Former mechanic and member of the National Transportation Safety Board John Goglia calls aircraft technicians’ wages a “yo-yo,” going up and down with market conditions. That certainly seems to be the case in recent years. The wage yo-yo spun down for three years during the pandemic when fewer mechanics were needed, and now it is spinning up again as recovered airlines and shops seek to restore the MRO workforce.
U.S. Labor Department data show the average U.S. mechanic lost 2.8% in real hourly wages from May 2019, before the pandemic began, through May 2022, when U.S. air traffic had mostly but not completely recovered. This loss occurred despite an 8.2% rise in nominal wages, due to the fierce inflation of 2020-22, which is only now beginning to ease.
The loss in real wages was mildest in independent shops, at 1.2% from 2019-22. Shop mechanics are generally non-union and paid less than OEM and airline mechanics, but their wages may be more responsive to market conditions, including inflation.
OEM mechanics lost 3% in real hourly wages from 2019-22. And airline mechanics, which typically receive the highest pay, lost 3.6% in inflation-adjusted wages over these three years. Pre-set contract terms likely delayed prompt adjustment for rising prices in airline wages.
Nevertheless, mechanics who work at airlines, including majors, low-cost carriers and regionals, remained the highest paid workers, with average hourly earnings of $44.39 in May 2022, versus $34.62 for OEM mechanics and $30.05 for shop mechanics,
At least some airline mechanics are now catching up and gaining major increases in new contracts. The Teamsters Union has negotiated a new contract with United Airlines that increases wages anywhere from 16- 23% from the prior contract’s levels, depending on position. The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) has secured a 12% increase in compensation at Alaska Airlines and a 26% average increase in wages at Horizon Air. AMFA also won significant gains at Southwest Airlines.
These are just union wages at airlines, but increased airline compensation influences the wages shops must pay to retain their much more numerous workers.
The most important reason for these big increases is the need to attract and retain mechanics after the big slump, layoffs and retirements of the pandemic. The Labor Department reports employment of U.S. mechanics and avionics technicians peaked at 171,000 in 2019. By May 2020, early in the traffic slump, that count had been cut to 159,000 employed, and it decreased further to 144,000 in 2021. By 2022, only a modest recovery to 154,000 employed had been achieved.
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