SAFETY FIRST
★★★★★
Very safety and detail oriented. Pre-flight briefing explained everything there was. To my knowledge, this flight school is exceptional in their ability.
Industry Pay Data · Compiled August 2026
Airline Pilot Salary Guide: What The Job Actually Pays
A first-year regional first officer earns around $85,000. A senior widebody captain at a US major clears $400,000. Every rung between those two is in the tables below. These are industry-wide figures from published airline pay scales — not our numbers, and not a promise of what anyone will earn.
Regional FO to widebody captainIndustry figures, not oursNo job or pay guarantee
Book It Or Gift It
Fly It Yourself, Or Give The Flight To Someone Else
Every discovery flight below can be booked for yourself in the next few minutes, or bought as a gift certificate that is emailed within minutes and never expires. Same flight, same price, either way.
Most Given
Two Seats
The Nice One
Twin Engine
Discovery Flight For One
One person, one instructor, and no audience. Hands on the controls from the left seat, briefed before you go and debriefed after you land.
Hands-On Stick TimePre-Flight BriefingLoggable Flight Time
Flight Length
$229Book It Or Gift It
Same Price Either Way
Discovery Flight For Two
The same flight with a passenger in the back seat, briefed and on the intercom. Couples book it; so do parents who would rather watch than hear about it.
One Passenger SeatPiper Warrior Or ArcherHeadsets For Both
Flight Length
$299Book It Or Gift It
Same Price Either Way
Luxury Discovery Flight
The nicest airplane we put a first-time flyer in. Glass cockpit, air conditioning, leather seats, and a parachute built into the airframe rather than strapped to the person.
Turbocharged Cirrus SR22Air ConditioningWhole-Airframe Parachute
Flight Length
Bring A PassengerInstructor + 2 is our maximum+$100
$499Book It Or Gift It
Same Price Either Way
Multi-Engine Seminole
Two engines, and the airplane instrument-rated pilots move into when they start thinking about a career. Flown from the left seat with a multi-engine instructor.
Piper Seminole TwinMulti-Engine DepartureCareer-Track Instructor
Flight Length
$499Book It Or Gift It
Same Price Either Way
Gift It issues a real gift certificate, emailed within minutes, which never expires and credits in full toward training. Flights are limited to 180 lb per person, 370 lb combined. Questions: (818) 290-8249, 9 AM–9 PM, seven days.
SAFETY FIRST
DISCOVERY FLIGHT
★★★★★
I recently had the chance to take my first-ever discovery flight, and it was nothing short of amazing! From the moment I stepped into the cockpit, the...
SUNSET CIRRUS
★★★★★
It was a great flight! I did a sunset flight and Alex let us fly an awesome. Website was easy to book, and the plane itself was really fun to fly...
FLYING LESSON
★★★★★
We had a great flying lesson with Ralph and came away with a much better understanding of both the aircraft and the principles of flight. Ralph is a...
KIDS LUXURY FLIGHT
★★★★★
I got 2 luxury discovery flights for my kids. I wanted them to have the experience of flying. Our instructor Alex was amazing he made sure they feel...
HONEYMOON SURPRISE
★★★★★
Last minute booking to surprise my wife on our honeymoon. She had no experience with flying and was scared of flying, but Alex was very easygoing and knew...
FULL-MOTION SIM
★★★★★
Amazing flight school in van nuys airport. I have been a student here for the past few months and i could not be happier. I started doing a lot of...
DISCOVERY FOR TWO
★★★★★
I booked a Discovery Flight for Two for my girlfriend's birthday and it was the perfect gift for her. She couldn't have been more excited to get to...
SIMULATORS
★★★★★
Very professional and great airplanes. I love the flight simulators. The pricing is very fair compared to any other flight school
TEEN FIRST LESSON
★★★★★
We gifted our teenage son his first flying lesson. He was so excited! Alex greeted us and gave a reassuring brief that made us all feel comfortable and at...
FIRST-TIME FLYER
★★★★★
Flying is my husband's hobby and I was incredibly anxious and apprehensive about the discovery flight. However, I felt completely safe and at ease once we...
