Kit Darby Reports an Average 3.8% Pay Bump for the Majors in 2025

According to Kit Darby Aviation Consulting, U.S. major airline pilots will see a 3.8% pay increase in 2025. While this number might not turn heads, new contracts over their full term are averaging a 31.6% increase, with the first-year bump coming in at a hefty 21.3%.

Compared to inflation, which has averaged 2.47% since 2010, pilot pay at major airlines has more than doubled the rate of inflation, rising by 5.24% per year. Darby also noted that the figures yield an average career value of about $11,000,000… but that’s assuming that airlines are a much more steady career than they truly are.

Breaking down the numbers, the highest-paying airline for senior widebody first officers and captains is American Airlines, while Southwest leads in starting pay through the first four years and for new captains through 15 years. Cargo airline UPS stands out for its uniform pay rates across all aircraft types, making it the top payer among freight carriers. Meanwhile, Allegiant, FedEx, and Frontier lag behind due to outdated contracts, with FedEx pilots still working under pay scales negotiated a decade ago.

However, the base figures only tell part of the story. Pilot pay is notoriously complex, and several key factors are left out of Darby’s analysis. Retirement contributions, which range from 15% to 18% of salary and are fully company-funded, significantly boost lifetime earnings. Profit-sharing, which averaged 6.4% in 2025, further pads paychecks. Add in non-retirement benefits, social security contributions, and other perks, and total compensation can be up to 47% higher than what the charts show.

In response, some have pointed out that using only hourly rates and bidline guarantees creates blind spots. International pay, block time overages, extended trip pay, green slips, and draft flights can all alter earnings. Additionally, cargo airlines like FedEx and UPS operate a fleet that is roughly 80% widebody aircraft, which command higher pay but also come with more demanding schedules than the narrowbody-heavy major passenger airlines.

In 2023, the median salary for airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers was reported at $219,140 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Stats for 2024 will be announced later this year.

FMI: www.kitdarby.com