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United States Air Force VC-46A aircraft and the Air Force VC-25B “Bridge” (aka Air Force One) aircraft are military aircraft owned and operated by the United States Air Force and are crewed and piloted by USAF commissioned officers. These are paid as US military officers, and so the Air Force has little flexibility to provide extra pay to its pilots. The base pay is the same as any other US officer serving any branch (including the Coast Guard and Space Force) and doesn’t change by responsibility. So an Army officer receives the same base pay as a pilot of the same rank and service.
This is problematic, as it can cost around $10-15 million to train a fast jet pilot. It has left the Air Force exposed to intense competition from commercial airlines that can offer double the total compensation with what is sometimes considered a better work-life balance. One way the Air Force (and the Marines and Navy) have sought to counter this is with retention bonuses, although these are limited, and commercial airlines do the same. Here is what to know about how much commercial widebody pilots are paid and how much Air Force One pilots are paid.
Air Force One Pilots Are Commissioned Officers
The Air Force does not pay a special “Air Force One salary.” The pilots who fly these special Jumbos (and other Air Force aircraft the President flies on) are commissioned officers assigned to the 89th Airlift Wing. As with other US Air Force officers, they are paid according to their military rank and years of service. They do not get a special salary based on the prestige of the aircraft they fly.
Lieutenant Colonels with less than two years of service earn $7,295 per month in base salary, while those with six years of aviation service have a base pay of $9,250 monthly. For Colonels, the base pay is $8,751 for under two years of service and $10,284 for six years. But while six years is the highest number the US Air Force’s table goes up to, in practice all Air Force One pilots have a much longer service and earn more.
Lieutenant Colonels typically have 15–17 years of commissioned service, while Colonels typically have 21–24 years of commissioned service. A Lieutenant Colonel flying VC-46s in 2026 can be expected to have a base pay of around $130,000 to $145,000, plus a Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) of around $30,000 to $45,000, an Aviation Retention Bonus of around $35,000 to $50,000, plus other benefits for a total compensation of between $200,000 and $250,000. A Colonel can expect to earn $235,000 to $285,000 in total compensation.
Typical Air Force One Rank
The US Air Force pilots who fly the VC-46s are typically experienced Lieutenant Colonels (O-5) or Colonels (O-6). This makes them a higher rank than the typical ranks that fly fighter jets on combat missions. Most fighter jet pilots who actually carry out combat missions are First Lieutenants (O-2) and Captains (0-3). At the next rank of Major (0-4), administrative and leadership responsibilities increase, although many majors continue to fly operational and combat missions extensively.
Majors tend to carry out fewer combat missions, although they do extensively perform combat missions as required, often as squadron commanders of a strike package. It is even less common for Lieutenant Colonels and Colonels to fly in combat, although they can if a need arises. In 2026, the F-15E Strike Eagle Weapons Systems Officer that was downed over Iran is reported to have been a Colonel. On average, pilots assigned to the presidential airlift tend to be more senior in rank than pilots in operational fighter squadrons.
As such, Air Force One pilots do tend to earn more than their fighter jet (and transport) counterparts, although it is related to rank and years of service, not the aircraft per se. The 89th Airlift Wing also employs many majors and occasionally captains, although it’s unclear if they fly the VC-46s. The wing has a large range of aircraft.
The Air Force’s 89th Airlift Wing
The 89th Airlift Wing (89 AW) is based at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, and is responsible for operating the USAF’s primary executive and special air mission (SAM) fleet. According to its website, it “provides global Special Air Mission airlift, logistics, aerial port, and communications for the President, Vice President, cabinet members and senior leaders to ensure nuclear command, control and communications, continuity of government and continuity of operations.”
Its website also listed its aircraft as including two VC-25A (Air Force One) aircraft, four C-32A aircraft (often called Air Force Two), four C-40B Clippers, and eleven C-37A/Bs based on the Gulfstream business jet. This list appears somewhat out of date, as the wing now operates the VC-25B “Bridge” (ex-Qatari Boeing 747-8) Presidential aircraft. Simple Flying has previously reported that the Air Force has quietly purchased an expanded fleet of shadowy Boeing 757s; these are also operated by the 89th Airlift Wing.
