How Much Do US Air Force Fighter Pilots Make Compared To Commercial Airline Pilots?

Credit: US Air Force, Simple Flying Published Sep 15, 2026, 3:00 PM EDT Aaron is an aviation enthusiast and world traveler with a deep interest in aerospace history and technology. He has traveled around the world numerous times, often incorporating visits to aviation museums and historic aircraft collections into his journeys. A native of New Zealand, he is an expert in aviation and maintains a broad interest in a variety of other subjects. Sign in to your Simple Flying account In both the military and commercial sectors, pilots are paid based on years of service and rank. In the military, rank and years of service are determining factors, although the aviation bonus provides some variation depending on the community. In the commercial sector, pay is mostly influenced by seniority and rank (namely first officer and captain). For the sake of brevity, first officers are not considered in this article. It's also worth noting that commuter and regional carriers tend to pay their pilots considerably less, but those are beyond the scope of this article. In the commercial sector, pay is also influenced by the type of aircraft flown. Widebody captains are typically paid more than narrowbody captains, although widebody captains are also the most senior. Low-cost carriers, like Frontier, tend to pay less as they are often stepping stones to fly with legacy carriers like Delta Air Lines. Flying widebody airliners for Delta, United, and American is typically the pinnacle of a pilot's earning career. Here is what to know about military pilot pay and how it compares with the commercial sector. How Air Force Pilots Are Paid Credit: US Air Force All pilots in the United States Air Force (and Marines, Coast Guard, Navy) are commissioned officers. The exception is the US Army, where many helicopter pilots may be warrant officers instead of commissioned officers. All commissioned officers are subject to the same basic-pay scale based on rank and creditable years of service. In theory at least, a Major in the US Army is paid the same as a fighter pilot of the equivalent rank in the Air Force. In practice, this gets complicated. Pilots can expect various types of additional allowances and bonuses that can significantly increase their total take-home pay relative to other officers in the military. Many of these payments are aircraft-agnostic and are not impacted by the type of aircraft being flown. So, a pilot flying a C-130J Super Hercules gets the same as a remote pilot flying an MQ-9A Reaper drone or an F-22 Raptor fighter jet. One of the most significant top-ups that distinguishes between aircraft types is the aviation bonus. However, this divides Air Force pilots into broad communities like fighters, bombers, mobility, remote pilot operators, etc. It doesn't distinguish between an F-15EX pilot and a F-22 pilot. Put another way, base pay is role-agnostic (e.g., pilot versus Army Captain). Bonuses and allowances are generally aircraft type-agnostic, but the aviation bonus (AvB) does distinguish between categories of aircraft (e.g., fighters, bombers), but not aircraft types (e.g., C-130, C-5M). Lower Rank US Air Force Pilots Credit: DVIDS To determine an Air Force's base pay, only two variables are needed: the rank and years of service. However, it doesn't make sense to list a Captain (O-3) with two years of service, as all Captains have completed more service than that. Similarly, it doesn't make sense to list a Second Lieutenant (O-1) with ten years of service, as they would (should) have been promoted long before. Second Lieutenants typically have 0–1 years of service and so have an annual basic pay of $49,802 to $51,840. Second Lieutenants are typically promoted to First Lieutenants after around two years of service, and they typically hold this rank for around two years. This rank can expect to have a base pay of $65,354 to $77,814. They will normally receive their promotion to Captain (O-3) after around four years, and this is a rank that is frequently held for around six years. Captain's base pay is $88,592 to $97,506 annually; these officers constitute many of the Air Force's experienced line pilots. This is the highest rank many pilots receive, with many leaving the Air Force and seeking higher-paying commercial jobs. So for many pilots, their base pay maxes out at a little less than $100,000. Higher Ranked Air Force Pilots Credit: US Air Force Those pilots who choose to remain in the Air Force can aim to be promoted to Major (O-4) after around ten years of service. At this rank, they are considered senior pilots and often have squadron leadership and training roles. The rank will often be retained for around four years, during which time they will earn $113,040 to $122,573 annually in basic pay. The next rank up is Lieutenant Colonel (O-5), and by this stage the pilot pool has dramatically thinned. Pilots can expect to reach this rank after around 15 years of service, and it is a rank that might be held for around five years. During this time, Lieutenant Colonels earn $128,581 to $140,566 annually in basic pay. These are squadron commanders and senior