Pilot Salary in 2026: Airline, Regional and Instructor Pay

Pilot pay has a wide range, and where you sit in it depends almost entirely on where you are in the career. A new flight instructor and a senior widebody captain are both pilots, and one can earn ten times what the other does. Here is what each step pays, from the first paid flying job to the top of an airline seniority list.

Figure	What it is	Source
$232,140	Median pay, US airline pilots	Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
$123,220	Median pay, US commercial pilots	Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
About $100/hr	First-year regional first officer	Airline Pilot Central, 2025 to 2026
16,400	Pilot job openings a year, 2025 to 2035	Bureau of Labor Statistics

Pay at each step of the career

Most airline pilots follow the same ladder: train to a commercial certificate, instruct to build hours, fly for a regional airline, then move to a major. Pay climbs at every step.

Step	Typical pay	How you get there
Flight instructor	$25 to $40 an hour new, up to about $100 with experience	A commercial certificate and an instructor rating, around 250 hours
Regional first officer	About $92 to $105 an hour in year one	An ATP certificate, 1,500 hours (fewer with a degree or military time)
Regional captain	About $157 an hour in year one as captain	A few years at the regional
Major airline first officer	About $118 to $126 an hour in year one	Usually several thousand hours, often regional captain time
Major airline widebody captain	About $465 to $485 an hour at the top of the scale	Seniority, typically 12 years or more at the airline

A career program covers the first row: it takes you from zero experience to a commercial certificate and an instructor rating, so you can start being paid to fly while you build the hours for the rest.

Airline pilot salary

The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median US airline pilot at $232,140 a year (May 2025). The bottom tenth earns under $106,710, which is mostly first officers in their first years. The top tenth earns over $463,830, which is senior captains at the majors.

Where you fly matters too. The median at cargo airlines like FedEx and UPS is $334,930, and at scheduled passenger airlines $293,240.

How airline pay works

Airline pilots are paid by the hour, not a salary. The hours counted are credit hours, roughly time with the airplane moving, and each airline guarantees a monthly minimum. At most regionals that minimum is about 75 hours a month. At Delta it is 65.

So a first-year regional first officer at about $100 an hour, paid for 75 hours a month, earns roughly $90,000 a year before per diem and bonuses. Every year of seniority moves you up the pay table, and upgrading to captain moves you to a higher table.

Regional airlines

Regionals are where nearly every new airline pilot starts. Published first-year first officer rates:

Airline	First-year first officer
Endeavor Air	$105.08 an hour (from October 2025)
Republic Airways	$93,646 a year, on 85 credit hours a month
SkyWest	About $92 an hour

Regionals have also paid large sign-on bonuses when hiring is tight. Those come and go with the market, so treat them as a bonus and not part of the plan.

Major airlines

At United, a first-year first officer earns $125.52 an hour under the 2026 pay table. Delta starts first officers at about $118 an hour and American at about $121. The top of the scale, a 12-year captain on a 777, 787 or A350, earns about $465 to $485 an hour under the contracts ratified in 2023. Our pilot salary by airline guide has the full tables for Delta, United, American, Southwest, FedEx, UPS and the regionals.

Commercial pilot salary

Not every professional pilot flies for an airline. Charter, corporate, cargo feeder, tour, firefighting, survey and medical flying all fall under commercial pilots. The median there is $123,220 a year (May 2025), with the bottom tenth under $58,850 and the top tenth over $266,620.

Flight instructor salary

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not report flight instructors separately; they count as commercial pilots. The closest number it publishes is the median for commercial pilots working at private trade schools, which includes flight schools: $93,820.

Industry estimates put new instructors at $25 to $40 an hour, mid-career instructors at $40 to $70 and experienced ones at $70 to $100 or more. Most people do not instruct for the money, though. They instruct because it is the fastest paid way to build from about 250 hours to the 1,500 an airline needs, usually in 12 to 18 months at a busy school.

Why pay is high right now

US airline pilots must retire at 65, and a large group is reaching that age. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects about 16,400 pilot openings a year from 2025 to 2035, most of them replacing pilots who retire or leave, and 7% growth in pilot jobs over the decade, much faster than average.

Airline hiring still comes in waves. It slows when the economy does and picks up again after. Seniority is the other thing to know: every year at an airline raises your pay, and it does not transfer if you switch airlines, which is why starting earlier is worth money over a career.

Questions

How much do airline pilots make?

The median US airline pilot earned $232,140 in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. New regional first officers start around $90,000 a year, and senior widebody captains at the majors can earn over $460,000.

How much do pilots make in their first year?

A new flight instructor earns about $25 to $40 an hour. A first-year regional first officer earns about $92 to $105 an hour, roughly $90,000 a year on a 75-hour monthly minimum.

How much do flight instructors make?

Industry estimates put new instructors at $25 to $40 an hour and experienced ones at $70 to $100 or more. Full-time instructors often earn $55,000 to $65,000 a year.

Do pilots get paid per hour or a salary?

Airline pilots are paid by the credit hour with a guaranteed monthly minimum, typically 75 hours at a regional. Corporate and some charter pilots are paid a salary.

How long until a pilot earns six figures?

Most pilots cross $100,000 in their first or second year at a regional airline, about two to four years after their first lesson. See how long it takes to become a pilot for the timeline.

Sources

Last reviewed October 2026. Pay tables change with every airline contract, so check the source before you make a decision on one of these numbers.