How much do first year airline pilots make?

The payoff in aviation comes when one becomes a captain for a major airline.

	First Officer1	Captain (Narrow-Body)1
Year 1	$100,840	$273,220
Year 6	$187,540	$283,420
Year 12	$204,880	$296,680

How long does it take to get seniority as a pilot?

The time to advance from first officer to captain is entirely based on growth and movement on the seniority list and can take anywhere from 6 months to 3-5 years at a regional airline and from 3-5 years to 20 years at a major airline.

Can a pilot change airlines?

While different airlines will be similar in nature in certain aspects, each airline will operate differently in how they treat their staff. Sometimes this can the sole reason for why a pilot will switch airlines. One disgruntled pilot took to Glassdoor to claim, “You will be worked to within an inch of your life.

Do pilots get to choose their base?

Yes, a pilot can choose which aircraft, which position, and which crew base they will be assigned if a position is available, and if their Company system wide seniority is high enough to be awarded that position.

Are pilots required to be “type certified” to fly planes?

In the eyes of the airlines, regulators and manufacturers, that is enough since the planes are of “common type” and a pilot would be “type certified” to fly it and passengers. There is no indication from the regulators, the airlines and the manufacturers that this will change based on recent events.

How do airlines train pilots to fly different types of planes?

Every time an airline brings in a new airplane type in the fleet, more pilot training is required, including several multi-million dollar full-motion flight simulators. By earning the mark of a common type, pilots can fly each aircraft without much or any additional training.

What can a pilot on the Airbus A320 fly?

Indeed, a pilot on the Airbus A320 can fly all the variants in the A320 family: the smallest A318, the A319, the standard-size A320 and all the way to the biggest, the A321, which can carry double the passengers of an A318, without any additional training.

What qualifications do you need to become a Boeing 787 pilot?

To qualify for a Boeing 787 endorsement, pilots need to be current and qualified in the former aircraft, have completed a Boeing 787 differences course, and have passed the proficiency check that’s required. (And then, get used the grey-blue color scheme on the panels of the 787 compared to the brown of the 777.)