National Salary Info » Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

Highest Paying Industries for Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

The top 27 highest paying industries for airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment in those industries are also shown. As shown in the table, with an average annual salary of $131,670, insurance carriers and related activities is the highest paying industry for airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers. It is followed by machinery, equipment, and supplies merchant wholesalers industry (average annual salary $128,520). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in May 2015 [1]. For more information about salaries of airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers in a specific industry, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 27 Highest Paying Industries for Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

Rank	Industry	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Insurance Carriers and Related Activities	$131,670	$80,770	n/a
2	Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	$128,520	$83,660	n/a
3	Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods	$128,520	$83,660	n/a
4	Wholesale Trade	$125,450	$80,480	n/a
5	Transportation and Warehousing	$120,810	$63,950	70,640
6	Scheduled Air Transportation	$120,070	$64,050	66,000
7	Air Transportation	$119,770	$63,480	66,700
8	Manufacturing	$116,660	$75,190	80
9	Finance and Insurance	$112,350	$91,950	n/a
10	Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities	$106,520	$82,820	n/a
11	Other Financial Investment Activities	$104,880	$82,430	n/a
12	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	$104,290	$78,280	210
13	Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services	$100,040	$82,080	n/a
14	Management of Companies and Enterprises	$99,670	$69,500	60
15	Federal government, including USPS	$97,240	$76,440	3,490
16	Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	$97,240	$76,440	3,490
17	Public sector -- Federal, state, and local government, including government owned schools and hospit	$97,020	$76,440	n/a
18	Federal, State, and Local Government (OES Designation)	$97,020	$76,440	3,510
19	Federal, State, and Local Government	$97,020	$76,440	3,510
20	Support Activities for Air Transportation	$96,160	$53,120	1,380
21	Support Activities for Transportation	$96,110	$53,130	1,380
22	Nonscheduled Air Transportation	$93,020	$43,370	n/a
23	Educational Services	$84,110	$26,140	420
24	Educational Services - Privately owned	$83,570	$26,050	420
25	Technical and trade schools - Privately owned	$83,330	$25,980	420
26	Technical and Trade Schools	$83,330	$25,980	420
27	Health Care and Social Assistance	$73,500	$45,820	n/a