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The big paycheckWhat do you earn as a pilot at Lufthansa, Eurowings & Co.?
Anyone who wants to fly a passenger aircraft must undergo rigorous training. We looked at what would happen financially afterwards.
Arne Dedert/dpa
from Amina Gall
You're aiming high in your career – including your salary?
Given the current strike situation, many people are probably wondering what pilots actually earn. Because they are actually considered high earners. We took a look at the payrolls of various airlines.
Pilot: dream job for many children!
Getting into the cockpit is not easy. Anyone who wants to become a pilot and fly passenger aircraft must complete extensive and expensive training. According to the Cockpit pilots' union, between 60,000 and 120,000 euros are due depending on the training facility. According to the Bildungs.de portal, the training is divided into training to become a commercial pilot and training to become a commercial pilot. Commercial pilots are allowed to fly smaller aircraft or work as co-pilots on large aircraft, while commercial pilots are also allowed to fly larger passenger aircraft.
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After training, pilots start out as first officers, better known as co-pilots. Once they have gained enough professional experience, they can become a captain. When exactly this is varies depending on the airline, so the range is between three and 20 years.
From co-pilot to captain – that’s what you deserve in the cockpit
According to the Cockpit Association, the salary range for pilots is enormous: the starting salary of a first officer is between 1,500 and 6,500 euros gross per month. If you become a captain, you will receive between 3,000 and 12,000 euros per month. But what salary is usual? It's impossible to say exactly; the differences between the airlines are huge. In addition, the salary also depends on the business area, as the Cockpit association reports. Average annual salaries for first officers are 100,000 euros and for captains who fly medium-haul routes it is around 135,000 euros, the union said upon request.
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Top salaries for pilots at German airlines
Airlines usually don't want to say exactly how much they pay their pilots. When asked by RTL, Lufthansa, Eurowings and Tuifly said that they do not make this information public. Only Condor is willing to talk about salaries: “The salary of cockpit employees is basically made up of several components, which vary based on various factors such as level of experience, company affiliation or days of use,” the airline says. The basic starting salary is 78,000 euros annually. On top of that, there are allowances and expenses.
But the salaries of other airlines are also repeatedly made public. At the beginning of 2025, for example, the Handelsblatt reported on the different salaries at Lufthansa and Eurowings – both airlines belong to the Lufthansa Group. Accordingly, the starting salary for first officers at Lufthansa is 88,600 euros gross per year. That makes 7,383 euros per month. On top of that, there are also problems here.
At Eurowings, young professionals earn less: 70,200 euros per year or 5,850 euros per month. According to Handelsblatt, captains of the highest seniority level – i.e. with many years of active service – can receive a maximum fixed salary of 202,300 euros at Eurowings. Their colleagues at the main brand Lufthansa earn even better: they should be able to earn up to 281,300 euros gross per year. If you then add special payments and profit sharing, an annual salary of around 300,000 euros is possible. This means that Lufthansa captains are among the top earners in the industry.
What do you actually earn as a…?
Are you interested in what you earn in certain professions? On RTL.de we took a close look at some salary lists.
Source used: own RTL research, Training.de
