Pilot Salaries in India (Updated 2026)

Flight Instructor Pilot Salary in India

Surprisingly, the instructors in India earn more than the instructors in first world countries. This is a reason why pilots prefer being an instructor in India than being an instructor in Canada or the States.

Airline Pilot Salaries in India (Air India and Indigo)

Air India and Indigo are the only airlines running smoothly at the moment in India. The below are the rough salaries of the pilots at Air India and Indigo. Apart from the wages, they get perks. The crew working at Air India and Indigo also get 12 free standby tickets for their family. Though the family perk is often misused by the pilot for extra income through illegitimate ways.

Charter Pilot Salary in India

Charter Pilots in India also get a decent income. Sometimes it is as high as airline pilots while sometimes it is even higher. Some pilots prefer to stay at the charter airlines due to a better work-life balance. Though it depends on the charter airline you are working for.

The initial cost to get a job at charter airlines is usually high. It is about 30 lakhs as a security deposit and another 30 lakhs for type rating but if you have enough experience, a few charter airlines even sponsor your training.

What was the salary of Pilots in India at Jet Airways?

Rough approximations have been shared for the other airlines as the employees are not allowed to share their salary slip.

Since Jet Airways is not de-functional, former Jet Airways Pilot Tapesh Kumar who runs the Youtube Channel Boeing Boy, has shared his salary slips publicly.

Tapesh Kumar mentioned that the Commercial Pilot wages at Jet Airways was more than the Industry standard. An important thing to note is that even though Commercial Pilots have a high salary, a major part gets deducted as tax.

The below is the Salary of Tapesh while working as a Captain at Jet Airways. Unfortunately, he never received it as Jet Airways had shutdown at that time. Tapesh's pilot wage was approximately 8 lakhs out of which he had to pay 3 lakhs as tax.

Will the Pilot Salaries in India drop with the new FDTL rule by DGCA?

Although, Airline Pilots now have to work less due to the new FDTL, there is an increased demand for new pilots. The airlines do not want their current pilots to leave and move to other countries. As a matter of fact, Air India was offering a signing bonus of fifty lakhs to Captains during its hiring spree. It is a difficult time for the airlines.

Why Pilot Salaries in India have not been increasing?

One of the reasons pilot wages are not increasing in India is due to the change in structure of how airlines work. Years from now, only the rich could afford a flight ticket in India.

With the lack of resources becoming a pilot was not easy back then. Now there is no shortage of fresh CPL holders. The number of unemployed CPL holders is increasing drastically over the years. Do to low demand for fresh CPL and high number of applicants, the salary of fresh CPL holders has not been increasing compared to what was offered years ago.

If Airline Pilots get higher salary than Instructors, why some instructors do not move to airlines?

Some instructors do not move to airlines due to homesickness. Not everyone can stay away from home. Many pilots also have responsibilities of their kids, parents which is why they prefer being instructors.

Some instructors operate ground schools where they are easily able to make more than a crore every year.

Another major is the lack of type rating. Airlines usually roll out fresh vacancies for type rated pilots. Most of the instructors in India do not have a type rating which usually costs more than 15 lakhs. Apart from the type rating costs, some airlines even ask for a security deposit of more than 30 lakhs which the instructors cannot afford with their existing responsibilities.

Are the airline pilot salary in India worth the investment on training costs?

This is a trap question. Ground school owners usually do not tell you the truth about this as they need more and more student enrolment. Many ground school owners are greedy for money and hence do not want you to know the truth.

The answer to this question is both yes and no. It depends on your state. If you do not have any issue staying jobless for 2-5 years then the pilot salaries can be worth the investment. The harsh truth is, Commercial Pilot training involves huge training cost. Many take loans for this and then get trapped when they do not get a job after completing their training. Even type rated pilots have to stay jobless for more than 5 years sometimes. And if you have a loan, paying it back is not gonna be easy.

Before you decide to take a loan, you should first ask yourself whether you can afford to pay the loan back even without a pilot job.

Type Rating Costs:

Most of the ground schools will tell you it takes 60-80 lakhs to become a commercial pilot. This is where the trap begins and a major reason for the huge number of unemployed. In order to become an employable commercial pilot, you either need a type rating or an instructor rating. The cost of type rating ranges from 15 lakhs to more than 30 lakhs. Most of the fresh CPL graduates cannot afford this and hence become unemployable for years.

If you can afford all this then yes the pilot salaries in India are worth the investment.