SAFETY FIRST
★★★★★
Very safety and detail oriented. Pre-flight briefing explained everything there was. To my knowledge, this flight school is exceptional in their ability.
DISCOVERY FLIGHT
★★★★★
I recently had the chance to take my first-ever discovery flight, and it was nothing short of amazing! From the moment I stepped into the cockpit, the...
SUNSET CIRRUS
★★★★★
It was a great flight! I did a sunset flight and Alex let us fly an awesome. Website was easy to book, and the plane itself was really fun to fly...
FLYING LESSON
★★★★★
We had a great flying lesson with Ralph and came away with a much better understanding of both the aircraft and the principles of flight. Ralph is a...
KIDS LUXURY FLIGHT
★★★★★
I got 2 luxury discovery flights for my kids. I wanted them to have the experience of flying. Our instructor Alex was amazing he made sure they feel...
HONEYMOON SURPRISE
★★★★★
Last minute booking to surprise my wife on our honeymoon. She had no experience with flying and was scared of flying, but Alex was very easygoing and knew...
FULL-MOTION SIM
★★★★★
Amazing flight school in van nuys airport. I have been a student here for the past few months and i could not be happier. I started doing a lot of...
DISCOVERY FOR TWO
★★★★★
I booked a Discovery Flight for Two for my girlfriend's birthday and it was the perfect gift for her. She couldn't have been more excited to get to...
SIMULATORS
★★★★★
Very professional and great airplanes. I love the flight simulators. The pricing is very fair compared to any other flight school
TEEN FIRST LESSON
★★★★★
We gifted our teenage son his first flying lesson. He was so excited! Alex greeted us and gave a reassuring brief that made us all feel comfortable and at...
FIRST-TIME FLYER
★★★★★
Flying is my husband's hobby and I was incredibly anxious and apprehensive about the discovery flight. However, I felt completely safe and at ease once we...
$80–100Ktypical first-year regional first officer, bonus included
$400K+senior widebody captain at a US major airline
1,500 hrsATP minimum before any airline job (1,000–1,250 restricted)
$229discovery flight, credited in full if you enroll within 24h
5.0★100+ Google reviews
Read This First
Whose Numbers These Are, And Whose They Are Not
Every figure on this page comes from published airline pay scales, collective bargaining agreements and third-party industry reporting. None of it comes from us. We are a Part 61 flight school at Van Nuys Airport. We train pilots. We do not employ airline pilots, we do not place graduates into airline jobs, and we cannot promise you an interview, a class date or a salary.
That disclaimer matters more than it reads. Pilot pay is set by contracts that get renegotiated every three to five years and it moves hard — the 2022 to 2023 round lifted major-airline rates by roughly a third in one go. Your actual pay also depends on your seat, your aircraft, your domicile and how much flying you pick up. Two pilots hired the same week at the same airline can be earning very different money by year three.
So read the tables as the shape of a career rather than a quote. The shape is the useful part: pay is thin for the first three or four years, climbs steeply at captain upgrade, and climbs again at a major. Almost everyone who quits quits during the thin part. Which is why the thin part is the part worth reading twice.
The Tables
What Each Seat Pays In 2026
Annual figures assume the contractual monthly guarantee — usually 70 to 85 flight hours. Pilots who pick up extra trips earn more; pilots sitting reserve earn the guarantee. Ranges show the spread across carriers, not one employer.
Regional Airlines
Where nearly every civilian-trained pilot starts. Regional carriers fly 50- to 76-seat jets under major-airline paint and on major-airline schedules, and they do most of the hiring at 1,500 hours. A decade ago first-year pay here was under $30,000. The 2022 hiring scramble rewrote the scales and they have largely held.
| Seat / year | 2026 figure |
|---|---|
| First officer, year 1 | $80,000–$100,000 |
| First officer, year 5 | $90,000–$115,000 |
| Captain, year 1 | $115,000–$150,000 |
| Captain, year 10 | $170,000–$200,000 |
| Monthly guarantee | 75 hours |
| Signing / retention bonus | $5,000–$15,000 |
Major Airlines
Delta, United, American, Southwest, Alaska. This is the destination for most career pilots and the reason people tolerate four thin years first. The pay scales are printed in the contract, public, and identical for everyone at the same year and seat — there is no negotiating.
