Air France Pilot Salary in 2025

Air France (AF) is the national flag carrier of France, founded over 100 years ago and headquartered in the capital city of the country, Paris. With two operating hubs at Charles de Gaulle and Orly Airport, the airline flies a fleet of over 200 narrow and wide-body planes to over 180 destinations around the world, including several overseas French territories.

AF is one of the world’s largest airlines by countries and destinations served as well as passenger footfall, and continues to grow at a rapid rate, particularly owing to CDG’s geographical location and reputation as a convenient transit hub. Moreover, Paris is also one of the world’s most visited cities for business and leisure, thus making the French carrier a popular choice.

Air France operates over 1,500 flights every day from its two hubs and its focus cities – Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, and Toulouse. At the moment, the carrier has approximately 4,000 pilots on its payroll and plans to increase capacity by a few hundred this year.

Photo: Air France

Air France Pilot Salary

Here is a look at how much they earn, the benefits they enjoy, the requirements to become one, and the hiring steps.

Air France First Officer Salary

Air France’s first officers are the airline’s secondary tier of pilots and also include individuals who have graduated from their cadet program.

While the least experienced personnel gain crucial flying hours, those with significant time under their belt assist with flying the plane from its origin to destination by handling communication with ATC and helping the captain in decision-making.

Air France’s first officers are paid a monthly salary ranging from €5,000 to €11,000 (approx. US$5,900 to US$13,000), with the overall payouts depending on their years of experience, type of aircraft flown, and total flying hours.

Additionally, they receive between €40 and €95 for each flying hour, subject to the appended factors as well as the duration of each flight.

Air France Captain’s salary

Air France captains are the airline’s senior category of pilots, who have several flying hours and years of experience, sometimes on a number of aircraft. They are the commander of the airplane from pushback to shutdown and make some of the flight’s most important decisions, such as during emergencies and regarding navigation of the flight in a safe manner.

Air France pays its captains a basic salary between €12,000 and €20,000 per month, whereas flying hours are compensated at a rate ranging from €90 to €135 per unit. As with first officers, these payouts depend on the type of aircraft flown, the duration of each flight, and the total amount of experience a commander has under their belt.

It is not known how many flying hours Air France expects its pilots to produce in a month.

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Photo: Air France

Benefits enjoyed by Air France pilots

Air France pilots enjoy a series of benefits in addition to their payments, some of which are as below.

• Layover allowances – Air France pilots are entitled to generous layover allowances during their employment with the carrier. The total payout depends on the destination and the duration they will be spending away from their home base.
• Staff travel – Air France pilots, their families, and their friends are entitled to a staff discount on tickets after the concerned individual has completed six months of employment with the airline. The deals are valid on business and first class tickets as well as on the entire network.
• SkyTeam benefits – In addition to cheaper tickets on the Air France network, the carrier’s pilots are entitled to a wide range of benefits with airlines that are a part of the SkyTeam alliance as well, given that AF is one of the group’s founding members.
• Leave allowance – Air France pilots are entitled to an average of 15 days off per month and 45 more days of paid leave during a calendar year. This ensures that their work-life balance is at an industry-leading level and that they are highly motivated to fly efficiently.
• Insurance policy – Air France’s pilots receive medical and life insurance policies. The former takes care of expenditure on health-related matters all over the world, while the latter entitles families to compensation packages in case of mishaps.
• Health benefits – Air France has a leading work culture where each pilot’s mental and physical health is given utmost importance. The carrier has tie-ups with wellness providers and gyms in France, which the employees can join at discounted rates.

Photo: Clément Alloing

What Aircraft do Air France Pilots Fly?

Air France pilots operate the following types of aircraft when flying for the carrier.

• Airbus A220-300 – 43
• Airbus A318-100 – 6
• Airbus A319-100 – 8
• Airbus A320-200 – 36
• Airbus A321-100 – 4
• Airbus A321-200 – 10
• Airbus A330-200 – 10
• Airbus A350-900 – 37
• Boeing 777-200ER – 18
• Boeing 777-300ER – 43
• Boeing 787-9 – 10

In addition to its existing fleet of planes, Air France also has the following pending orders.

• Airbus A220-300 – 17
• Airbus A350-900 – 32

Photo: Clément Alloing

How to become an Air France pilot?

Air France pilots are required to fulfil the following criteria to be considered for employment. The airline generally promotes captains internally, so the below are an indication for first officers only. The flying hour threshold is dependent on the amount of experience the airline is looking for during each hiring drive.

• Be a national of one of the member states of the European Economic Area or the Swiss Confederation.
• Be fluent in French. Candidates whose French is not their mother tongue must hold FCL 055 level 6 in French.
• Hold a valid ATPL or CPL/IRME.
• Hold a theoretical ATPL issued by an ATO certified by one of the Member States of the European Union.
• Hold a valid ‘class 1’ medical certificate.
• Hold a certificate of satisfactory completion of crew training (MCC).
• Hold a UPRT training certificate (for applicants who do not hold a QT CS25).
• Not have already failed 2 times in PSY2 for an Air France Commercial Pilot selection test.
• Have a level equal to or above 5 on the language skills assessment scale: FCL 055 / 055D, currently valid.
• Have a TOEIC (LR = Listening and Reading) Test score of at least 850, less than 2 years old at the time of selection.
• Submit 1 copy of the last 2 pages of your logbook, certified on your honour, and 1 certificate from your employer validating these flight hours.

Air France’s hiring process for pilots

Air France has the following steps in its hiring process for pilots.

1. APPLICATION – An online application is submitted by those who are interested in the vacancy with the company. They are required to upload their resume and a cover letter written in French, and any other supporting documentation.
2. TESTING PHASE – An initial testing phase is conducted to allow the Air France hiring team to ascertain the individual’s psycho-technical and psychomotor skills. An idea about their past experience and career goals is also understood in this step.
3. ASSESSMENT – An in-person assessment follows the first step, with an individual interview and group rounds conducted to understand every individual better. In some cases, a flight simulator test may also be conducted for the candidate.
4. CONDITIONAL OFFER – A conditional offer is sent out subject to the individual successfully passing all background checks, a medical examination, and verification of their documents. They are also required to undergo a training program specific to all Air France employees.

Air France Pilot FAQs

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