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Pilot pay

Pilot pay calculator.

Estimate first officer and captain earnings from your own numbers, then compare two airlines over the long term — upgrade time, guaranteed hours, hourly rate, and total earnings. This tool does not publish any airline's pay; you enter the figures.

Pay calculator

Enter your own numbers. Drag a slider or type. Pay is estimated as hourly rate × guaranteed hours × 12, projected across an upgrade to captain — or use a custom per-year schedule for real longevity steps.

$
$
yrs

Year 1 pay

$81,000

Year 15 pay

$207,000

Avg / year

$148,200

Total over 15 yrs

$2,223,000

YearSeatRate / hrYear payCumulative
1FO$90$81,000$81,000
2FO$90$81,000$162,000
3FO$90$81,000$243,000
4FO$90$81,000$324,000
5FO$90$81,000$405,000
6FO$90$81,000$486,000
7FO$90$81,000$567,000
8Captain$230$207,000$774,000
9Captain$230$207,000$981,000
10Captain$230$207,000$1,188,000
11Captain$230$207,000$1,395,000
12Captain$230$207,000$1,602,000
13Captain$230$207,000$1,809,000
14Captain$230$207,000$2,016,000
15Captain$230$207,000$2,223,000
Compare two airlines

Enter each airline's numbers to compare long-term earnings, upgrade time, guaranteed hours, and hourly rates side by side. Each side supports a custom per-year schedule too.

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$
$
$
yrs
Over 15 years, Airline A earns about $376,200 more.
MetricAirline AAirline B
Entry hourly rate$90$85
Top hourly rate$230$210
Guaranteed hours / month75 hrs76 hrs
Avg. upgrade time7 yrs9 yrs
Year 1 pay$81,000$77,520
Year 15 pay$207,000$191,520
Total over 15 yrs$2,223,000$1,846,800

Unequal schedules: each airline is projected over the same Compare-over horizon no matter how many rows you enter. Years beyond an airline's last entered rate carry that rate forward, so a shorter schedule can understate pay if real rates would keep rising. Match the year counts — ideally out to the full horizon — for the most precise side-by-side.

Estimates only, based on the numbers you enter. This calculator does not store or publish any airline's pay rates. Guaranteed-hour pay excludes per diem, premiums, profit sharing, and overtime. The simple model blends a single FO and captain rate across one upgrade; use the custom per-year schedule to model real longevity step increases.