89th Airlift Wing fleet (per USAF, others) | |
|---|---|
VC-25A (Air Force One | 2 |
VC-25B “Bridge” (Air Force One) | 1 |
C-32A | 4 |
C-40B Clipper | 4 |
C-37A/B | 11 |
The most notable squadron is the Presidential Airlift Group / Presidential Airlift Squadron, which is primarily responsible for the VC-25s. Other notable squadrons include the 1st Airlift Squadron (operating the C-32A and the C-40B) and the 99th Airlift Squadron (operating the C-37 fleet). The wing has a “ready force” of over 1,800 personnel.
How Much The Big-Three Widebody Pilots Are Paid
While the Air Force is heavily constrained in how much it can pay its pilots, commercial operators are not. Senior widebody captains routinely earn $400,000 to over $520,000 annually. Top widebody captains’ hourly rates at all three carriers are around $465 per hour. To some extent, the pay structure in the commercial sector is similar to that in the military.
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Commercial pilots are paid based on seniority and years of service with the airline, not so much the type of aircraft they fly. They are also based on their rank, although in the commercial sector, this is limited to captains and first officers. The primary reason why widebody aircraft captains are paid more than narrowbody captains is that pilots bid to fly the widebody aircraft based on their seniority and years of service.
This is somewhat similar to how it is with the prestigious Air Force One fleet. Those pilots are typically paid more than their fighter jet, transport, and other pilot counterparts, but that is due mostly to their seniority. They can only fly the VC-25s as they are very senior pilots. At the rank of Colonel, most pilots in the United States Air Force do not routinely fly military aircraft on operational missions, although there are numerous exceptions.
The Big Three Widebody Fleets.
The Big Three US-based airlines are Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines. Alaska Airlines now operates a limited fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners, and Hawaiian Airlines has a fleet of Airbus A330s. Southwest is one of the world’s largest airlines, but it exclusively operates the Boeing 737 narrowbody. Of the big three, American has the smallest and simplest widebody fleet made up of 67 Boeing 777s and 70 Boeing 787s.
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Delta Air Lines has the next largest widebody fleet, with 57 legacy Boeing 767s being phased down. It also has a fleet of 81 Airbus A330s and 41 Airbus A350s. Delta has placed an order for 30 Boeing 787-10s with options for 30 more, and it has 16 outstanding orders for the A330neo and 39 orders for the A350. American’s current outstanding widebody order book is for 19 Boeing 787s.
United Airlines has the largest widebody fleet, and the second largest in the world after Emirates. It operates an all-Boeing fleet of 88 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 96 Boeing 777s, and 53 aging 767s. United has recently canceled the delayed order for Airbus A350s, meaning its widebody fleet is to stay a Boeing fleet.
Pension Is One Complicated Example
It should be noted that there are other considerations when comparing income between the military and commercial sectors, although these can be difficult to simply quantify. For example, pilots in the US Air Force are guaranteed a government-backed lifetime pension of at least 20 years. With American, Delta, and United, traditional pensions are largely gone for new hires, although they contribute around 18% of pay into 401(k)-type plans.
Under the Air Force’s retirement system, a pilot can retire after 20 years of service—often in their late 30s or early 40s—and begin drawing an immediate lifetime pension while pursuing a second career. There is no direct equivalent in the commercial airline industry, where pilots generally continue flying until the FAA’s mandatory retirement age of 65 while building retirement savings through employer-funded defined-contribution plans.
This is also a contributing factor to the Air Force’s ability to retain pilots and, later, struggle to retain pilots. The military pension provides a strong incentive for pilots to remain in uniform until they reach the 20-year milestone. A pilot can serve 20 years with the Air Force, retire, be employed by a commercial airline, and then receive those additional pension contributions. That said, it’s worth noting that the Air Force pension increases if the pilot serves beyond 20 years.
