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The money

Airline pilot salary in 2026 — the real numbers.

Hourly rates straight from the 2026 collective bargaining agreements, what a year actually looks like, and what the career returns on the training investment.

Data last verified September 27, 2026 · sources cited in each section · how we verify
vs. other careers
PCS analysis

How does flying actually compare?

A rough comparison against medicine, law, engineering, MBA finance, and skilled trades: training cost, time to earn, lifetime gross, and hours worked. The bars are PCS estimates for illustration, rounded; the airline figures come from the pay tables above.

Honest caveats: These are median outcomes for top performers in each field. Doctors include specialty range (family practice to neurosurgery). Lawyers assume BigLaw or strong regional firm. Engineers assume senior individual contributor track at FAANG/aerospace, not startup founder. The pilot bars assume a career that reaches a major airline; many pilots never do, and the same is true of the top of every other field here. Survivorship bias is real in every field. The relative comparisons matter more than the absolute numbers, and none of the non-airline figures is a sourced statistic: they are PCS estimates from published salary surveys, rounded, as of September 2026.
Next · The CareerWhat pilots actually earn
Honest pay data

What pilots actually earn.

2026 figures, US carriers. Aggregated from APC, union contracts, and BLS data. Pay scales aggressively with seniority — it's almost flat for the first 2–4 years, then explodes.

Tier 01 · Entry
Flight Instructor (CFI)
$35k– $60k / year
Build hours toward 1,500. Most pilots spend 12–24 months here.
Tier 02 · Regional
Regional First Officer
$85k– $110k / year
First airline job. First-year base at the 75-hour guarantee runs about $83–95k at the large regionals on 2026 rates; premium flying and signing bonuses add to it.
Tier 03 · Regional CA
Regional Captain
$140k– $200k / year
Typically 2–4 years after starting at the regional.
Tier 04 · Major FO
Major Airline First Officer
$110k– $280k / year
Delta, United, American, Southwest, FedEx, UPS. Hourly × seniority.
Tier 05 · Major CA
Major Narrow-body Captain
$280k– $400k / year
737, A320 family. 8–12 years after major hire-on date.
Tier 06 · Wide-body
Wide-body Captain
$400k– $525k / year
777, 787, A350. International routes. 20+ years of seniority at your legacy.
Tier 07 · Cargo
Cargo Captain (FedEx / UPS)
$350k– $550k / year
Often the highest aggregate compensation; great schedules.
Tier 08 · Private
Corporate / Part 91

Source: American, United, and Delta pilot collective bargaining agreements, hourly rates effective January 1, 2026 (Delta, United) and May 2, 2026 (American), as published in the carriers' pay tables (Airline Pilot Central). Year-of-service and aircraft group as labeled; other airlines differ · Last verified: September 18, 2026

$120k– $300k / year
Gulfstream, Global, Falcon. Keep all the hotel and airline points, plus exclusive other benefits.
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