We already talked about how much airline pilots earn as told by Michael Moore. What the film director tells isn’t far from the truth. The National Transportation Safety Board from the U.S. recently announced that a regional pilot flying for Colgan Air earns $16,000 a year.

Low wages for airline pilots aren’t a surprise to anyone, since the situation existed for years and it only got worse as the economical recession hit the airline industry. Salaries have been reduced so much that they have been the cause of strikes all over the world. But how much do pilots really earn these days? FltOps were the ones to first tackle the issue releasing a salary survey that took into account major US airlines.

Airline pilots earn considerably more if they have seniority or if we take into account overrides, overtime, special credits or per diem. Airlines taken into account are: AirTran, Alaska, American, Continental, Delta, FedEx, JetBlue, Southwest, United, UPS and US Airways.

The highest paid airline pilots work at Southwest Airlines. The company has a first-year minimum of $49,572 and hires more experienced pilots on average. US Airways pays first year pilots the lowest wage out of all surveyed airlines (a minimum $21,600 a year). The wage assumes 72 hours per month, a large part of this being flight preparations or overnights.

The lowest salary for an experienced captain is $123,480 at JetBlue Airways while the highest if found again at Southwest, at $181,270 a year. Airlines that offer higher wages in the US are UPS and FedEx, with a minimum of over $200,000 a year.

Delta Airlines, American, United and Continental pays aircraft captains a minimum between $156,000 and $167,000 per year.