Two tools: a monthly paycheck builder from hourly rate and credit hours, and a career-long simulator with IRS-capped, compounding 401(k) contributions.
Forget the "$300k salary" headlines. Pilot pay is hourly, with a monthly minimum guarantee. Pay varies by month, by aircraft, by airline. This calculator shows you what a real month actually looks like.
Every "$400k senior captain" number you see online is hourly pay × 1,000 flight hours per year. Real life is more nuanced: hourly rate × actual credit hours, with a monthly minimum guarantee if you're on reserve. Credit hours include things you didn't physically fly — deadheading, training, duty and trip rigs, and the reserve guarantee. This calculator models all of it.
Not quite. $483.74 is the published Year-12 top-of-scale hourly rate for a 777/787 captain at United (January 1, 2026) and at American (May 2, 2026); Delta's A350/777 figure is $465.13 (January 1, 2026). Use whichever airline you mean, and the date. Annual income depends on hours flown — which is capped by federal regulations and varies month to month based on schedule, aircraft type, seniority, and trip mix.
At a 75-hour monthly minimum guarantee (guarantees vary by contract, roughly 72–76 credit hours at the legacy carriers) (credit hours, not block): $483.74 × 75 × 12 = ~$435,000 base pay per year. This is the floor — what you get paid even on a slow month. Line holders typically credit 80-95 hours/month with deadhead, duty rigs, trip rigs, and pickup trips stacking on top. Add per diem and an 18% direct retirement contribution (United under its 2023 agreement; Delta from January 1, 2026; American from May 2, 2026 under the APA agreement, all nonelective company contributions), capped at the IRS Section 415(c) limit of ~$72,000/yr, with any excess flowing into a Cash Balance Plan) and total annual compensation reaches ~$525,000+. But "the top published hourly rate × 1,000 block hours" is fantasy math — that's a safety regulation ceiling, not a pay formula. Use the calculator below to model your real-world situation.
Source: hourly rates from Airline Pilot Central (United and Delta tables effective Jan 1, 2026; American's step May 2, 2026); IRS Notice 2025-67 (2026 limits: 401(k) elective deferral $24,500; §415(c) total $72,000, $80,000 with age-50 catch-up); 401(k) figures for JetBlue, Alaska and UPS from their Airline Pilot Central pages (checked Sep 26, 2026) · Last verified: September 26, 2026
Plug in your hourly rate, hours flown, and other variables. The output card updates in real time.
If you don't know these terms, you'll be confused at every union meeting and crew brief. The single most important thing to understand: pilots are paid for "credit" hours, not "block" hours. Learn the difference before your first day.
The time from when the aircraft pushes back from the departure gate until it parks at the arrival gate. This is what gets logged in your logbook, what FAR Part 117 limits, and what counts toward your 1,500 hours for ATP. But it is NOT what most airlines pay you for. A pilot can fly 60 block hours in a month and get paid for 90. Block is a safety metric, not a pay metric.
What your contract actually pays you for, which is almost always MORE than block. Credit includes: monthly minimum guarantee (paid even if you fly zero hours), deadhead at 100% pay, minimum daily/trip guarantees, duty rigs, trip rigs, holiday pay overrides, junior assignment premium, and various contractual sweeteners. A reserve pilot can fly zero block in a month and still be paid the contract's reserve guarantee, roughly 72–76 credit hours at the legacy carriers; the exact figure is set by each collective bargaining agreement and changes with each contract, so verify the current number for the airline you are modeling. Credit can exceed block by 20-40% on a typical line.
A common contract provision: you get paid at least 1 hour of credit for every 2 hours of duty (the "1:2 duty rig"). If you're on duty 12 hours but only flew 4 block hours, the duty rig kicks in and pays you 6 credit hours instead. This protects you from getting underpaid on long duty days with little flying. Common at majors; some regional contracts have weaker rigs.
You get paid at least 1 hour of credit for every 3.5-4 hours of Time Away From Base (a "1:3.5 or 1:4 TAFB rig" — the exact ratio, and whether a trip rig exists at all, is set by each airline's contract; these are typical legacy-carrier values, not a universal rule). On a 3-day trip with only 12 block hours but 60 hours away from home, the trip rig pays you 15-17 credit hours regardless. This is why pilots can earn well on trips with minimal actual flying.
Riding on an airplane as a passenger to position for a trip or return home. You're not flying the plane, no block time logged, but you get 100% pay credit at most U.S. majors. Sit back, enjoy the flight, collect the same hourly rate as if you were in the left seat.
Reserve pilots are on call to cover sick calls, weather delays, and operational disruptions. Even if you fly zero block hours all month, you're guaranteed a minimum monthly credit — but the specific number depends entirely on your airline's CBA. Some examples from current 2026 contracts:
Status: reserve-guarantee figures are as reported for each carrier's pilot agreement (Airline Pilot Central and pilot reports); not verified against the contract text here · UNVERIFIED as of September 27, 2026 (United's 75-hour figure in particular: the UPA23 reserve guarantee is expressed in daily values) — confirm with the carrier's current agreement
Reserves typically credit substantially more than guarantee through trip assignments, junior assignment premiums, and pickup flying. Long call (12-14hr notice) usually pays a lower guarantee than short call (2-3hr notice), reflecting the quality-of-life trade-off.
Total time you're on the job — from when you report to operations until you're released. Regulated by FAR Part 117 as a safety limit, not a pay limit. Part 117 caps a two-pilot flight duty period between 9 and 14 hours depending on report time and number of legs (14 only for a 0700–1159 report with one or two legs), with flight time capped at 8 or 9 hours; augmented crews get more. Duty time drives the rigs that determine credit, but is itself not directly paid.
For every hour you're away from your crew base on a trip, you receive a small per-hour stipend (typically $2.50-$4.00). Per diem is paid per hour of TAFB — including time at the hotel, in the airport, and deadheading. Per diem is mostly tax-free up to GSA rates, making it functionally worth ~30% more than the same dollar of taxable pay.
The FAA limits how many block hours pilots can fly to prevent fatigue. These limits cap how much you can physically fly — but they don't cap how much you get paid. Pilots earn credit hours, which include deadheading, reserve guarantee, duty rigs, and trip rigs that add to (or replace) block time for pay purposes. It's entirely common for a pilot to credit 90 hours in a month while only logging 65 block hours.
Maximum flight time in one duty period for a 2-pilot crew reporting between 0500 and 1959 (8 hours at other report times). The flight duty period around it runs 9 to 14 hours depending on report time and number of legs. Augmented crews can fly longer. This is a safety limit — not a pay floor.
Maximum block flight time in any rolling 28-day period. This is the monthly block cap most line pilots brush against. Credit hours can exceed this — block is what's federally limited.
Maximum block flight time per year. Annual pay is NOT capped at 1,000 hours × hourly rate — credit hours including deadheading, rigs, and guarantees stack on top. A senior captain might credit 1,200+ hours of pay against ~950 block hours.
Build a custom career path stage-by-stage. We'll project total pay and 401(k) compounding to age 65.
Through your career, including base pay and retirement contributions.
| Year | Age | Role | Base pay | 401(k) added | Total comp |
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