| Seat / year | 2026 figure |
|---|---|
| First officer, year 1 | $82,000–$95,000 |
| First officer, year 5 | $180,000–$220,000 |
| Captain, narrowbody, year 10 | $340,000–$400,000 |
| Captain, widebody, year 12 | $400,000–$475,000 |
| 401(k) employer contribution | 15–17% of pay |
| Profit sharing | 5–15% in strong years |
Cargo And Freight
FedEx and UPS pay at or above the passenger majors and fly a great deal of it at night. Well below them sits Part 135 freight — single-pilot Caravans and Barons moving auto parts and bank paper at three in the morning. That is a low-time job, not a career destination, and the people flying it know it.
| Seat / year | 2026 figure |
|---|---|
| FedEx / UPS first officer, year 1 | $95,000–$110,000 |
| FedEx / UPS captain, year 10 | $380,000–$420,000 |
| Part 135 cargo, single-pilot | $45,000–$75,000 |
| Part 135 hours flown per year | 500–800 |
| Schedule | heavily night and weekend |
Fractional And Corporate
NetJets, Flexjet and Vista operate under Part 91K and hire at lower total time than the majors do. The trade is a rigid seven-on, seven-off rotation and no idea on Sunday where you are going on Monday. Corporate flight departments pay less on paper and considerably better in quality of life.
| Seat / year | 2026 figure |
|---|---|
| Fractional first officer, year 1 | $90,000–$105,000 |
| Fractional captain, year 5 | $180,000–$240,000 |
| Corporate / Part 91 captain | $110,000–$200,000 |
| Typical rotation | 7 days on, 7 off |
| Total time at hire | often 500–1,500 hrs |
Before Any Of It: The Instructor Years
Between the commercial certificate at 250 hours and a first airline class date at 1,500, someone has to pay you to fly. For most pilots that someone is a flight school. This is the honest low point of the entire career and nobody puts it on a recruiting poster.
| Measure | 2026 figure |
|---|---|
| CFI rate, Los Angeles | $40–$75 / flight hour |
| Full-time CFI, annual | $50,000–$80,000 |
| Hours logged per month | 60–90 |
| 250 to 1,500 hours | 12–18 months |
| CFII and MEI add-ons | +$5–$15 / hour |
Compiled August 2026 from published airline pay scales, union contract summaries and third-party industry reporting. Rates change with every contract round and vary by carrier, seat, fleet and domicile. LA Flight School does not employ airline pilots, does not place graduates, and makes no representation about whether any student will be hired or what they will be paid.
The Fine Print
Four Parts Of The Paycheck Nobody Explains
01
You Are Paid For Flight Hours, Not For Hours At Work
A 12-hour duty day with three hours of flying pays three hours. Contracts cover you with a monthly guarantee — usually 75 hours at a regional, 70 to 75 at a major — so a thin month still pays. It also means 13 working days and a 90-hour check are both completely normal, which is the single best-kept perk of the job.
02
Per Diem Is Small, Constant, And Mostly Untaxed
You are paid an hourly allowance for every hour away from base, including the ones you spend asleep in a hotel. Rates run roughly $2.20 to $2.90 an hour domestic and $3.00 to $3.60 international. Trivial per hour. At 300 hours away from base a month it is $700 to $1,000, most of it not taxed as income, and experienced pilots budget around it.
03
Signing Bonuses Are A Hiring-Cycle Artefact
Regionals were paying north of $30,000 during the 2022 scramble. In 2026 the number is more commonly $5,000 to $15,000, paid in installments tied to training completion and a retention date one or two years out, so you cannot collect and walk. Major airlines pay no signing bonus at all. They have never needed to.
04
Retirement Is The Line People Forget To Count
A major-airline employer 401(k) contribution of 15 to 17 percent of pay, with no employee match required, is worth more than $50,000 a year to a mid-career captain. Over a full career it is frequently the largest single component of total compensation, and it does not appear in any salary headline.
