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Did you take a pay cut? No. Top pilots for US Airways earn about $150,000 a year. Between the salary and the monthly housing allowance, it's almost a wash financially. I get paid in euros, so every time the dollar falls, I get a raise.
Do you like your new job? As a young Marine pilot in Vietnam, I never dreamed that I'd be flying planes for a former Soviet-bloc country. But I enjoy what I'm doing. The airline is run professionally and the maintenance is top-notch. I pilot the same plane, an A320 Airbus, that I flew for US Airways, but now I'm flying to Istanbul, Dubai, Delhi and Moscow, and all over Kazakhstan.
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What about the language barrier? All international air traffic is conducted in English, and the manuals are written in English. But there can be a language problem with local crews.
What's the hardest part about being away from home? I miss my family. My wife, Sandee, is home in Phoenix, and my two grown daughters are in Kansas City, Mo. I'm home for two weeks and gone for six weeks. It takes two days to travel to Kazakhstan.
Any suggestions for the U.S. airline industry? Yeah. Make all the drinks free and charge for the toilets.