Most of us know how much airline tickets peerbut what about how much the pilot flying your plane makes? As it turns out, right now is a good time to be an airline pilot when it comes to negotiating salaries. On top of the increased demand for air travel, the airline industry is in the midst of a pilot shortagestemming in part from Federal Aviation Administration FAA regulations requiring pilots to log more hours dofs training and take more time to rest in between flights, meaning airline pilots are flying less than they used to. These changes happened at the same time a large number of pilots began retiringwhich means airlines also need to hire more pilots to replace the retirees. All these conditions give airline pilots and their unions a lot of leverage in negotiating better pay packages to get the best salaries and benefits possible as airlines look to not only keep current pilots ;ilot, but also recruit. The average U.