operational leaders. They can lead combat missions, but this becomes increasingly less regular. The final rank where the US Air Force members may still be considered fighter jet pilots who go into battle is Colonel (O-6). This rank is reached after around 20 years of service, and they earn between $157,385 and $184,900 in basic pay. These pilots are wing commanders and senior staff. The pilot downed in his F-15E over Iran in Operation Epic Fury was a Colonel. The Adjusted Air Force Pilot Pay Credit: US Air Force Increasing the pay to what pilots are likely to receive in total pay, the income changes considerably. The Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is highly location-dependent. Using Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas with dependents, this adds another $2,094 to $2,796 a month depending on rank. Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) adds another $328 in monthly pay. Another source of compensation is flight pay. Second Lieutenants can expect $150 in flight pay per month, rising to $250 for First Lieutenants and Captains. And $700 and $1,000 for majors and lieutenant colonels, respectively. Fiscal 2027 budget documents say, "the Air Force's FY2027 budget assumes an average fighter aviation bonus of about $50,900.​​​​​" The pilot-training service commitment is ten years after the completion of undergraduate pilot training. This means that most Captains won't qualify for it, although some long-serving Captains may qualify. The aviation bonus is available to aviators up to Lieutenant Colonel and for contracts of three to 12 years. First year of rank pilot pay comparisons (per Air Force, Airline Pilot Central) Basic pay Total compensation 2nd Lieutenant (O-1) $49,802 $80,672 1st Lieutenant (O-2) $65,354 $98,756 Captain (O-3) $88,592 $124,118 Major (O-4) $113,040 $207,609 Lieutenant Colonel (O-5) $128,581 $236,844 Colonel (O-6) $157,385 $203,279 Allegiant captain $189,000 (first-year captain) $223,000 Delta Air Lines captain $320,000 (first-year captain) Up to $400,000 Excluding other payments like life insurance, pensions, per diem, combat pay, healthcare, etc., the adjusted annual pay for US Air Force pilots in the first year of their rank is $80,672 for Second Lieutenants, $98,756 for First Lieutenants, $124,118 for captains, $207,609 for majors, $236,844 for Lieutenant Colonels, and $203,279 for Colonels. Interestingly, the retention bonus cutoff can cause total pay to drop between Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel, at least in theory using these calculations. First Year Commercial Captain Pay Credit: Ian Dewar Photography | Shutterstock Commercial pilots typically earn significantly more than their military counterparts, although this is also variable according to how much they actually fly. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says, "The median annual wage for airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers was $232,140 in May 2025. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $106,710, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $463,830." It then adds, "The median annual wage for commercial pilots was $123,220 in May 2025. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $58,850, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $266,620." As stated, this article will exclude first officers and concentrate on commercial captains. A first-year captain flying with Allegiant can expect to earn around $189,000 in basic pay. A first-year captain's salary is around $310,000 to $320,000 with Alaska, $325,000 to $340,000 for Southwest, and around $320,000 to $400,000 with United, Delta, and American. Total compensation can be significantly higher, adding $50,000 to over $150,000 for senior captains flying with legacy airlines. Some airlines (e.g., Delta) have profit-sharing schemes. It should be noted that low-cost carriers like Allegiant are often seen as stepping stones to flying with legacy airlines. Senior Commercial Captain Pay Credit: Walter Cicchetti | Shutterstock After around five years of flying with the rank of captain, Allegiant pilots can expect a base pay of around $223,000, rising to $256,000 in the tenth year. For Delta, this is roughly $331,000 to $413,000 in the fifth year and $344,000 to $429,000 in the tenth year. The basic annual base is calculated based on captains flying 75 hours per month for 12 months. At the very end of the scale, a very senior Delta widebody captain with 12+ years of service flying an A350 can realistically reach total compensation in the 500,000 to $550,000+ range in a strong year. Some reports push the upper-end estimates as high as $600,000 under favorable conditions. Put another way, the highest realistic amount a commercial captain can earn in the commercial industry is around double what a fighter pilot can peak at in the Air Force when that pilot has the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and is receiving the full retention bonus. The Air Force has moved to narrow the pay gap with the commercial sector, although the commercial sector is typically freer to raise its compensation even faster. This creates a structural problem that is not easy to solve.