Airline pilot salary UK 2026: first officer, captain and take-home pay
This guide uses the £82,746 ONS median for the combined aircraft pilots and air traffic controllers occupation. Compare first officer and captain pay, monthly take-home and the limits of using one national figure for two regulated careers.
How to read the official airline pilot salary figure
Airline pilot is a clear search topic, but the ONS occupation group is broader: it combines aircraft pilots with air traffic controllers. The £82,746 midpoint is therefore a strong guide to senior aviation pay, not a pilot-only promise and not a starting salary for a newly qualified first officer.
The estimate is based on a relatively small full-time job sample and is marked for cautious use. Airline, fleet, rank, route pattern, guaranteed flying pay and allowances can all move an individual package. Compare a real contract with the published point rather than treating one national figure as a fixed rate.
For a real offer, compare like with like. ONS annual gross pay can include cash extras reported through payroll, while an airline advert may show basic salary only or an expected total with flying pay and allowances. Training debt, type-rating costs, commuting to base and rostered time away can also change how valuable the package feels.
Which aviation jobs this salary page covers
The source group includes aircraft pilots and air traffic controllers. The page is most useful when that broader scope is kept visible.
Good fit for this page
- Commercial airline pilots, first officers and captains within the ONS group
- Cargo, charter and other employed aircraft pilot roles
- Gross employee earnings before tax, which may include payroll extras as well as basic pay
Use a different comparison for
- A fixed trainee pilot salary or the full cost of flight training
- Cabin crew, ground operations or aircraft engineering roles
- Self-employed flying income, business turnover or a single airline pay scale
Lower, typical and higher airline pilot pay
The verified public extract does not include a published point above the median for this occupation. The ladder can show the market points available, but it cannot invent a missing upper rung.
- Lower-middle pay25th percentile£61,511
- Typical payMedian£82,746
No upper published point has been added. The personalised report can still combine your confirmed salary with take-home pay, True Wage and a suggested salary target.
Compare your confirmed salary with the official aviation occupation points, then see take-home pay and True Wage after roster time, commuting and work costs.
The verified public extract does not include an upper percentile for this occupation, so no missing salary point is guessed.
Official airline pilot salary points used in this guide
See the published salary points
| Pay point | Annual salary | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| 25th percentile | £61,511 | Below the occupation midpoint |
| Median | £82,746 | The published midpoint |
The paid report estimates a position using the verified occupation data. It does not claim an exact ranking of every worker.
Airline pilot salary per month and after tax
At the £82,746 occupation median, gross pay is about £6,896 a month. A standard 2026/27 estimate gives take-home pay of about £4,879 a month after tax and employee National Insurance. The simple average is shown separately where ONS published it.
The estimate uses the standard Personal Allowance, Income Tax bands for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and employee National Insurance. It does not include pension, student loan, salary sacrifice or a different tax code. Scottish Income Tax is different.
Typical airline pilot salary and the published pay range
The published lower-middle point is £61,511 and the median is £82,746. ONS did not publish a reliable full-time mean or upper-quartile point for this occupation, so this guide does not invent either figure.
The midpoint ranks among the highest published occupation salaries in the production data. That reflects experienced aviation roles, but individual pay can still vary sharply between a new first officer, a long-haul captain and an air traffic controller.
First officer, captain and London airline pilot salaries
These common searches sit at different career stages. The ONS figure gives national context, but it does not split the group by rank, airline, fleet or airport base.
First officer salary
The table does not publish a single first officer starting salary. Training route, type rating, airline and guaranteed hours matter, so compare the lower published point with the actual contract rather than using it as a promised entry rate.
Airline captain salary
Captains normally carry greater command, safety and operational responsibility. Senior captain packages may sit above the occupation midpoint, but the source does not provide a separate captain-only figure.
Airline pilot salary in London
The figures are UK-wide. Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and London City roles may have different bases, rosters and allowances, but this source does not publish a London-only pilot salary.
Useful next step: compare this role with the real hourly wage calculator, or commute time impact.
What usually changes airline pilot pay
Pilot pay is shaped by rank, aircraft, roster and the structure of guaranteed and variable earnings. Two contracts with the same headline can produce very different working lives.
Rank and command
Second officers, first officers, senior first officers and captains carry different levels of responsibility and normally sit at different pay points.
