Big new contracts push pilot pay at American and Southwest to soaring altitudes
While being a commercial airline pilot isn’t a typical 9-5 job, it sure does bring home the big bucks.
Recent contracts have pushed the average pay for a captain flying on an airline’s largest aircraft to $348,252, according to aviation consultant Kit Darby. That’s a 31.2% average increase under the new contracts at major airlines. That’s been a big push over the last several years as airlines have upped their standard of pay across the industry to compete with other major carriers and draw in more talent.
Pilots were at a standstill for many years, awaiting a deal that had to make adjustments with pressures from the economy but also was put on pause by a global pandemic that made it difficult to get everyone at the bargaining table.
That was until pilots and their unions at American Airlines and Southwest Airlines both reached contract deals with their employers.
Since then, pilots have been given raises, increased benefits and other perks with an updated deal. These contracts will set the stage for the next four years and beyond, until it’s back to the bargaining table to consider new and updated provisions based on the economy, the market or just the changes in how the general public flies.
How pilots get paid
The bandwidth of pilots has gotten much more narrow over the years as airlines have come and gone. There are four major air carriers for U.S. domestic travel: American, Southwest, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines. All four achieved new pilot contracts within the last year.
Unionized pilots have always been on long-term contracts with their airlines, Darby said. American’s contract went into effect in August 2023 and will expire in August 2027. Southwest’s contract went into effect this year and won’t expire until the end of 2028.
“Wages, on average, trend up and down with the economy if it’s a long-term change,” Darby said.
Dennis Tajer, pilot and spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents the 15,000 pilots at American, said the profession after 9/11 had gone through a lot of dysfunction. It took a while for the industry to land back on its feet.
“It was another one of those pay your dues, and then you’ll get to the mainline because of the supply challenge pipeline that takes so many years to actually fill,” Tajer said. “You had an industry that had plenty of flying and wanted to do it, but didn’t have the people to do it.”
This year, American plans to hire 1,300 mainline pilots.
Aviation has seen a lot of change over the last several years. The airline industry faces an ongoing shortage of pilots, which will grow to a shortfall of nearly 80,000 by 2032 worldwide, according to Oliver Wyman.
Casey Murray, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association which represents over 10,000 pilots at Southwest, said it’s a different environment today in which pilots can make career moves from airline to airline.
“When you got a job with one (airline) that’s where you stayed,” Murray said. “It has been that way for literally decades and decades and decades,” Murray said. “It’s just economics. It’s been just a different time where the competition was fierce and so everybody was competing for the same very small pool of pilots.”
This year, Southwest has decided to slow on hiring pilots. Last year, Southwest added more than 1,800 pilots to its crew and plans to hire “just south of 350,” not accounting for attrition since it’s early in the year. Southwest won’t be hiring for the final nine months of 2024.
How much can an American or Southwest pilot make?
This year, under new contracts, major airline pilots will see an average increase of 6.5% in their pay, according to Darby.
At American, first-year pilots are at a flat rate, Tajer said. A first-year, first officer at American would be paid $116 an hour in 2024 under the new contract. Depending on how often that new commercial airline pilot would fly, that could mean an average $114,180 salary per month starting out, Darby said.
On average a major airline first officer in their first year flying the smallest aircraft may bring home $98,616, according to Darby.
Pay scales are based on a variety of factors, including each year of service, the type of aircraft the pilot flies and the rank of the pilot.
“It’s a good job,” Tajer said. “Each year you’ll get a pay raise because of the length of service and that goes out to 12 years. If you stay as a first officer, you’ll get an annual increase for your longevity up to 12 years and then you’ll cap out your pay per flight hour.”
This year, a top-of-scale captain makes anywhere from $360.85 to $447.24 an hour depending on which plane in American’s fleet the high-ranking pilot is flying. Darby estimates this to be an average salary of $462,072 a year.
A top-of-scale first officer can make $246.47 to $305.50 an hour depending, again, on the type of aircraft. American operates airplanes manufactured by Boeing and Airbus, mostly narrowbody but some widebody aircraft.
American’s international pay increases the hourly rate by $7 for captains and $5 for first officers. For long-haul narrowbody trips to Europe, South America and Hawaii, those rates increase by $8 for captains and $6 for first officers.
