The state of this labour market is constantly changing and it can force well-trained, though highly indebted, pilots into long periods of waiting. Large companies also demand a minimum of between 1,000 and 2,000 in-flight hours from job applicants, although a pilot attains only about 170 hours of flying time during his training. Therefore, a good number of newly trained pilots are forced to sign on with the smaller companies whose salaries are sufficient to pay off their debts, but certainly not enough for the life of luxury ascribed to them by the outraged media. Furthermore, the salary cuts made in 1992 have left Lufthansa pilots' pay rates lagging behind salary increases at other airlines. With an average yearly job performance rating 5 percent higher than those of similar employees internationally, Lufthansa pilots earned 27 percent less than the international average in 1999, and increases to their salaries have remained 30 percent below the increases to the national German average income since 1991.
Pilots are also subject to enormous workloads.
Working periods range from 12 consecutive hours a day over four days in succession to 14 hours a day over two days. In order to facilitate the destruction of jobs, the airline companies demand that pilots perform types of work that do not belong to their profession. Not too long ago, an additional training period of three years was required for the so-called ramp agent, who controlled the loading of the plane, catering and the boarding of passengers. Now these tasks are increasingly being assigned to the pilots. They have to perform this additional work as well as make preparations for the upcoming flight, control the refuelling and check the technical safety of their aircraft.