Eurowings — the Lufthansa Group’s point-to-point carrier, based in Düsseldorf.
Eurowings is the Lufthansa Group’s point-to-point carrier, headquartered in Düsseldorf. It flies a single-family Airbus A320 fleet on short- and medium-haul routes from bases across Germany and Europe, and operates no long-haul network. Fares are low-cost, but cockpit pay is not individually negotiated: it is set by a collective agreement pay scale with the German pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), so a pilot’s annual figure follows their step and seniority. First officers may apply without a type rating — Eurowings covers the full A320-family type rating, which is what separates it from pay-to-fly low-cost operators.
Reference values based on public data and the published collective agreement. Confirm exact terms with the airline.
| Position | Annual range | Reference average | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Captain Short/medium haul, A320 family |
¥20.6M–¥34.8M |
¥27.7M | Paid in EUR, pre-tax |
| First Officer Short/medium haul |
¥12.7M–¥21.5M |
¥17.1M | Collective-agreement steps |
Figures are converted at ¥172/EUR from the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) collective agreement pay scale (January 2024 table, including the 7% increase): first officers €74,090.50 (step 1) to €124,822.64 (step 14); captains €119,784.16 (step 1) to €202,254.79 (step 23). Later annual increases are not added on top, because the updated step values are not published.
Unlike most airlines on this site, Eurowings pay is published as a union pay scale, so these are scale endpoints rather than estimates. Intermediate steps are not published.
| Step | Annual (pre-tax) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| First Officer — step 1 | ¥12.7M | VC pay scale |
| First Officer — step 14 (top) | ¥21.5M | VC pay scale |
| Captain — step 1 | ¥20.6M | VC pay scale |
| Captain — step 23 (top) | ¥34.8M | VC pay scale |
Eurowings serves more than 140 destinations across Europe and the Mediterranean from German bases including Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn, Hamburg and Stuttgart. It is a short- and medium-haul point-to-point network, not a connecting hub operation.
Airbus A319 / A320 / A320neo / A321. A single-family fleet, so pilots can stay on one type for their whole career here.
First officers may apply without a type rating; Eurowings covers the full A320-family type rating.
Line training under a training captain after the type rating. High-frequency short-haul flying builds sectors quickly.
EASA-standard proficiency and line checks, once or twice a year.
A Fast Track Upgrade to Captain (A320) is advertised for serving first officers.
Pay follows the Vereinigung Cockpit agreement’s step table — it is not individually negotiated.
First officers without a type rating are eligible; the A320-family course is paid for by the airline.
14 steps for first officers, 23 for captains. Pay moves up with time in seat.
Discounted travel across Lufthansa Group airlines.
Bases across Germany and Europe; vacancies are advertised per base.
At least the EU-mandated 20 days; the actual entitlement is set by the collective agreement.
Status: Both captain and first officer vacancies are advertised via the Lufthansa Group career portal.
Applications are accepted only through the online career portal. Vacancies are posted per base and change over time — confirm the current terms on the airline’s own page.
| Airline | Captain (range) | First Officer | Income Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eurowings 🇩🇪 | ¥20.6M–¥34.8M | ¥12.7M–¥21.5M | 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. ANA / JAL are shown as the Japan baseline. Germany taxes pilot income, so take-home is lower than the headline figure in both columns.
Eurowings captains average about ¥27.7M a year (range ¥20.6M–¥34.8M), before tax. Pay is set by the Vereinigung Cockpit collective agreement pay scale, which runs to 23 steps for captains, so where a pilot sits in that range depends on their step rather than on individual negotiation.
Eurowings first officers average about ¥17.1M a year (range ¥12.7M–¥21.5M), before tax. The first officer scale has 14 steps, and pay moves up with time in seat until upgrade to captain.
Yes. Eurowings recruits first officers who do not hold a type rating and covers the full Airbus A320-family type rating. That is the main difference from low-cost operators that ask pilots to fund their own type rating.
Eurowings captains average ¥27.7M against ¥27M at ANA and JAL, and first officers ¥17.1M against ¥18M. All four figures are gross, before income tax; both Germany and Japan tax pilot income.
Dividing the annual average by 12, Eurowings captains earn about ¥2.31M a month and first officers about ¥1.43M. 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.
Eurowings first officers average ¥17.1M and captains ¥27.7M — a step of about ¥10.6M, or roughly 1.6×. The full range runs ¥12.7M to ¥34.8M, 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 ¥27.7M and first officers ¥17.1M 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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