In simple terms, you get paid for what you fly, Tajer said.
At Southwest, it’s the only airline that pays per trip ― and a trip for pay formula is used to calculate how much the pilot makes. There are some advantages to getting paid this way versus what other carriers do. The payment per trip preserves the pay on eastbound legs in the fall and winter, sets a mileage floor for pay on shorter legs and provides for an increasing equivalent hourly pay rate on longer legs.
Southwest also only flies Boeing 737 airplanes – a difference in how other airlines get paid. First officers or captains at other major airlines, like American, can see pay bumps if they upgrade to larger airplanes.
Murray said that doesn’t mean a Southwest pilot can’t make money like its competitors.
“Our pilots kind of bridge that gap with the ability to fly more,” Murray said. “We are more productive, which means we fly more, and we generally get paid more than an equivalent airplane at American, Delta and United.”
To compare Southwest to other airlines, a calculation is done to create an hourly rate comparable to its competitors. Each year, the contracts include annual raises for the pilots.
A first-year, first officer would make approximately $133.76 an hour at Southwest, under the union’s calculations. Darby estimates that to be about $11,370 a month on average.
Top of scale, a first officer at Southwest this year under the new contract makes an hourly rate of $255.17 flying the airline’s fleet of Boeing 737′s. First officers will make a percentage of captain pay that changes with each year of service until they max out at 12 years. That range is anywhere from 55% in their second year to 70% by their 12th year.
Top-of-scale captains at Southwest make $364.52 an hour, but Southwest believes this to be closer to $368.01. That would mean about $371,808 on average per year, Darby said.
All in all, Murray said, it’s an industry that sets its pilot’s pay based on travel demand.
Pilots are not paid during boarding or getting to a flight on time. Pilots sometimes work 10 to 12 hours a day, but are only paid for when they are flying.
Murray said it’s also important to know it takes a 5 to 10-year commitment to become a commercial airline pilot. Not to mention, the thousands of dollars it costs in training. ATP Flight School estimates it costs $108,995 to become a pilot when starting with no previous experience or $86,995 when starting with a private pilot certificate.
“What it boils down to is everybody’s competing for the best pilots, the most experienced pilots and that experience translates to safety,” Murray said. “When customers purchase tickets, that’s what they’re buying.”
The climb to a deal
Union leadership at major airlines across the country were in contract negotiations for most of 2023 with their air carriers. Pilots achieved a victory year for receiving contracts upping the industry standard in pay and benefits.
2023 began with the announcement of the Delta Air Lines’ pilots deal, where pilots are represented by the Air Line Pilots Association. The deal raised their pay by more than 30% over four years. The union of about 15,000 pilots voted in the contract in March.
Then, in May, American Airlines’ pilots reached an agreement in principle with the air carrier, ahead of the busy travel season. The Allied Pilots Association represents American’s more than 15,000 pilots. The agreement raised their pay by more than 40% over four years.
While American had an agreement, a deal was made for Chicago-based United Airlines and its pilots union, the Air Line Pilots Association. United Airlines pilots reached an agreement for a new four-year contract, providing a cumulative increase in total compensation of as much as 40.2% over the life of the agreement, in July.
But United’s deal ultimately made American pilots go briefly back to the bargaining table. In July, the union reached a new tentative agreement with a 21% fully pensionable ratification bonus covering January to July.
In August, American’s pilots voted in their deal.
That left Southwest and its pilots represented by the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association left to seal a deal. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association represents the over 9,000 pilots at the air carrier. Pilots at Southwest were in mediation for their contract, which became amendable in 2020.
In January, Southwest’s pilots approved a five-year contract worth $12 billion that boosted pay 50% over the deal.
“Each airline, Delta, American, United and (Southwest) each had to outdo the other to really be competitive and draw the most competitive pilots to their respective airlines,” Murray said.
Despite securing deals with their carriers, unions are always weary of their air carriers and want the best for their members. Tajer said loyalty feels like a “one-way street” with the pilot profession, a harsh reality, he called it.
“You’ll be married to an airline for a full career – but they’re going to treat you like you’re only dating,” Tajer said.