Which pays a pilot more — a foreign airline or a Japanese airline?

Foreign carriers pay more. United captains earn $395K and Delta captains $385K (the top tier of the US majors), and Emirates pays $231K tax-free, against ANA's $169K before tax. On a take-home basis, both the US majors and Emirates work out at roughly double ANA.

What does a Japanese pilot need in order to move to a foreign airline?

ICAO Level 4 or above English, an Airline Transport Pilot License and the required flight hours are the minimum conditions. Emirates, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines all have a track record of hiring Japanese pilots. US airlines, as a rule, require permanent residency.

Foreign vs Japanese Carrier Pilot Salaries [2026 Update] ANA & JAL vs Emirates, Delta, Singapore Airlines

Salary Ranking

Pilot Salary Ranking at the World's Major Airlines (Captain)

Rank	Airline	Country / Region	Captain salary (gross)	Captain take-home (est.)	vs ANA
🥇	United Airlines	🇺🇸 USA	¥6,320万 Range ¥5,370–8,530万	approx. ¥3,800万	approx. 2.2×
🥈	Delta Air Lines	🇺🇸 USA	¥6,160万 Range ¥4,950–8,690万	approx. ¥3,700万	approx. 2.1×
🥉	American Airlines	🇺🇸 USA	¥5,930万 Range ¥5,010–8,600万	approx. ¥3,550万	approx. 2.0×
4	Southwest Airlines	🇺🇸 USA	¥4,820万 Range ¥4,140–7,110万	approx. ¥2,900万	approx. 1.6×
5	Emirates	🇦🇪 UAE	¥3,700万 (tax-free) Range ¥3,350–5,050万	¥3,700万 (all take-home)	approx. 2.1×
6	Cathay Pacific	🇭🇰 Hong Kong	¥3,600万 Range ¥3,000–5,650万	approx. ¥3,000万	approx. 1.7×
7	Lufthansa	🇩🇪 Germany	¥3,440万 Range ¥2,490–4,320万	approx. ¥2,150万	approx. 1.2×
8	Singapore Airlines	🇸🇬 Singapore	¥3,400万 Range ¥2,750–4,150万	approx. ¥2,750万	approx. 1.6×
9	Etihad Airways	🇦🇪 UAE	¥3,400万 (tax-free) Range ¥3,000–6,000万	¥3,400万 (all take-home)	approx. 1.9×
10	Qatar Airways	🇶🇦 Qatar	¥2,900万 (tax-free) Range ¥2,600–4,800万	¥2,900万 (all take-home)	approx. 1.6×
—	ANA (All Nippon Airways)	🇯🇵 Japan	¥2,700万 (pre-tax)	approx. ¥1,770万	Baseline
—	JAL (Japan Airlines)	🇯🇵 Japan	¥2,700万 (pre-tax)	approx. ¥1,770万	Baseline

* Reference values as of March 2026. US take-home figures are estimates after federal and state tax. The UAE and Qatar levy no personal income tax, so gross equals take-home.

How to Choose

Foreign vs Japanese — the real advantages of each

Reasons to go foreign

💰 Take-home pay roughly doubles

Between the UAE's tax-free regime and US pay levels, the same job leaves you with around twice what you keep at ANA.

⚡ Faster upgrade to Captain

Emirates and Qatar Airways upgrade First Officers to Captain within five to eight years of joining — far faster than the 15 to 18 years at ANA.

🌍 A route network on the world's largest scale

More than 150 cities, every route international. Your experience and perspective as a pilot broaden enormously.

✈️ Get onto the newest aircraft sooner

Emirates operates the world's largest A380 fleet. There are opportunities to fly widebodies relatively early after joining.

Reasons to stay with a Japanese carrier (ANA / JAL)

👨‍👩‍👧 You can live in Japan with your family and relatives

No unaccompanied overseas posting, none of the strain of moving the family abroad. The reassurance of being on hand for your children's schooling and your parents' care.

🛡 Job security

During the 2020 pandemic Emirates made large-scale redundancies. The Japanese majors kept protecting jobs throughout.

🏛 Pensions and retirement benefits

The employees' pension, the corporate pension and a lump-sum retirement scheme are all in place, making life after retirement far easier to plan.

🔄 You work in Japanese

No language barrier. You can keep flying for the long haul, without stress, inside a familiar culture and way of working.

The verdict: there is no right answer — decide on your own priorities in life

If maximizing salary and take-home pay is the goal, go foreign. If family, stability and retirement come first, stay with a Japanese carrier. Which one is right depends on your own values and your family's circumstances. A move to a foreign carrier tends to be an irreversible decision — returning to ANA or JAL is difficult — so weigh it carefully against your total life plan.

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