dailynewsnblog
Becoming an airline pilot takes years of commitment to studies and tens of thousands of dollars to pay for flight training before finally reaching the cockpit of a commercial airliner. After all that time, choosing the right carrier to sign on the dotted line with can be a complex decision. However, one of the most basic and important differentiators is baseline salary.
There are several operators across the United States where a new first officer could work at. The following six represent a sampling of the industry to illustrate the difference between legacy carriers, budget airlines, and regional operators.
6
Allegiant Air
$57 per flight hour
Allegiant often holds initial training at its facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. The budget carrier primarily operates the Airbus A320 with a smaller fleet of Boeing 737 narrowbody twinjets. Indoctrination takes about 10 to 12 weeks. Differing from the other airlines on this list, schedules for Allegiant aircraft are typically out-and-back routes. That means the pilots almost always return to their home base at the end of the day. For a new FO, it provides a high quality of life thanks to virtually zero hotel stays.
Even though Allegiant is an ultra-low-cost carrier, pilots often choose to stay long-term for the stable lifestyle rather than the maximum career earnings of a legacy widebody pilot. Upgrades to captain can be quick, approximately two to four years, due to steady industry attrition. Notably, base pay is expected to rise significantly in the near future.
Allegiant has not significantly updated its compensation for pilots in about a decade. Yet, the airline posted significant revenue in early 2026 despite pilot pay being roughly 40% below the industry standard. This led to pilots under the Teamsters Local 2118 staging an informational picket against Allegiant. In July, a tentative agreement was reached to restructure compensation for aviators, according to the Ready For Takeoff Book.
Under the terms of TA26, new first officer pay is expected to climb to $107 per hour, in a stunning 86% jump. Additional pay rises are slated for the coming years as well. Senior first officers will earn over $210 per hour under the new pay scale. Allegiant agreed to pay out a lump sum of $300 million in retention bonuses as well to bring its compensation for aviators in line with the wider industry.
5
SkyWest Airlines
$90 per flight hour
As a regional carrier, SkyWest is partnered with multiple larger airlines, like Delta and American. New FOs fly high-frequency legs on rounds that take them to numerous smaller regional airports in a single duty shift. Four-leg days are not uncommon when flying the ‘puddle jumpers.’ Reserve times can also reportedly be on the long side.
There are two SkyWest training centers located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Denver, Colorado. SkyWest provides a commercial pilot license course approved by the Federal Aviation Administration for new hires who do not have one. After getting the ATP-CT CTP, that training cycle is followed by a standard six-to-eight-week regional jet type rating.
As a junior FO, the primary objective here is building the turbine multi-engine flight time required to upgrade to captain. In general, SkyWest functions primarily as a career stepping stone for a major airline. Upgrades to captain can happen remarkably fast, sometimes in as little as one to two years. This makes new aviators more marketable to mainline carriers in order to progress their career.
4
Southwest Airlines
$116 per flight hour
Southwest Airlines maintains a training center in Dallas Love Field (DAL), Texas, for new FOs. Because SWA exclusively operates the Boeing 737, training is extremely standardized and focused on refining skills and procedures to perform rapid turnarounds and efficient point-to-point flight profiles. Unlike the legacy Big Three, Southwest does not use a hub-and-spoke model and, thus, pilots will fly three to five legs a day in short turns.
Southwest is built on keeping planes moving. Thus, ground stops will be rapid, often requiring new FOs to do the post-flight walk-around, cross-check the flight deck setup, and assist the crew in turning the plane around. Because of the domestic point-to-point nature of the routes, overnights are also fast and functional. Still, even reserve pilots at the bottom of the seniority list are protected by guaranteed minimum days off. The typical average is 15 to 19 days per month for junior FOs, according to Aviator Intelligence.
First-year FOs are typically assigned to fly the red-eye itineraries until they move up in the seniority ranks. However, they are not generally given a high volume of multi-stop daily flights. Because the fleet is a single type, progression is simpler, and there is no bidding for different airframes. Upgrades to captain typically run longer; however, the average is between seven and ten years thanks to SWA’s high retention rate.
3
Delta Air Lines
$118 per flight hour
Delta has its largest concentration of aircraft and aviators at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL), thus, it also holds initial training and onboarding there as well. The airline emphasizes crew resource management and corporate culture introduction for new hires. First officer training can be between 8 and 11 weeks before a fresh pilot is eligible to fly a final check ride.
Many Junior FOs will be based in Atlanta, but others can be assigned to Detroit or Minneapolis, where DAL also has a very large presence. Although its base compensation is lower than the other two carriers in The Big Three, the airline is known for its strong profit-sharing program and quality of life balance.
New FOs can expect to fly a 737 or A320 with an assignment on short-call reserve. That means routinely flying two to four legs per day, maneuvering through complex domestic airspace, dealing with high-traffic airport arrivals, and managing quick turnarounds at the gate. Layovers are short and functional, with regular 10-to-14-hour domestic hotel stays between duties.
2
American Airlines
$120 per flight hour
As the second carrier from the Big Three in this review, American Airlines also has an exceptionally large fleet with nearly as many aviators on its payroll as United. AA has most of its flight training at its Mega Hub at Dallas Fort Worth International (DFW) in Texas. Here, new first officers will go through simulators, procedural training, and IOE. Many new hires will begin their career flying out of Fort Worth to serve the hub-and-spoke system based at DFW.
The seniority structure follows a well-defined progression, with junior pilots having the opportunity to upgrade from a 737 or A320 to larger planes like the Boeing 787 or 777. The typical timeline to make captain flying domestic routes is between four and eight years. Similarly, the wait time to move up into a larger jetliner often takes more than three years.
Junior pilots are put in reserve after they join the fleet, with the option to bid between long call or short call. Long call reserve FOs have a 12 -to-14-hour call out window, which grants them a better quality of life balance but comes with a lower monthly guarantee of 73 hours. Short call is two to three hours, just like United, but it comes with a higher monthly guarantee of 76 hours in pay.
1
United Airlines
$125 per flight hour
United Airlines has the world’s largest fleet of commercial aircraft, at over 1,000 strong. Supporting that massive armada of jetliners, UA employs around 18,000 pilots and hires more than 1,000 first officers every year. The onboarding process takes place at the United Flight Training Center in Denver, Colorado. The 10-to-12-week program covers advanced simulator work and initial operating experience as new first officers perform a flight with a line check captain.
The first year’s experience begins with short call reserve duty, which means being on standby to report to an airport within two or three hours of notice, ready to fly. Fresh pilots typically operate the hub-to-hub routes. Even if you do not fly a single hour while on reserve, you are paid a 73-hour monthly minimum guarantee at your standard first-year rate.
Thanks to the enormous fleet and fast network, there is significant room for progression to widebody jets on international itineraries around the globe. Most new hires are assigned to domestic fleets like the 737 or A320. At one time, the carrier did award new hires assignment to the Boeing 757 or 767 straight out of training, but it has reportedly stopped doing so.
As mandatory age-65 retirements are currently hitting rosters hard, seniority is moving up much more quickly. With consistent performance, new pilots can double their pay within the first five years. United is also considered one of the top career choices thanks to its industry-leading retirement plan. UA provides an 18% direct company contribution to your 401(k) under the current pilot contract, requiring no personal matching contribution from your paycheck.