The Honest Bit
The Four Years Where The Money Is Genuinely Bad
Career-change forums skip this part, so here it is. You do not go from training to $90,000. You go from training to instructing, and instructing in Los Angeles pays $40 to $75 per flight hour — call it $50,000 to $80,000 a year if you are working full days and the June marine layer cooperates. That phase lasts 12 to 18 months.
Then a regional hires you and you take another dip, because airline initial training is paid at a reduced rate and you fly nothing while you are in it. First-year regional pay puts you back near $85,000. Years two and three sit in the high $80,000s and low $90,000s. That is a decent living and nothing like the headline number that got you interested.
The steep part begins at upgrade. Captain at a regional roughly doubles first-year pay. Moving to a major roughly doubles it again over a decade. The career is back-loaded and the entire game is arriving on a seniority list as early as you can — every year you wait is a year removed from the top of the curve, which is where the money lives.
Variables
Five Things That Move Your Pay More Than The Airline You Pick
1
Seniority
Nothing else is close. Your date of hire sets your seat, your fleet, your schedule, your days off and your upgrade date, for your whole career. It does not transfer. Changing airlines means starting at the bottom of a new list on first-year pay.
2
Equipment
A widebody captain out-earns a narrowbody captain at the same year and seat by roughly 15 to 25 percent. It is also the hardest thing to hold, which is why it typically takes a decade to get there.
3
Contract Year
Rates move on renegotiation, not on merit or performance. The 2022 to 2023 round was extraordinary. Assuming the next one repeats it is the most common mistake in career-pay planning.
4
Reserve Versus Line
Reserve pilots wait for a phone call and are paid the guarantee. Line holders can pick up open trips and earn well past it. Junior pilots sit reserve, sometimes for years.
5
Whether You Live In Base
Commuting to your domicile from another city is free on paper and expensive in life. Two pilots on identical pay have very different jobs if one of them sleeps in their own bed.
The Equipment
The Aircraft The First 250 Hours Happen In
Every seat in the tables above starts here — a training fleet at Van Nuys Airport, flown three to five times a week.
Watch
The School Behind The Career Track
Van Nuys Airport, a working fleet, and the instructors who take students from a first discovery flight to a commercial certificate.
LA Flight School at Van Nuys Airport — 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406.
The Fleet
The Aircraft The First 1,500 Hours Are Actually Flown In
Airline pay starts on the far side of a logbook, and that logbook gets filled in these. Every aircraft here is owned and maintained by us, inspected on our schedule, and flown by our instructors daily.
Single-engine training on the Standard and Comprehensive programs is flown in the Cessna, Piper and Diamond aircraft. The Premium program is flown in the Cirrus SR22 Turbo with its full glass cockpit.
Redbird MCX
A Full-Motion Simulator, And It Is Not A Toy
FAA-approved, fully enclosed, and it moves. Procedures, instrument scan, radio work and emergencies all transfer straight to the aircraft — and it is never canceled for weather.
Simulator hours are built into every private pilot program — 2 hours on Standard and Premium, 5 hours on Comprehensive.
Your Instructor
Career Instructors, Not Hour-Builders Passing Through
Every instructor here holds a commercial certificate or an ATP, plus a CFI and a current medical, and the instructor is legally pilot in command on every flight you fly. That is the person who decides whether today is a flying day.
There are eleven of them. That is the reason lessons happen when the schedule says they will rather than when one person's calendar frees up, and it is the single biggest factor in how quickly anybody gets from a first lesson to the pay tables above.
You are matched to an instructor at enrollment and you can change if the fit is wrong. Nobody here treats the school as a waiting room — they fly here as a career, which is why the debrief is the thing reviewers mention most.
What People Say
5.0 Stars, 100+ Reviews
On Google, the same three things come up again and again.
★
Instructors Who Actually Teach
The most repeated compliment in our reviews is not the aircraft or the price — it is the debrief.
★
Scheduling That Works
Eleven instructors and a fleet we own means lessons happen when we say they will.
★
Prices That Don't Move
The number you enroll at is the number you finish at. Reviewers mention this constantly.
Start Here
Before You Plan A Salary, Find Out Whether You Like Flying
A discovery flight is a real lesson — you fly the aircraft, the time is loggable dual instruction, and the full price is credited against any program if you enroll within 24 hours. It is the cheapest possible way to test a career decision.
