Becoming a pilot has always been a dream for many of us as pilot job has always been a highest paying and prestige job. Airline Pilot Salary in India, depend upon many factors. Whenever we talk about a career inside a plane cockpit it shows us many images of lifestyle fully filled with respect and money. As we think pilot salary would be huge as the investment in pilot training is costly as expected. After spending such a large amount on training, no one expects a low-paying job in return. Also, with the rising demand graph of pilot training the potential had stronger than ever. As there is an economical rule that whenever the demand rises, prices also rises. Lets get know further about Airline Pilot salary in India.
Designation of Pilots
| Type of Pilot | Type of Aircraft Flying | Life Style |
| Airline Pilot | Airbus, Boeing etc. | High Pressure, schedule Airlines |
| Cargo Pilot | Boeing 737-800BCF,Airbus A321P2F etc. | Demanding Night flying, irregular flying hrs, No cabin crew or passenger |
| Flight Instructor | Cesena-152 or 172, Multi engine | Based at single Airfield, stable job |
| Corporate & Charter Pilots | Business Jet- Gulfstream G650, Bombardier Global etc | No Fixed Roster, |
Each type of Pilot has different ranges of salary, lets talk about one by one
Airline Pilot Salary in India
There are various designation a pilot holds when he joins an airline, based on experience and performance a pilot achieves higher ranks, along with ranks, salary and facilities also increase, let’s get to know what designation a pilot holds and how much Airline Pilot Salary in India
Junior First Officer Salary in India
When a candidate qualifies for the entry process, and join the airline, they receive the designation “ junior first office”, with this rank of pilots may earn between 1.5 lakh to 3 lakh INR in India generally, A junior first officer may promote to next rank in 2 years generally,
First officer salary in India
After 1,500 hours of flying experience, a Junior First Officer may be promoted to First Officer. There are significantly higher responsibilities for a First Officer; hence, the salary increases to between 2.5 lakh and 4 lakh per month
Senior First Officer salary in India
Now the next stage will be senior first officer, generally at this stage, pilots may log 2000-3500 hours. Senior first officers are higher experienced co-pilots who start to prepare for captain, and start to earn 4 to 6 lakh.
Captain/Pilot-in-Command
Captaincy is the final goal for pilots in Airline, where they are “Pilots-in-Command.” In order to secure captaincy, one needs to obtain an ATPL license and clear the airline command upgrade process to achieve the Commander rank. Pilots generally hold 4,500 hours of experience to achieve Pilot-in-Command status. The entire aircraft comes under the Captain; a Captain earns between 6 lakhs and 10 lakhs a month.
| Designation | Flying Hours | License | Salary |
| JFO | 0-1500 | CPL | 1.5 Lakh to 3 Lakh |
| FO | Approx. 1500-2500 | CPL | 2.5 Lakh to 4 Lakh |
| SFO | 1500+ | some airline may ask for ATPL | 4 Lakh to 6 Lakh |
| Captain | 3000+ | ATPL | 6 Lakh to 10 Lakh |
Cargo Pilot
Cargo pilot’s designation are same as passenger pilot, as they are also fall in commercial pilot category, but due to night flying, their pay-out is quite higher than passenger pilots, Cargo pilots has more job security than others, at any situation, if there is pandemic or any recession, their jobs are secure as they fly at any circumstance, they don’t have passengers on board, so no need of fancy announcement, focus completely on machine and flying.
Cargo pilot may earn between 1.5 lakh to 13 Lakh. cargo pilots generally earn 10-15% higher than passenger pilots.
Flight Instructor
Assistant flight instructor– It is the primary stage of flight instructor, AFI generally earn between 70000-1.5 L
Flight Instructor– After Promoting to FI, pilot may earn between 1.5L to 2.5L
Dy. Chief Flight Instructor (Dy. CFI)– It is high level administrative job which hold higher responsibility of flying club. DY CFI may earn between 2.5L-4L
Chief flight instructor (CFI)– It is the highest authority in the flying club. The CFI is a prestigious position and earn between 5L-8L in a month.
Factors depending on the Airline Pilot salary in India
License and ratings a Pilot Have– Salary is determined with type of license and type of rating the pilot owns. Usually there are Four types of pilot license student pilot license (SPL), Private pilot License (PPL), Commercial pilot license (CPL) and Airline Transport License (APL). There are also additional ratings/endorsements such as instrument rating, multi-crew pilot licence (MPL), big aircraft type ratting
Flying hours and Experiences– Airline Pilot Salary in india’s dependency is on the hours a pilot has flown the plane and the experience he has gained. More flying hours and experience = a higher salary.
Airline and Aircraft -The airline company does matter in the salary a lot more than expected. For example, a pilot from Emirates would be earning more than a pilot in Air India. But it also depends upon the type of aircraft and whether the airline is government or private.
Domestic vs International Routes– Usually, international routes pay the crew more compared to domestic routes. They usually get 3–4 times more than domestic pilots due to long hours and tax allowances.
Based on rank and seniority– The cycle of roles for a pilot goes from Jr. FO → FO → Sr. FO → Captain → Examiner. The higher the post, the higher the salary. For a price comparison, you can look at the comparison part of the blog
Market demand for Pilots– Airline Pilot Salary in India, rates also depend on the demand for pilots. If the demand for pilots increases in the market and the supply is low, then the salary of a pilot is usually kept high.
Additional benefits of the pilots other than salary
There are many advantages of being a pilot other than a higher salary. In the below para, we have discussed the other allowances that a pilot gets.
A pilot will always get discounted flights for their family members and themselves. Sometimes, flights for themselves and family members are even free, depending upon the airline they are working for. They also get layover perks like free hotel rooms, travel, and international trips too.
Now, if we talk about a pilot’s career, it always comes with a different prestige and uniform pride; society maintains respectful behavior towards you and your family. If you are fond of traveling, then there are more travel days than rest days, which is kind of interesting. If you want to switch your job in the future, then worldwide opportunities are always open for you. Or, if you are tired of flying but still want to be a part of the aviation sector, you can do the job of an examiner or instructor.
Airline Pilot salary in India, can be easily increased in India by rising in position within the aviation sector. But it is not only rising in position that works; experience, flying hours, type of aircraft, and the type of airline in which you are working also matter a lot in the aviation sector. The pointers given below talk about the experience you need in the aviation sector to upgrade your position.
Best of luck
