Southeast Asia's largest LCC. A320-family across multiple countries.
AirAsia Group, founded 2001, is SE Asia's largest LCC. Operating exclusively on A320 family across Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, and India. Regular foreign pilot hiring. Group entities include AirAsia and AirAsia X (long-haul).
* Figures are reference values based on public data and industry benchmarks. Verify actual compensation with each airline's official recruitment information.
| Position | Salary Range | Avg / Reference | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Captain SE Asia short/medium routes |
¥10.5M–¥16.8M |
¥13M | Pre-tax |
| First Officer Domestic & International |
¥4M–¥7.8M |
¥6M | Seniority-based |
💡 MYR/JPY≈33. LCC base pay lower than FSC but productivity/duty pay supplements income.
Modeled from the captain / first-officer ranges above, sliced into standard career stages. Bands marked est. are derived from those ranges (not official); verified bands come from active-pilot data. Management pay is crowd-sourced from verified pilots.
| Career Stage | Years | Annual (pre-tax) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadet / Trainee | ≤2 yrs | ¥3M–¥4.5M | est. |
| First Officer — Junior | 3–5 yrs | ¥4M–¥5.7M | est. |
| First Officer — Mid | 6–10 yrs | ¥5.1M–¥6.7M | est. |
| First Officer — Senior | 11–15 yrs | ¥6.1M–¥7.8M | est. |
| Captain — New | 15–18 yrs | ¥10.5M–¥13.3M | est. |
| Captain — Mid | 19–24 yrs | ¥12.3M–¥15M | est. |
| Senior Captain | 25+ yrs | ¥14M–¥16.8M | est. |
| Management / Instructor / Examiner | — | Data wanted | crowd-sourced |
SE Asian cities, Japan, Korea, China, India, Middle East. AirAsia X handles long-haul.
A320/A321 family exclusively. 200+ aircraft group-wide.
A320 type training. Costs sometimes split or employee-funded depending on contract.
Supervised line operations post-type rating.
OPC/LPC 1–2x per year per EASA/local authority.
3,000–5,000h F/O required. Faster upgrade possible at some LCCs.
Employee discount on own flights. Group airlines included.
Basic medical coverage. May be less comprehensive than FSC.
Per-flight duty pay or productivity bonus.
Per local labor law.
Hiring status: Regular hiring across group entities. Check by specific country entity.
Apply to relevant group entity career page.
| Airline | Captain (range) | First Officer | Income Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| AirAsia Group 🇲🇾 | ¥10.5M–¥16.8M | ¥4M–¥7.8M | Income tax applies |
| ANA 🇯🇵 | ¥22M–¥35M | ¥14M–¥21M | ~33% (Japan) |
| JAL 🇯🇵 | ¥22M–¥35M | ¥14M–¥21M | ~33% (Japan) |
* Salary figures are SSOT reference values (pre-tax unless marked tax-free). ANA / JAL shown as the Japan baseline — ~33% income tax applies in Japan, so after-tax take-home is lower than the headline. Tax-free carriers pay 100% take-home. Verify exact figures with each airline.
AirAsia Group captain pay averages about ¥13M per year (range ¥10.5M–¥16.8M), pre-tax. Figures are reference values based on public data and industry benchmarks.
AirAsia Group first officer pay averages about ¥6M per year (range ¥4M–¥7.8M), pre-tax, rising with seniority — see the Career Ladder above for the year-by-year breakdown.
Captain / First Officer — A320 — Group entities (MY/TH/ID etc.). Key requirements — License: ATPL (ICAO); Type: A320 type (preferred); English: ICAO Level 4+. Apply to relevant group entity career page.
AirAsia Group captains average ¥13M, versus roughly ¥27M at ANA / JAL. Both figures are pre-tax; Japan applies ~33% income tax.
Dividing the annual average by 12, AirAsia Group captains earn about ¥1.08M a month and first officers about ¥0.5M. What actually lands each month moves with block hours flown, and where an annual bonus is paid the regular monthly figure sits lower with a spike in the bonus month.
AirAsia Group first officers average ¥6M and captains ¥13M — a step of about ¥7M, or roughly 2.2×. The full range runs ¥4M to ¥16.8M, and where you sit inside it is set by seniority, type rating and the routes you fly. The seniority table on this page breaks the same range into career stages.
Every figure on this page is gross, before income tax. Captains average ¥13M and first officers ¥6M pre-tax, and income tax, social insurance and any local levies come out of that. Take-home depends on where you are resident and on your own deductions, so no single percentage applies. Airlines based in countries with no personal income tax — the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia — leave more of the same gross figure in your hand.
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Pilot salary in Malaysia 2 airlines · captain avg ¥1,600万