If you desire to work as a pilot, you might ask yourself:
How much could you earn per year?
There are multiple reasons as to why you would choose the aviation profession.
First, it is ultimately because of your love of flight and seeing the world from a different perspective.
Second, perhaps you are interested in aviation because of the high pilot’s salary; the salary of pilots has significantly increased due to the increase in demand for pilots all around the world. According to these 2019 statistics, the average salary of a pilot in the United States reached $30000 per month.
The pilot’s salary is an important topic for the ones who aim at joining this profession.
There are many questions about their salary as it is the highest salary in the world.
A pilot’s salary is not fixed like most other professions, and it increases continuously according to the promotions you get, the number of extra hours, the experience you gain, the allowances that are added to your salary as well.
So, we will help you perceive how much your future salary might be as a pilot.
Your salary as a pilot on an airline is calculated based on your working hours.
To clarify it more, it is determined in accordance with the monthly total hours you will work. Besides, they take into consideration that each pilot has to work no less than 85 hours a month on average. In addition to this,you will receive a daily allowance which reimburses you for your food and drink expenses.
These allowances can be around $ 350 per month.
How much is the highest salary you can get?
Regional Airlines Vs. Major Airlines:
The May- report in 2019 stated the salary range for airline pilots, co-pilots, and flight engineers.
The average salary was less than $ 6,000 a month. As for the top 10 percent salaries, they were more than $ 17,000 a month.
However, these numbers are just a glimpse of how much you will earn as a pilot and how those earnings will change throughout your career.
The average pilot’s salary at major airlines per month: $ 8,000 to $ 33,000
The average pilot’s salary at regional airlines per month: $ 4,000 to $ 11,000
Regional Airlines:
Airlines are mainly divided into two categories: regional airlines and major airlines.
Thus, you have two options: either to remain in the regional airlines or to work for them for a while then go to the major ones.
This is what most pilots do. They consider the regional airlines an opportunity to work their way up to the major ones.
When you work as a pilot in one of those regional airlines, these companies usually operate under the management of a major airline, yet the regional airlines aren’t considered as a part of those major companies.
In regional airlines, you will usually fly with smaller aircraft ranging from 50 to 75 passengers.
Mostly, regional airlines are your first destination to get a job in the aviation field. Their salary is usually low compared to major airlines.
Major Airlines:
The major airlines are well-known names such as American Airlines, Delta, and United Airlines, in addition to companies in the Arab and Middle East region such as Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, as well as the FedEx and UPS shipping companies.
According to Glassdoor, the average salary of a pilot in American airline companies is $9500 per month. However, most of the well-known airline companies actually pay pilots more than the average salary. For example, if you are a pilot in Delta Airlines, your monthly salary would be around $11500. If you worked for American Airlines, your monthly salary would be around $11800, although if you worked for United Airlines, your average salary would be approximately $15000.
You will work for a period at the beginning of your life to gain experience that qualifies you for employment by one of the major airline companies. Once you get a job in one of these companies, you will enjoy many advantages such as a high salary.
If you are one of those lucky pilots who work in a big company, such as American Airlines, you will get $ 8,000 a month in your first year of work.
Salary can vary depending on which plane you fly in. But for example, if you are a senior officer, in the sixth year you will get at least $ 15,000 a month, whereas if you are in the twelfth year, you can easily earn more than $ 16,500 per month.
The increase in the monthly salary of a pilot when he gets a promotion from a senior officer to the captain:
| First Officer | Captain | |
| First year | $8000 | $22000 |
| The next years | $15000 | $23000 |
| After a few years. | $16000 | $24000 |
Commercial Aviation Pilot – The Seven Million Dollar Career
Thanks to the act of Trade Union and seniority protection, the security of employment, and guaranteed profits, the chances to apply for the airlines are well available.
If you look forward to working as a commercial pilot, you will earn a lot of money. In addition to the annual profits of senior leaders which are estimated to be $ 300,000, you will get around $ 7 million of the gross profits, as shown below according to the normal career progression.
Calculating the hourly rates in the annual salary
Through utilizing the ratio ‘’ 85 hours a month, 4000 dollars a year to each day, the hourly salary’’ as mentioned before, then for example if you work for a company like Envoy Air, you will earn between $ 6,500 to $ 7,200 a month.
When you reach the level of senior leaders, your salary is about $ 7,800 a month, and it increases to $ 8,500.
The salary of a private airline pilot
The same federal rules applied as a commercial airline pilot will be applied to you when you fly private planes. However, one of the major differences is that after you retire as a commercial pilot, you can work as a private pilot if you want to continue flying.
A private pilot’s salary would be similar to that of a commercial airline; for instance, companies like NetJets pay $9300 per month on average according to Glassdoor.
Another perk of being a private pilot is that you can travel to different airports around the world that commercial airlines don’t usually fly to.
Your hourly salary as an airline pilot depends on your seniority with the company and usually increases after each year you work for the airline. You start in the aviation career as a senior officer with first-year pay, then salary rates rise every subsequent year with the company. Once you get promoted from a pilot to a captain, you will earn the high salary of the captain.
If you have any questions regarding the aviation profession or aviation training licenses that you can enroll in to become a pilot, please register here.