Airline, fleet and route
Short-haul, long-haul, cargo, charter and business aviation use different operating models. Aircraft type and route pattern can affect training, allowances and time away.
Guaranteed pay and allowances
Basic salary, sector pay, flying pay, overnight allowances and bonus should be separated. Variable earnings are not the same as guaranteed salary.
Roster and commuting
Early starts, nights, weekends, reserve duties and positioning travel can change the real hourly value of the package.
Training, licensing and progression
The National Careers Service says airline pilots fly passengers and cargo and may enter through an integrated course, modular training, a degree route or military flying experience. Commercial training is demanding and can be expensive, so the cost and funding route matter alongside the first salary.
Pilots need the appropriate Civil Aviation Authority licence, medical certification and aircraft training. Work is rostered and can include evenings, weekends, bank holidays, reserve duties and nights away from home.
Progression normally moves from first officer to captain, with possible routes into training, standards, safety or fleet management. Those steps help explain why a single occupation group contains a wide spread of earnings.
Pay progression is usually supported by logged experience, aircraft qualifications, command responsibility and a strong training and safety record. A move to a different fleet, base or airline can change earnings, but it may also bring fresh training, seniority or commuting trade-offs that should be considered alongside salary.
What to check in an airline pilot offer
A pilot offer should make the guaranteed package and the roster easy to understand.
- What basic salary is guaranteed before flying pay, allowances and bonus?
- Who pays for type rating, recurrent training, medicals and licence costs?
- What reserve, night, weekend, positioning and time-away commitments apply?
- How do pension, leave, staff travel and commuting to base affect the total package?
Where the salary and industry information comes from
The pay figures are from the Office for National Statistics Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14, 2025 provisional edition. They cover full-time employee jobs and do not cover self-employed people. Annual gross pay can include overtime, incentive pay, shift premiums and cash allowances reported through payroll, so it should not be read as guaranteed basic salary.
| Official job group | Aircraft pilots and air traffic controllers. The everyday page title is narrower than the official group. |
|---|---|
| Quality | ONS marks this full-time estimate for cautious use. In plain English, treat it as broad market context rather than a close promise for one individual role. |
| Jobs in the estimate | About 9,000 full-time employee jobs |
| Career and role source | National Careers Service: Airline pilot Training routes, licensing, duties, working pattern and progression. View source |
Where the verified source extract leaves a salary point blank, this page leaves it blank too. A missing upper point is never filled with an estimate.
View the ONS salary tableCheck the 2026/27 tax and NI figuresCompare all 412 occupations
Airline pilot salary questions
What is the average airline pilot salary in the UK?
The ONS median is £82,746 for the combined aircraft pilots and air traffic controllers occupation. It is broader than airline pilots alone, so first officer and captain pay should also be checked against the actual airline, fleet and contract.
How much is an airline pilot salary per month after tax?
At the £82,746 median, gross pay is about £6,896 per month and a standard 2026/27 estimate gives about £4,879 after Income Tax and employee National Insurance, before pension or other deductions.
What is a first officer salary in the UK?
ONS does not publish a separate first officer salary in this table. The £61,511 lower-middle point covers the wider occupation group and should not be presented as a fixed starting rate.
What is an airline captain salary in the UK?
The source does not publish a captain-only figure. Captains may sit above the occupation midpoint because of command responsibility and experience, but airline, fleet, route and allowances still matter.
Does this figure include air traffic controllers?
Yes. The official SOC group is Aircraft pilots and air traffic controllers, so the £82,746 median is broader than airline pilots alone.
Is £82,746 a good airline pilot salary?
It is 112% above the UK full-time median of £39,039 and sits among the highest occupation medians in the production ranking, but the roster, training costs and variable pay still affect its value.
Is there a London airline pilot salary figure?
No. This page uses UK-wide ONS data. Compare a London-airport offer with its base, roster, allowances, commuting requirement and pension rather than assuming a fixed London premium.
Does the ONS airline pilot figure include flying pay and allowances?
The source is gross annual employee pay, not a guaranteed basic-salary table. Payroll extras may be included, so compare an airline offer by separating basic pay, flying or sector pay, allowances, bonus and benefits.
What pilot training costs should be checked before accepting a job?
Check who pays for the type rating, recurrent simulator training, medicals, licence renewals, uniforms and travel to base. A higher headline salary can be less attractive if large career costs remain with the pilot.