The top companies that most airline pilots want to work for in the United States are American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines. These are by far the largest carriers in the US, and they also pay more than any other airline in the US. In fact, they pay their pilots some of the highest salaries of any airline in the world. However, while the legacy carriers do pay their flight crews more money than practically any other passenger airline in the world, there are two other companies that are highly desirable to pilots in the US: FedEx Express and UPS Airlines.

The cargo airlines have always been appealing to a specific group of pilots who are favorable to longer trips and working at odd hours in exchange for less actual flying time. Historically, pay rates were at parity with the legacy passenger airlines, and pilots at these carriers could even make more money than those at the passenger airlines. This is less common now because of the huge pay raises that pilots at American, Delta, and United have received in recent years, but the freight dawgs are still earning a pretty penny.

Flying Boxes Versus Passengers

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Airline pilots in the US are usually paid by the hour, and specifically for the hours that they fly. Pilots are restricted to flying 100 hours in a month and 1,000 hours in a year. However, they also spend significant time working on the ground, but are only paid when the aircraft is moving. Pilot pay consists of multiple components, with the hourly rate being by far the highest factor, and you can generally multiply the hourly rate by 1,000 to get a loose idea of a pilot’s yearly income.

Pilots usually work ‘trips’, where they will fly for multiple days in a row and then return home for their days off. Pilots at the passenger airlines usually work two, three, or four-day trips, while long-haul trips can often stretch to six days. Long-haul trips can stretch even longer, such as to nine days, but these trips are much less common and usually involve crews flying a ‘W pattern’ (flying to an international destination, then to another hub, back to the spoke, then to home base). This is inefficient for the airline, and it’s therefore done rarely.

Cargo pilots working for FedEx or UPS work two different types of trips. Domestic trips usually consist of multiple ‘out-and-backs’, which usually last for several days and involve a significant amount of time on the ground, waiting to head back to base. Meanwhile, international trips can last anywhere from a few days to two weeks and see pilots traveling through multiple hubs and spokes around the world. International trips are generally much more desirable because they include more flying and are easier on the body.

The Hourly Rates For Pilots

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The initial starting salaries for pilots at American, Delta, and United are generally around $120 per hour, a rate that is constant across all fleets. Pilots receive annual pay increases that are tied to their years with the company, while the current contracts at these airlines also stipulate that the hourly rates themselves must increase each year. In addition, hourly rates increase with larger aircraft types, and captains are paid even more. Widebody captains at the big three can earn around $460 per hour, although the exact number varies by airline.

Pilots at the big three passenger airlines received new contracts in 2023, which is important context when examining the differences in how crews are paid at the cargo airlines. FedEx Express pilots just ratified a new agreement in late June 2026, while UPS Airlines crews are still negotiating a new contract. Therefore, pilots at FedEx are entitled to slightly higher hourly rates than those at the passenger airlines, while UPS pilots are behind since they’re still working under a much older agreement.

In 2026, the current FedEx agreement stipulates that new hire pilots receive around $113 per hour if assigned to a narrowbody, while those assigned to a widebody are entitled to $117 per hour. Meanwhile, these rates rise to nearly $470 per hour for widebody captains. FedEx only has two aircraft pay groups, which are narrowbodies and widebodies. UPS pilots start making just under $60 per hour, and their rates rise to over $400 per hour for widebody captains.

The Other Components Of Flight Crew Pay

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The hourly rate is the largest component of pilot pay, but another part is per diem. This is a benefit meant to cover living expenses while on a trip and is calculated for all hours that the crew member is away from their domicile (including flight hours). Crucially, per diem is usually not taxable, except during trips that don’t include a layover (also known as day trips). This means that per diem can significantly increase a pilot’s paycheck, even if the rate itself appears low.

The passenger airlines have two per diem rates: one for flights within the continental US and a higher rate for all other trips. This ranges from just under $3 to around $3.50 per hour at the three legacy carriers. At FedEx Express, the new per diem rate is set at $2.85 per hour for domestic trips and $3.85 per hour for international trips. As is the case at the passenger airlines, the per diem rates will be raised in the future as part of the contract. Meanwhile, the UPS per diem rates are lower because of the older contract.

In addition to flight hours, pilots are compensated for time during training and can pick up premium trips. These are trips in which the company has a vacant position and is willing to pay extra money to the crew member who may select it, typically 150%. With all of these combined, senior pilots can find themselves earning over $200,000 or $300,000 a year, while widebody captains can easily bring home close to half a million per year, especially if they pick up premium flying.

The Other Factors That Influence Pay

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Seniority is everything at airlines, as this determines your domicile, aircraft, and position (as in, captain or first officer). The latter two have a huge impact on a pilot’s pay rate, combined with how long a crew member has been with their company. In this discussion, however, it’s the aircraft bidding categories that are especially relevant, because it’s the widebodies that are the highest-paying aircraft types in any airline’s fleet, but they’re far more accessible to pilots at the cargo airlines.

It usually takes only a few years for a pilot to have enough seniority for a widebody first officer position at passenger airlines, but a widebody captain position can require close to 30 years of seniority. This is because of how long-haul flights are staffed, usually including either one captain and two first officers, two captains and two first officers, or one captain and three first officers, depending on the route and airline. The passenger airlines generally require many more widebody first officers than captains, creating this discrepancy.

The cargo airlines also staff more first officers than captains, but crucially, widebodies make up the majority of their mainline fleets. It’s common for new hires to get assigned to fleets like the Airbus A300 or Boeing 767 (which is flown by a separate pilot group from the 757 at FedEx and UPS) upon hiring, and even the smaller groups like UPS’s 747 fleet can be held within a few years of hiring. Meanwhile, widebody captain positions also require much less seniority than at the passenger airlines because they make up a much larger portion of the airline’s workforce.

Another Factor Determining Pay

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A FedEx/UPS pilot may find themselves being entitled to a similar, higher, or lower hourly rate as a pilot working for a passenger airline in an equivalent aircraft/position combination. However, the high-paying widebody first officer and captain positions generally come quicker for the freight dawgs, which significantly changes the equation and can make flying cargo appear more financially lucrative. However, another factor behind pay is how many hours pilots actually fly.

At all airlines, pilots are entitled to a minimum hours guarantee, but are usually scheduled to fly a ‘line’ with more hours than the minimum guarantee. However, freight crews tend to fly fewer hours in a given month than their passenger counterparts. Of course, this does depend on a pilot’s specific preferences, but it is nonetheless the general trend. Meanwhile, the type of schedule that a pilot selects also has a major impact on their earnings, with crew members either selecting a line or reserve schedule.

A line consists of a set schedule with trips assigned on specific days, which are requested by the pilot and then awarded based on seniority. Weekends off go senior, as do more productive trips (as in, how many hours a pilot flies compared to the amount of time they’re away). Meanwhile, reserve schedules have pilots waiting on call, and these usually go junior, but can sometimes go senior at the cargo airlines because pilots often find themselves flying less while still being paid the monthly guarantee.