A Look At The Salaries Of Narrowbody Charter Pilots In 2026

Charter Airline Industry Is Very Extensive

Working as a narrowbody charter pilot in the United States can mean being in one of two distinct roles based on the size of the aircraft flown. A pilot might work for a small company and so be governed by a different set of regulations than those that typical narrowbody charter airlines operate under.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) regulations, the distinction is largely made based on seats and payload capacity. If operating services on aircraft with up to 30 seats onboard or space for a 7,500-pound (3,402-kg) maximum payload, a carrier will have to hold either an “Air Carrier” or “Operating” certificate under part 135 of the organization’s regulations. These allow on-demand services to be run and place a limit on scheduled operations. It also determines whether flights can be international or remain within a single state.

The term “narrowbody charter operations”, at least for the purpose of this article, generally applies to larger aircraft that fall under part 121 of the FAA’s regulations. This is the same set of rules that governs scheduled airlines, like large US-based international or regional carriers. Though this means charter pilots flying the likes of the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 technically fly for “Regularly Scheduled Air Carriers”, their salaries are easier to gauge given the broad scope of those covered by Part 135 regulations.

Larger Aircraft Charter Pilots Earn More

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Why the regulations charter pilots fly under is relevant is really down to narrowing the scope of those covered. The business aviation market in the US alone, for instance, was made up of almost 21,900 aircraft as of 2019, making it the largest in the world by a stretch, according to Statista. Needless to say, the industry is massive, and so salaries can really vary when you factor in just how broadly general aviation aircraft are used for charter services.

In terms of charter airline pilots operating under part 121 regulations, their pay is typically closer to that of low-cost carriers and national airlines than to legacy majors. As of May 2024, airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers in the non-scheduled air transportation sector earned a median annual wage of $226,870 annually, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This compares to the median pay of $239,200-plus for those in the same roles in the scheduled air transportation space.

The lack of similar, more current official statistics makes finding a benchmark for today more difficult. Compensation data platform Salary.com placed the average annual salary for charter pilots in the US at $192,164 as of early May 2026. Location and experience play a large part, with top earners said to average $233,203, compared with $161,056 for those in the lowest percentile. The median for airline pilots was placed at $170,901 in the meantime.

What Do Specific Airlines Pay?

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One issue with determining how much charter pilots make lies in the fact that some may earn more simply because they are based at a major hub, or because they work for a company catering to high-net-worth clients, for example. That could mean a typical salary anywhere from $50,000 to several hundred thousand dollars per year, according to figures from Wayman College of Aeronautics.

Sun Country Airlines can offer a ballpark, though. Minnesota-based Sun Country runs a significant charter division alongside its scheduled services and solely operates the 737. First officers in their initial year at the company are paid $83.28 per flying hour, according to its website. This compares to the average $82 and $92 listed for airline and charter pilots, respectively, on Salary.com. Note, Sun Country’s figure here is for an entry-level role, so it will be among its lowest for pilots, while the actual take-home should be higher when the likes of base and per diem pay are factored in.

Per US training provider ATP Flight School, new Sun Country first officers flying 72 hours a month will be paid $105,919 on an annual basis in 2026, including other benefits. Experienced captains at the airline should receive closer to $271,285, meanwhile. For reference, those starting out at major carrier United Airlines are advertised at $125.52 per flight hour as of this year on its website. This aids annual pay in the region of $119,968 for narrowbody pilots at the airline, ATP’s figures show. For an experienced captain at United, this figure rises to around $356,443. ATP then puts the figure for fresh Southwest Airlines first officers at $130,478 and at $343,541 for veteran captains. Both are noticeably higher than Sun Country, with legacy carriers like United typically paying more. Southwest, a low-cost, 737-only carrier, does not advertise a starting hourly rate, but its ATP annual wage is based on 87 flying hours per month. This means that how much its pilots get for their time is actually far closer to the likes of Sun Country.

Part 135 Pilots Earn Less

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Unsurprisingly, remuneration for charter pilots of smaller aircraft tends to be less than for those on narrowbodies. Pilots of smaller aircraft can carry fewer passengers and often chalk up fewer block hours in comparison, so for charter carriers to pay them on par with crews of larger aircraft can be unreasonable or even impossible.

Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics figures referenced above, the median salaries of commercial pilots in the non-scheduled air transportation sector sat at $124,330 in May 2024. While that would have included pilots carrying out other services and not just charter operations, it provides a useful comparison against the $226,870 median earned by pilots effectively carrying out many of the same roles in larger aircraft.

Connecticut-headquartered Tradewind Aviation is a perfect example of a charter airline operating under the FAA’s Part 135 regulations, using the Pilatus PC-12 to operate flights across the eastern US and Caribbean. Its career brochure notes that first officers can expect a starting salary of $50,000 per year, with captains initially offered $70,000. Although not an operator of narrowbodies in the conventional sense, the airline represents one end of the spectrum of charter carriers in the US.

Variables Behind Pilot Pay

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Like at mainstream airlines, charter pilots can expect to pay over and above their rate for just flying hours alone. All airlines pay a base rate, which, alongside hourly flight pay, forms the foundation of salaries. Where base pay offers a guaranteed check at the end of each month, hourly flight pay is paid for time spent actually doing the job, so from pushback to engine shutdown usually. The latter is also guaranteed by most airlines to ensure salaries.

Airlines also often grant a per diem allowance for time spent away from base. For narrowbody pilots, it might add a couple of thousand dollars to paychecks over the course of a year. Widebody pilots covering long-haul routes really reap the rewards of per diem pay given long periods spent on layovers, but that is a story for another time. Back to narrowbody crews, and ATP’s figures for salaries at United and Southwest incorporate an average of $7,000 in per diem pay, as a guide.

Profit-sharing and healthy retirement contributions are then among a string of other benefits airlines try to entice pilots with. All this goes to say that salaries can drastically shift across the industry based on a host of factors outside just which airline one works for. Tradewind and Sun Country, say, grant $3.21 and $2.80 per diem an hour. This may not sound like a lot, but it is a rate that ticks up 24 hours a day when away from home base, so one that can really account for a lot come payday.

Charter And Commercial Market Competing For Same Pilots

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Charter airlines are forced to compensate their pilots in line with the wider industry in many ways. Like conventional airlines, charter firms compete for talent in an industry that today is struggling to keep up with demand, from the supply of new aircraft to the number of pilots able to fly them.

Why narrowbody charter firms, on the whole, pay more or less the same as their mainstream counterparts is realistically down to many of the same factors that also govern those airlines. Experience is a big one, but so is geographic base, how much they can charge customers, routes operated, aircraft type, and so on.