. 🤷
Thanks for the feedback!
If you were to go back in time and be able to have the same exact seniority on the 787 and 777 out of dfw which one would you choose? Plane, destination, and QOL/pay wise.
787. More destinations and more modern flight deck.
Quick question Darren,
With making over 20k a month, you’re in a tax bracket that gets hit pretty heavily. Do you do anything on the side to offset the tax hit, That you feel comfortable talking about?
First. Never take financial advice from a pilot. I have tried to find tax breaks like upgrading my stove to induction, heat pump water heater, solar panels and full home battery backup. Each cost money but also had a 30% tax credit.
The more you put into your 401(K) the more you reduce your taxable income, dollar for dollar!! Still your earnings, just put in a tax deferred vehicle for later and reduces your taxable income. Other investments you make with money out of your own pocket you could do tax deferred variable annuities and tax free municipal bonds. Another one that works too is the 529 college savings accounts. 37 year financial advisor here with my own firm.
Yep both kids have 529s
the normal HSA ($4150/8300 / year) , IRA (7000 / year) , 401k ($23000 / year)
but once you start making second-year airline pilot pay - your income excludes the ability to deduct IRA contributions and excludes the ability to make Roth IRA contributions, and Roth 401k contributions don't reduce taxable income.
you can put money into 529 - there is no federal tax deduction for 529s as money going into 529 is all post-tax. the tax advantage for 529s is that 529 distributions are tax free when withdrawn for education related expenses. if the beneficiary doesn't use all of the 529 money for education related expenses - then you can designate/transfer to another beneficiary or if the 529 is at least 15 years old - to keep the distributions tax free - you can roll over a lifetime maximum of $35k into the beneficiaries' Roth IRA up to the annual Roth contribution limit ($7000) - i.e. 5 years to rollover $35k from a 529 into the beneficiary's Roth IRA provided they have $7,000 of earned income that year.
@@siobhanmurphy6301 there are limits on 529 contributions and it varies state by state so you can’t do $108k each year. Most of them have limits between $100 and $200k in total. Like I said, depends on the states plans rule. Some states offer state tax deductions on contributions too. Also, in this guys case if he does the IRA while he is also doing his 401k, those will be non deductible contributions.
Awesome video! Question for you, if you have let’s say 5 years as a FO for your airline and transition to a CA, do you get paid as a first year CA or as a 5 year CA since you have a total time of 5 years in your airline?
Great question. At almost every airline out there it’s years of service at the airline. A 5 year FO on Airbus that bids CA 737 will get year 5 Captain pay. Same if they went to the 777 CA they get year 5 CA pay.
I found this is a really interesting video and applaud you looking into all the details like this. Is a 20k monthly salary the norm for airline pilots?
At the mainline level yes that’s a normal pay. Thank you for the words.
how much time do you have (from the moment you leave the aircraft) until the next flight?
Between trips? 0-7 days it varies. On a trip most 777 overnights are 24 hours
Great video! Would your seniority go up faster at the Airbus A320 fleet since your company is taking delivery of new A320/A321 planes? The 777 fleet seems stagnant. Would it be part of your consideration to go Captain on Airbus?
Thanks. Seniority could go up faster but it would depend on more senior FOs bidding it as well. I’m fairly certain I will go to Airbus Captain when I can see I’ll be a line holder
I know guys who’ve gone the wide body path. Somehow I don’t think they’re ever coming back to the narrow body grind 😂
Is there any day where you say "Dammit , I gotta go flying today". Like how a bunch of people say on a Monday morning for showing up to work?
I have. It's rare. Every now and then work gets in the way of life. Right now on a bad day I fly a 777 to London. I'm very thankful for what I get to do.
Are there some assumptions in here about the crew positions staying static? Like say for example, the network became more LAX heavy requiring less DFW pilots. Instead of 200 DFW 777 CPTs, there became a requirement of 150 DFW 777 CPTs, will that throw your numbers out?
It uses historical staffing levels. As in life there are no guarantees. I do live in the largest base and in the city where the airline is based so it can be viewed as more stable than a smaller base.
I’ll forget my tie before I forget my food, so in my sandwich the tie goes 😂
Only you can make the choice of what's better for you and yours, but what does your wife say if you were to be based out of N. Y.? Always interesting and informative!!
She thinks I’d be crazy as I’d be paying for a crashpad or hotel and spend hours in jump seats.
Darren... I knew she must be looking at you thinking '' you lost your damn mind''🤣🤣
She does that often….. ha
I am curious. When do you think you could ever hold DFW 787 F/O and DFW 787 CA?
787 FO now but seat locked. 787 CA would be 2036
@@geekontheflightdeckdo you wish you would have stayed airbus f/o for a few more vacancy bids until you could have held 787.
No. The current junior 787 DFW FOs all transferred in. I have zero desire to ever commute
You’ll be retiring the same year as me. When’s your birthday in March?
I’m now about to fly the B747 after turbo props for the last 2 decades 😁
March. I’m glad that works for you.