Redbird Simulator Session
$189 / 1 hr
Full-motion, FAA-approved, never canceled for weather. Good if you want to see an instrument panel before you commit.
Start here
Discovery Flight For One
$229 / 60 min
You fly it, hands on the controls, and it goes in a logbook. Credited in full against any program within 24 hours. 90 min $299, 120 min $399.
Free Career Consultation
$0
Sit down with an instructor, look at your calendar and your budget, and leave with a dated written plan. No obligation.
Enroll within 24 hours of your discovery flight and the $229 comes straight off your program price. We would rather you find out in an hour whether this is your career than find out in month eight.
Career And Pay
The Zero-To-Airline Pilot Career RoadmapCareer Change To Airline Pilot After 30CFI Pay And Career PathHow Much Do Pilots Make?Next Step
The Whole Career Starts With One Hour
Sixty minutes over Los Angeles with your hands on the controls. It logs as real dual instruction, and if you enroll within 24 hours the entire $229 comes off your program. Call (818) 290-8249, or book online — we are open 9am to 9pm, seven days.
Discovery Flight For One
$229
60 minutes · you fly the aircraft · fully loggable · credited on enrollment
FAQ
Airline Pilot Salary Questions
In 2026 a first-year regional airline first officer earns roughly $80,000 to $100,000 including signing and retention bonuses. A regional captain earns $115,000 to $200,000 depending on years of service. A first-year first officer at a major airline earns about $82,000 to $95,000, and senior widebody captains at US majors clear $400,000. These are industry figures from published pay scales, not figures from any one employer.
About $80,000 to $100,000 at a regional airline once bonuses are counted, based on a 75-hour monthly guarantee. First-year pay at a major is similar in base terms at $82,000 to $95,000, because year one is the lowest rung on every contract. The money in this career arrives at captain upgrade, not at hire.
Regional first officers start at roughly $90 to $110 per flight hour in 2026 and reach about $100 to $115 by year five. Major-airline widebody captains exceed $400 per flight hour. Pilots are paid for flight time rather than duty time, with a contractual monthly guarantee of about 70 to 85 hours regardless of how little they fly.
Regional airlines commonly pay $5,000 to $15,000 in 2026, usually in installments tied to training completion and a retention date one or two years after hire. During the 2022 to 2023 hiring surge some regionals offered more than $30,000. Major airlines do not pay signing bonuses.
Per diem is an hourly allowance paid for every hour you are away from your home base, including layover and sleep time. Rates run about $2.20 to $2.90 an hour domestic and $3.00 to $3.60 international, which is roughly $700 to $1,000 a month for a typical line, and most of it is not taxed as income.
In Los Angeles a CFI typically earns $40 to $75 per flight hour, which works out to $50,000 to $80,000 a year for a full-time instructor. Adding the CFII and MEI ratings raises both the rate and the number of students you can take. Most full-time instructors log 60 to 90 hours a month and reach 1,500 hours in 12 to 18 months.
Typically three to six years from the first airline class date. First-year regional pay lands near $85,000, and captain upgrade — commonly at two to four years in a strong hiring cycle, longer in a weak one — pushes total compensation past $130,000. Pilots hired straight into a major take longer to upgrade but reach much higher numbers.
No. We are a Part 61 flight school at Van Nuys Airport. We train pilots to FAA standards. We do not employ airline pilots, we do not place graduates, and we make no representation about hiring or earnings. Every number on this page is third-party industry data from published airline pay scales.
No Cost, No Obligation
Get The Full Training Plan And Price Sheet
The three private pilot packages, what each one includes, the financing options and a realistic timeline built around how often you can actually fly. Sent to you in one email. Nobody will pressure you.
- Every package price, itemised
- Financing from $2,500 down
- A timeline based on your schedule
Loved On Google
Over 100 Reviews. 5.0 Stars.
Every review below is real and shown verbatim, in the reviewer’s own words — written by the people who learned to fly here, not by us.
SAFETY FIRST
★★★★★
Very safety and detail oriented. Pre-flight briefing explained everything there was. To my knowledge, this flight school is exceptional in their ability.
