Alaska Airlines pilots’ salaries revealed — and the numbers are shocking

These pilots are flying sky-high in more ways than one.

According to Aviation A2Z, a recently negotiated contract with notable pay hikes has made Alaska Airlines pilot salaries among the strongest in the market.

Their first officers (also known as co-pilots) now start out making around $119.92 an hour — or roughly $107,900 per year based on a regular monthly credit of approximately 75 flight hours.

The money just keeps mounting the longer these first officers stay with the airline, which has its headquarters in Seattle, Washington.

More senior officers who undertake larger aircraft assignments earn about $171 per hour, which approximates to $153,000 a year, excluding allowances and bonuses.

Captains for Alaska Airlines have landed the best salaries of the bunch after the new negotiations, now receiving top industry rates of $361.29 per hour. If they fly 75 hours per month, they end up making $324,000 per year in base pay.

This can balloon to $350K — and beyond $400K for the most senior captains — with add-ons like layover pay, premium segments, instructor/examiner responsibilities and profit sharing.

The benefits don’t stop at salary, either. Alaska Airlines pilots also have the opportunity to partake in personal travel privileges, loss of license protection (shielding them from financial loss in the event they become medically unfit to fly), additional income opportunities, and more.

However, Alaska Airlines is not the only carrier that makes sure its pilots are well-protected and provided for.

In late December of 2025, a Miami-based American Airlines Boeing 737 captain posted a screenshot on Reddit of his apparent paycheck that was shared to X by Breaking Aviation News & Videos. It totaled a jaw-dropping $458,000.

Many on X said that pilots deserved their supersized salaries.

“I am absolutely fine with the bloke who’s in charge of the machine that is holding me 35k ft in the air being paid a lot of money,” wrote one flyer.

“Go get your pilot license kids,” quipped another.