Pay at the seven Asian carriers
| Item | Cathay Pacific | Singapore Airlines | Scoot | HK Express | Vietnam Airlines | VietJet Air | Philippine Airlines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Captain, annual | about $226K Our own estimate from public information. Not a figure the airline publishes |
about $214K Our own estimate from public information. Not a figure the airline publishes |
$148K | $129K | $120K | $113K | $98K |
| First officer, annual | about $123K Target Annual Salary of HKD 964,646 in the official posting. It applies if the target block hours are flown; it is neither guaranteed nor an average (as of January 2026; the monthly allowance is separate) |
about $116K Our own estimate from public information. Not a figure the airline publishes |
$72K | $72K | $66K | $60K | $47K |
| Figure published by the airline | Target Annual Salary first and second officers only |
none | none | none | none | none | none |
| Captain, minimum total hours | none | 7,000 h incl. 3,000 h PIC |
none | none | none | 4,000 h from a posting closed Feb 2025 |
none |
| First officer, minimum total hours | 1,500 h 3,000 h preferred |
1,500 h 3,000 h preferred |
none | none | none | 4,000 h from a posting closed Feb 2025 |
none |
| English requirement | ICAO Level 4+ | ICAO Level 5+ | none | none | none | none | none |
| Annual leave | 28 days (FO) | none | none | up to 35 days | none | none | none |
| Vacancies, September 2026 | cadet, SO, FO | captain, first officer | A320 captain, FO, B787 captain | one internal posting | none | none | none |
For Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines, where there is an official posting we use that amount and where there is no official figure the cell carries our own estimate; either way we name the kind of figure it is. The ranges for the other five are calculated from pay data submitted anonymously to PILOT VALUE together with public material; they are not figures released by the airlines. Flight hours, English levels, annual leave and vacancies are as stated on each airline’s own pages, annual reports and postings. "None" means the airline publishes nothing for that item.
Cathay Pacific — first-officer pay published as a figure
Cathay Pacific is the only one of these seven airlines to put a pay figure on its recruitment page. It covers three grades — cadet, second officer and first officer. Captain pay is not published.
First Officer
Second Officer
- It is a target, not a guaranteed amount. The page says "Target Annual Salary based on achieving Target Annual Block Hours" — the figure assumes you reach the target block hours, so it moves with what you actually fly.
- The figures are current as of January 2026. The page notes "Latest figures as of Jan 2026, subject to periodic review".
- The monthly allowance is not included in the target annual salary. The recruitment page lists it on its own line as "From HKD 20,000".
Converted to yen, the target annual salary is about $123K for a first officer and about $80K for a second officer. The figure of about $226K for a captain on this page is our own estimate, worked out from public information. It is not a figure Cathay Pacific publishes.
Singapore Airlines — detailed entry requirements, but pay is not published
Published entry requirements
A minimum height is set officially
“Minimum height requirement of 1.58m to ensure full reach and the safe operation of all flight deck controls”
Scoot is the Singapore Airlines group’s low-cost carrier, but it recruits separately and publishes its own postings. Three were open in September 2026: "Direct Entry A320 Captain 2026 (Singapore Assessment Centre)", "Direct Entry First Officer 2026" and "Direct Entry B787 Captain 2026". Flight hours, English level, age and the medical are not stated in those postings, so those cells read "None" in the table above. The pay figure in the table is a range we worked out from anonymous pay data and public sources, not a figure the airline publishes. Do not apply Singapore Airlines’ requirements to Scoot.
The two Vietnamese carriers — headcount and upgrades published, pay only as an all-employee figure
Vietnam Airlines — 1,055 pilots, 99 of them foreign nationals
Operating pilots as at 31 December 2025, including VASCO: 1,055 — 532 captains and 523 first officers. Vietnamese nationals 966 (91.60%), foreign nationals 99 (9.40%).Source: Vietnam Airlines annual report 2025 (Vietnamese)
- In 2025, 20 first officers were upgraded to captain (100% of a plan of 20) and 112 pilots completed type transitions. Vietnam Airlines is the only one of these seven airlines to publish upgrade figures.
- On pay, only growth rates are published: average income up more than 25% and average wages up nearly 40% against 2019. These cover all employees, not pilots.
- Hiring runs on a separate recruitment site. As of September 2026 there is no pilot opening, and all 21 vacancies listed show pay as "negotiable".
VietJet Air — the average income in its annual report is an all-employee figure
The 2025 annual report charts average income per person per month. Headcount is 7,632, and the job mix is stated as cabin crew 27.92%, pilots 12.47% and other staff 59.60%.
- It covers all employees, and pilots are only 12.47% of headcount.
- The report does not label which bar belongs to which year. The 7,632 headcount can be tied to 2025, but the other years cannot be identified.
- It does not define the difference between "thu nhập" (income) and "tiền lương" (wages), so what the amount includes is not clear.
HK Express and Philippine Airlines — not hiring as of September 2026
HK Express
The official pilots page lists only the names of the benefits. No figures are given.
- Medical Insurance
- Loss of Income Insurance
- Staff Travel Benefits (UO, CX and interline)
- Up to 35-day Leave
- Bonus
- Relocation Assistance
Philippine Airlines
“There are currently no open positions matching this category or location.”
- There are no vacancies in the pilot category. Neither pay nor flight-hour minimums nor English requirements are published officially.
- The holding company’s statutory filing contains no pay by job type, and the text of the ALPAP collective agreement is not published.
Which of the seven to choose
The only one of the seven where the target annual salary, monthly allowance, annual leave and hour minimums are all on one page. Second officers can apply from 250 total hours, the lowest door here. Captain pay is not published.
Entry requirements are published in detail, and A350 or A380 captain time counts directly. The English bar, ICAO Level 5+, is the highest of the seven. There is no figure in the postings, so pay has to be established during selection. The contract is up to 12 months.
Only one of the seven publishes a figure, and even that one omits captains. Any article that ranks them is including estimates. What this page can show is each carrier’s range and where it came from.
Frequently asked questions
Which Asian airline pays pilots the most?+
Does any Asian airline publish pilot pay?+
Is Cathay Pacific captain pay published?+
Is the Target Annual Salary guaranteed?+
Which Asian carriers are hiring pilots right now?+
Anything unusual in Singapore Airlines’ requirements?+
Do the Vietnamese carriers’ annual reports state pilot pay?+
How many pilots does Vietnam Airlines employ?+
Each airline in detail, and other regions
Only pay data from the flight deck can fill the gaps in this table
Six of the seven publish no pay figure, which is why "none" appears so often in the table above. The only thing that narrows these ranges is pay data from pilots actually flying there. Every anonymous submission narrows them a little further.
Add your pay anonymously