DISCOVERY FLIGHT
★★★★★
I recently had the chance to take my first-ever discovery flight, and it was nothing short of amazing! From the moment I stepped into the cockpit, the...
SUNSET CIRRUS
★★★★★
It was a great flight! I did a sunset flight and Alex let us fly an awesome. Website was easy to book, and the plane itself was really fun to fly...
FLYING LESSON
★★★★★
We had a great flying lesson with Ralph and came away with a much better understanding of both the aircraft and the principles of flight. Ralph is a...
KIDS LUXURY FLIGHT
★★★★★
I got 2 luxury discovery flights for my kids. I wanted them to have the experience of flying. Our instructor Alex was amazing he made sure they feel...
HONEYMOON SURPRISE
★★★★★
Last minute booking to surprise my wife on our honeymoon. She had no experience with flying and was scared of flying, but Alex was very easygoing and knew...
FULL-MOTION SIM
★★★★★
Amazing flight school in van nuys airport. I have been a student here for the past few months and i could not be happier. I started doing a lot of...
DISCOVERY FOR TWO
★★★★★
I booked a Discovery Flight for Two for my girlfriend's birthday and it was the perfect gift for her. She couldn't have been more excited to get to...
SIMULATORS
★★★★★
Very professional and great airplanes. I love the flight simulators. The pricing is very fair compared to any other flight school
TEEN FIRST LESSON
★★★★★
We gifted our teenage son his first flying lesson. He was so excited! Alex greeted us and gave a reassuring brief that made us all feel comfortable and at...
FIRST-TIME FLYER
★★★★★
Flying is my husband's hobby and I was incredibly anxious and apprehensive about the discovery flight. However, I felt completely safe and at ease once we...
SAFETY FIRST
★★★★★
Very safety and detail oriented. Pre-flight briefing explained everything there was. To my knowledge, this flight school is exceptional in their ability.
DISCOVERY FLIGHT
★★★★★
I recently had the chance to take my first-ever discovery flight, and it was nothing short of amazing! From the moment I stepped into the cockpit, the...
SUNSET CIRRUS
★★★★★
It was a great flight! I did a sunset flight and Alex let us fly an awesome. Website was easy to book, and the plane itself was really fun to fly...
FLYING LESSON
★★★★★
We had a great flying lesson with Ralph and came away with a much better understanding of both the aircraft and the principles of flight. Ralph is a...
KIDS LUXURY FLIGHT
★★★★★
I got 2 luxury discovery flights for my kids. I wanted them to have the experience of flying. Our instructor Alex was amazing he made sure they feel...
HONEYMOON SURPRISE
★★★★★
Last minute booking to surprise my wife on our honeymoon. She had no experience with flying and was scared of flying, but Alex was very easygoing and knew...
FULL-MOTION SIM
★★★★★
Amazing flight school in van nuys airport. I have been a student here for the past few months and i could not be happier. I started doing a lot of...
DISCOVERY FOR TWO
★★★★★
I booked a Discovery Flight for Two for my girlfriend's birthday and it was the perfect gift for her. She couldn't have been more excited to get to...
SIMULATORS
★★★★★
Very professional and great airplanes. I love the flight simulators. The pricing is very fair compared to any other flight school
TEEN FIRST LESSON
★★★★★
We gifted our teenage son his first flying lesson. He was so excited! Alex greeted us and gave a reassuring brief that made us all feel comfortable and at...
FIRST-TIME FLYER
★★★★★
Flying is my husband's hobby and I was incredibly anxious and apprehensive about the discovery flight. However, I felt completely safe and at ease once we...
See Discovery Flight Details — $229
Reviews shown verbatim, exactly as each reviewer published them.
Aviation News
Latest From The Field
Notes from the flight line at Van Nuys — weather, regulation changes, checkride questions and the cost of training, written up as they come.
Van Nuys Airport · KVNY
(818) 290-8249
7900 Balboa Blvd. Suite 108A
Van Nuys, CA 91406 Get directions →
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Open 7 days · 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Los Angeles Flight School7900 Balboa Blvd. Suite 108A
Van Nuys, CA 91406 Get directions →
★★★★★
5.0 · 100+ Google reviews