How much is a pilot’s salary? All you need to know

The pilot job is one of the best jobs in the world. Who wouldn’t want to travel, to see beautiful landscapes from the cockpit all this while earning good amounts of money. However, the airline pilots’ salary comes after a thorough and expensive training, so they do not choose this job because of the salary but because of their strong passion for flying. So, how much is a pilot’s salary? Airline Pilots’ earnings vary widely, from $ 36,000 a year to several hundred thousand, depending on the job title (captain or first officer), the country in which the pilot works, his experience, the airline, as well as the type of transportation (cargo or passengers).

It should be noted that pilots are paid by the hour of flight, and during a year they cannot exceed 1400 hours in flight according to the Code of Federal Regulations.

Airline Pilots’ salary

Pilot’s salary in US

In the United States, the average salary of a pilot is $ 130,440 per year ($ 10,870 per month). This means that 50% of pilots earn more than that and 50% earn less. As mentioned above, a pilot’s salary depends largely on 3 things: the airline, the years of experience, and the title of the pilot: captain or first officer. According to the salaries from certain airlines given by Epic Flight Academy, we can find out the average pilot’s salary in the first 12 years of activity.

A captain’s salary at a Major Airline can go from $ 217,222 in the first year to $ 260,221 after 12 years of service. At Regional Airlines, captains’ earnings are lower, from $ 78,143 in the first year to $ 103,857 in the twelfth year.

As for the first officer, he has a significantly lower salary than a captain. At a Major Airline, he can earn from $ 70,046 in his first year to $ 174,045 in his 12th year, while at a Regional Airline a first officer earns about $ 44,429 in his first year and can reach around $ 58,143 in the twelfth year.

At a cargo airline, a captain earns an average of $ 230,000 and a first officer earns about $ 150,000 a year, but those numbers may vary depending on their years of experience.

Pilot’s salary in Europe

The average salary of a pilot in Europe is 77,400 euros. According to Dutch Pilot Girl, a captain in Europe earns between 72,000 euros a year (6,000 euros a month) and 144,000 euros (12,000 euros a month) or more. The salary of a first officer starts at 21,600 euros per year (1800 euros per month) and reaches around the amount of 72,000 euros (6,000 euros per month)

Pilot’s salary in South America

If we take Brazil as a reference country, The Economic Research Institute tells us that an airline pilot can earn between $ 87,000 and $ 140,000 a year. Obviously, this is indicative, a pilot can earn even more, but also less than that.

Pilot’s salary in Asia

The best-paid pilots in the world are in China. Here the salary of a first officer is about $ 120,000 a year and a captain earns about $ 240,000 a year.

Signing bonuses

Due to the lack of pilots, the bonuses they receive can be huge, from $ 5,000 to $ 15,000 or more.

How much does it cost to become a pilot?

Pilot training school costs between $ 50,000 and $ 150,000 depending on location, and training can take anywhere from 2 years to several years, but we’ll leave this topic for another article.

It is important to note that to become an airline pilot, the FAA requires a minimum number of hours in flight. These hours also cost money, but most pilots become flight instructors, so they can earn money while accumulating hours for the airline. The salary of a flight instructor is between $ 40,000 and $ 75,000 per year.

Is it worth to become a pilot?

If you start on this path, it may be difficult at first due to the work to be done and the costs but after a few years the results will appear and all the work will not be in vain. Comment down below what do you think about this career, is it worth it or not?