Altair Aviation Pay
Flight Department Offer MonitorNo. 5 · Q3 2026
Flight Department Offer Monitor · United StatesData to 30 September 2026
Large cabin captains pull further ahead
Posted captain pay for large cabin jets rose 6.5 percent in a year, and 42 percent of those offers now carry a signing bonus. Technician offers in the West lead every other region
1Captain offers by aircraft category
Captain offers rose in every aircraft category we track. The gap between large cabin jets and everything else widened again as operators adding long range aircraft competed for type rated captains with international experience.1
| Category | Postings | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large cabin jet | 148 | $228,000 | $214,000 | +6.5% |
| Super midsize jet | 121 | $192,000 | $183,000 | +4.9% |
| Midsize and light jet | 167 | $158,000 | $152,000 | +3.9% |
| Turboprop | 94 | $118,000 | $114,000 | +3.5% |
| Helicopter | 72 | $132,000 | $127,000 | +3.9% |
| All captain offers | 602 | $171,000 | $163,000 | +4.9% |
Source: operator and flight department job postings, FAA aircraft registry, FAA airman certification statistics, Altair Aviation Pay estimates
Source: operator and flight department job postings, FAA aircraft registry, FAA airman certification statistics, Altair Aviation Pay estimates
2Technician offers by region
Technician offers held their premium in the West and Northeast, where flight departments compete with airline maintenance bases for the same mechanics. Signing bonuses appear in 39 percent of technician offers, most often for airframe and powerplant certificated mechanics with avionics experience.
| Region | Postings | Median hourly | Bonus stated | Median bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast | 96 | $47.50 | 38% | $7,500 |
| Southeast | 131 | $43.00 | 41% | $5,000 |
| Central | 88 | $41.00 | 29% | $5,000 |
| West | 109 | $49.00 | 45% | $10,000 |
| All regions | 424 | $45.00 | 39% | $7,500 |
Source: operator and flight department job postings, FAA aircraft registry, FAA airman certification statistics, Altair Aviation Pay estimates
3Training agreements
Most captain offers for jets now include a training agreement that the pilot repays if they leave early. Stated amounts track the cost of type rating courses, so they are highest for large cabin jets and lowest for turboprops.2
Source: operator and flight department job postings, FAA aircraft registry, FAA airman certification statistics, Altair Aviation Pay estimates
4Against the Corporate Aviation Pay Survey
5What to watch in the fourth quarter
Whether signing bonuses for large cabin captains pass half of all offers, whether technician pay in the Southeast closes on the Northeast as new maintenance facilities open, and how many departments post January pay adjustments ahead of the 2027 Survey.
How this monitor is built
- A posting counts once per role and operator, however many boards carry it
- Aircraft category comes from the type named in the posting, checked against the operator's aircraft on the FAA registry
- Categories and regions match the Corporate Aviation Pay Survey so the two can be read side by side
Approved for subscribersMartin OkaforHead of Pay Research · 7 October 2026
1 Base pay is the annual base stated in the posting, excluding per diem and bonuses. 38 postings that stated no pay are counted in postings but not in medians.
2 Repayment is the maximum stated obligation, which most agreements reduce in equal monthly steps over their term.