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Pilot Salary in China
5 airlines based in China, compared on our captain and first officer estimates and ranges. Civil aviation authority: CAAC.
Pilot salary by airline in China
Airlines whose sources we have checked come first, each figure shown with who it applies to, what it includes and when it was published. The rest are sorted by captain average, highest first. Click an airline for its pay breakdown, fleet, hiring requirements and reviews from working pilots.
Airlines whose sources we have checked (4)
“Official posting” means the airline’s own published figure, “job posting” a recruitment agency’s advert, “past ad” a vacancy that has since closed, and “modelled example” a figure we can reproduce from a published document and its formula. “Estimated” is our own estimate from public information, not a figure the airline publishes.
| Airline | Position | Annual figure we publish |
|---|---|---|
| Juneyao Airlines | Captain | $318K (Estimated) |
| First officer | $212K (Estimated) | |
| China Eastern Airlines | Captain | Captain, A330 (Shanghai base, 75 hours a calendar month, three-year contract): $300K (total package, annual (includes the cash pay), Job posting) |
| First officer | $93K (Estimated) | |
| Air China | Captain | $192K (Estimated) |
| First officer | $98K (Estimated) | |
| China Southern Airlines | Captain | $186K (Estimated) |
| First officer | $94K (Estimated) |
Other airlines we list (1)
For these 1 the figures are our own estimates with a range, worked out from publicly available information.
| Airline | Captain est. | Captain range | F/O est. | F/O range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hainan Airlines | $192K | $138K〜$302K | $98K | $63K〜$138K |
Where China sits worldwide
Captain estimates side by side. China sits at $223K against a $270K world average — about 17% below. That places it 16th of the 52 countries we give an average for.
Country figures are the mean of our captain estimates for the airlines we list there. First officers: $154K worldwide. These are our own estimates from public information, not figures the airlines publish. Where an airline has published a figure itself, we show that separately on its own page.
Compare other countries
To see the whole region at once, go to pilot salary in Asia — 27 airlines across 12 countries, captains averaging $195K.
Frequently asked questions
How much do pilots earn in China?
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