@@geekontheflightdeck 27th for me, but looks like you had a tougher paper round than me 😆
Paper Round?
Is DFW overall a very senior base?
Generally yes. CLT and PHX are more senior
Most of the pilots I know started their own and made more money. Family and health were very important.
Real cool jacket.
So now your with AA but was with United before....?
No. He was with an AA regional subsidiary.
@@enriqueosuna Yeah them Regional should be a crime... the FAA needs to stop with that million hour flight time BS requirement
I will never stop seeing LGA as LGW/LondonGatwick for whatever reason…
Seeing the monetary amounts now I am crying cause I wanted to be a pilot but I am color blind
There are options. I’m not an expert but there’s a FAA Statement of Demonstrated Ability (SODA)
@@geekontheflightdeck This was back in the early 80s and we just had what was called the Ishihara Test. Back then you failed that it was one and done. Believe there is another test that always for a different wavier but I am too close to the mandatory retirement it isn't worth the money to learn.
It’s your life do what you want.
I think you missed the point of the video.
Good choice
73 Capt! I know cockpit isn’t the best but QOL days w family and $ matters more
I would hate every day I went to work in a 737
@@geekontheflightdeck aww I kinda like it at least out of MIA 😂😂😂
Then again every CQ they tell us we’re a different airline down there 😂😂
@@geekontheflightdeck I guess you feel sorry for your colleagues at Southwest. Poor souls are stuck in that aircraft for their whole career. LOL
Great Vid! For the quality of life I rather you remain a FO on a 777. That’s just my opinion.
Thank you.
You did best choice to remain a real pilot on the B777 instead of an operator on the Airbus.
All due respect that's an incorrect statement having flown both. They are both have fly by wire systems and have computers interpret flight control movements
777 FTW! 🎉
omg - look who showed up on my youtube feed powered by some AI BOT algorithm ... good seeing you again - used to share AM/PM standby with you on DFC before they closed DFC and moved all 47 planes to OFC - way back when... obviously you stayed and either flowed to AA or got hired to AA OTS don't know which... I bailed and have been a minion/banana DFW 320 captain for 11 years now. anyways good seeing you again. lol
Funny how feeds work. I stuck it out and got hired OTS by borderline stalking a recruiter for 3 years.
@@geekontheflightdeck good deal - watching your other video - i think you should stick with 777 FO until it makes upgrading to Captain gets you better QOL. go with QOL...
plus with all of the money pilots should be able to sock away into retirement. we start having IRMAA issues and RMD issues if the 17% company non-elective contribution is traditional. that's what im working on trying to reduce now since all of my airline's 401k employer contributions are traditional and not Roth.
as you say - first world problems.
being a CA is not all it cracked up to be - you get to deal with all of the FA drama... there is no amount of money that's worth having to deal with squabbling FAs...
i do enjoy being captain, but i try to fly as little as i can get away with and pocket the money. i could honestly just retire - so i'll just wait until the airline goes chapter 7 and be done with it.
Airbus>Boeing that is all 😂 take those nice overseas turns tho
lol, I have an AirTag on my Id also
lots of assumptions , hopefully no major economic shocks or fur-lows
There will always be economic shocks. Furloughs are rare but happen
Even now, at 53% systemwide...he's way too senior to be furloughed if there was one.
777 is it.
As an airline pilot, I can't believe you refer to yourself as a nerd or geek. You have a great responsible job which pays well.
I assume at thirty-nine you worked for another airline or were you a military pilot?
I don’t see the terms geek or nerd as a negative. I worked for a regional airline. I’m a civilian.
Totally kicking myself fornot pursuing this career when i was younger.
Canadian airline pilot here. I had to punch out of the video 11 mins in. Too depressing!
You are so depressed listening that you leave a message. Get outta here.
I don’t know…Why do you feel the need to discuss this with the world on TH-cam? There are 15000 other pilots at AA that are in your position that don’t feel the need to broadcast how much they make and what their seniority progression will be. You’re not doing yourself and your colleagues any favors by bragging on how much you are making right now….
It’s not bragging. It’s discussing a part of the career that many don’t understand. The pay is public. How is this causing an issue? What part is bragging by the way?
A day later. I didn’t think you’d reply. Have a better day.
Do u wear a hat?
When I was a Captain yes
YOU made the decision to take the 777 bid instead of the upgrade and now regret your choice. Man up and fix it instead of making video after video complaining about to. Making all pilots look bad thanks to you.
You’re an idiot.
Also. Block my channel. Why are you watching video after video? Man up and fix your TH-cam settings. Troll away now.
You guys are getting paid way too much for what you do! In fact the technology is long overdue to replace you. Given the ongoing economic malaise that is nowhere near peaking your fate seems inevitable especially considering the costs you are incurring. There is just a mental and psychological factor that has kept you from being replaced. But once that is overcome and commonplace some of you will be able to continue working from the ground as drone pilots at significantly lower wages.
You’re ignorant of what pilots actually do and the limitations of even bleeding degree technology along with the trust of that technology with the flying public.
I like your style of reasoning ⎮ $ vs Happiness ✅