Private Jet Pilot Salary: Pay by Aircraft Size, Employer and Seat

No government survey measures private jet pilot salary on its own. The closest official benchmark is the Bureau of Labor Statistics: commercial pilots, the group that includes charter and corporate flying, had a median of $123,220 in May 2025, while airline pilots had a median of $232,140. Private jet pay lands between those two, and at the biggest fractional operators it reaches into the airline range.

Below you get the BLS numbers, what each type of employer pays, how aircraft size and seat change the figure, the schedule, the rules for getting hired, and how the job compares with flying for an airline. Every figure carries its source and year. Where no reliable number exists, we say so.

Private Jet Pilot Salary at a Glance

The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook reports pay for May 2025. Commercial pilots, who fly charter, corporate and other non-airline aircraft, earned a median of $123,220, and the top 10% earned more than $266,620. Airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers earned a median of $232,140, and the top 10% more than $463,830.

BLS counted about 50,400 commercial pilots and about 104,600 airline pilots in 2025. Private jet pilots are inside the first group, but that group also includes tour, agricultural and other flying, so the commercial median understates what a captain on a large-cabin jet earns.

What Private Jet Pilots Earn by Employer

Who signs the pay slip matters more than the aircraft. These are the four main routes.

Fractional (NetJets, Flexjet)

NetJets is the only fractional operator with public pay detail, because its pilots are unionized. NJASAP, the pilots’ union, says current wage tables show base wages from $86,000 to over $400,000, and that its 2024 agreement raised compensation by 52.5% over five years, per Private Jet Card Comparisons in April 2024. The same report says the contract is amendable in May 2030, and that 78.31% of voting pilots ratified it.

That range is wide because pay depends on seat, aircraft group and seniority. The union gave one example: a 10-year captain on the 7 and 7 schedule would earn an additional $37,604 per year after the first 23% increase. Flexjet does not publish a comparable scale, and we do not quote one. For what NetJets charges owners and card holders, see our NetJets cost guide.

Charter (Part 135)

Part 135 operators fly on-demand charter. We found no sourced, dated pay scale for a charter operator, so we give no figure. Pay is usually set by each operator and varies with the size of the company and the aircraft. For the cost side, the private jet charter hub explains how operators price flights.

Corporate Flight Departments

Corporate pilots fly for a company that owns the aircraft. We found no sourced figure for this group separately from the BLS commercial median, so treat $123,220 as the floor of the conversation, not the answer.

Private Owner (Part 91)

An owner may hire a full-time pilot for a private aircraft. There is no public data, and pay is negotiated. The same applies to owner-pilot arrangements on small jets: see how the cost works in our Phenom 300 price guide.

Pay by Aircraft Size and Seat

We found no dated, sourced pay table by aircraft category. What the sources do show is that pay rises with seat and with experience.

Light Jets

Private Jet Card Comparisons says NetJets had 167 Phenom 300 and 300E aircraft as of December 2024, so light jets are a large part of that fleet. The union does not publish pay by aircraft type, and we found no other sourced light-jet figure, so we give none.

Midsize and Large Cabin

Larger aircraft need more experience and earn more. NJASAP’s own projection separates “large-cabin captains” and “small-cabin captains” when it compares NetJets pay with the major airlines: after the final base increase on May 1, 2029, it projects the gap with major airlines will fall from 60% to 4.6% for large-cabin captains and 17.6% for small-cabin captains. That is a union projection, not a pay rate.

Captain vs First Officer

The captain is the pilot in command, and the first officer is the second pilot. The NetJets figures above span both seats: an entry-level base of $86,000 at the bottom and over $400,000 at the top. Airline pilots show the same split: BLS reports one median for all airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers together.

Schedules and Lifestyle

Week On, Week Off

NJASAP, the NetJets pilots’ union, cites a 7 and 7 schedule, which means seven days working and seven days off. We did not open NetJets’ own page on schedule options, so ask the employer which schedules it offers.

On Call for Owners

Owner and corporate flying can mean being on call for short-notice trips. BLS notes that most commercial pilots sleep at home, but their hours can be irregular, while airline pilots fly about 75 hours a month and spend about 150 more hours on other duties.

How to Become a Private Jet Pilot

Certificates: Commercial and ATP

An airline transport pilot certificate for airplanes needs at least 1,500 hours of total time, including 500 cross-country, 100 at night and 75 of instrument time, under 14 CFR 61.159, with some credits allowed. A charter pilot in command flying under instrument rules needs a commercial certificate and at least 1,200 hours, including 500 cross-country, 100 night and 75 instrument, under 14 CFR 135.243. For passenger-carrying charter, 14 CFR 135.243(a)(1) goes further: the pilot in command of any turbojet airplane, of an airplane with 10 or more passenger seats, or of a multiengine airplane in commuter operations must hold an ATP certificate. In practice, that means a charter jet captain is an ATP holder.

Type Ratings

Each jet type needs a type rating, which is training specific to that aircraft. We give no cost or say who pays, because we did not open a training provider’s price page.

Time and Cost

BLS says new airline pilots complete on-the-job training that usually lasts several weeks of ground school and flight training. We found no dated, sourced price for a flight school’s full program that we opened, so we give none.

Private Jet Pilot vs Airline Pilot

	Private jet pilot	Airline pilot	Source
Median pay	$123,220 (commercial pilots)	$232,140	BLS, May 2025
Top 10%	More than $266,620	More than $463,830	BLS, May 2025
Hours	Often irregular, mostly home at night	About 75 flying hours a month plus about 150 on other duties	BLS
Entry route	Commercial certificate, then ATP	Bachelor’s degree typical, plus ATP	BLS

Verdict: the airline pays more at the median, but the largest fractional captains are approaching it. NJASAP projects the gap with major airlines will fall to 4.6% for large-cabin captains by 2029. For where private pilots fly, see how safe business jets are in our guide to the safest private jets in the world, and how high they go in how high does a private jet fly.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a NetJets pilot make?

NetJets base wages run from $86,000 to over $400,000, according to the pilots' union NJASAP, as reported by Private Jet Card Comparisons in April 2024. Pay depends on seat, aircraft group and seniority. The 2024 contract raised compensation by 52.5% over five years.

Do private jet pilots make more than airline pilots?

On average, no. BLS reports a May 2025 median of $123,220 for commercial pilots and $232,140 for airline pilots. At the top of NetJets' scale, pay can exceed $400,000, and the union says the gap with major airlines is closing.

How many hours do you need to fly a private jet?

It depends on the operation. A charter captain on a turbojet must hold an ATP certificate under 14 CFR 135.243, and an ATP needs at least 1,500 hours of total time under 14 CFR 61.159. Private Part 91 flying has lower legal minimums, but insurers and employers set their own hour requirements.

Do private jet pilots get days off?

Yes, but the pattern varies. NetJets' union contract includes a 7 and 7 schedule, seven days on and seven off. BLS says commercial pilots mostly sleep at home but with irregular hours, and owner flying can mean being on call.

Can a private pilot fly a jet?

Not for pay. A private pilot certificate does not allow flying for compensation, and a jet needs a type rating. A commercial certificate is the minimum to be paid, and the aircraft type needs its own training.

Sources

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, “Airline and Commercial Pilots,” May 2025 data, bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/airline-and-commercial-pilots.htm
• Private Jet Card Comparisons, “NetJets pilots ratify contract revision,” April 13, 2024
• 14 CFR 135.243, Pilot in command qualifications, via Cornell Legal Information Institute
• 14 CFR 61.159, Airline transport pilot aeronautical experience, via Cornell Legal Information Institute
• Private Jet Card Comparisons, Embraer Phenom 300 profile