Do Cargo Pilots Get Airline Travel Benefits?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Privileges. You may have heard that most pilots have free or reduced-rate travel privileges for themselves and their family members. In fact,

flight benefits and discounts are very rare and small when you are a cargo pilot

. Only a few of them get some small discounts for their own tickets.

How much do cargo airline pilots make?

Annual Salary Monthly Pay
Top Earners


$100,000


$8,333
75th Percentile $65,000 $5,416 Average $56,150 $4,679 25th Percentile $31,500 $2,625

Can cargo pilots fly passengers?

A Commercial aviation = cargo flights and passenger flights.

With your pilot license, you will always be ok to fly both passengers and cargo

.

Do cargo pilots get paid more?

The most-experienced senior captains have seen their pay shrink 12% to about $180,744 a year. In contrast,

five-year cargo pilots now make an average of $108,330 a year

, while top captains are paid $194,566.

What is the highest paid pilot?


Jet blue Airways

:

It pays its first officer pilots about $89,000 within the first years of service. Within 12 years of the pilot’s work, he earns $180,000. The captains are the highest paid airline pilots and they earn from $234,000 to $269,000.

Are FedEx pilots well paid?


Flying for FedEx is the highest-paying job among U.S. carriers

, with 30-year pilots making roughly $300,000 not counting overtime or bonuses, industry sources said.

Why do cargo planes fly at night?

Night flights for passengers aren’t popular for a variety of reasons. Which means

there are less flights for passengers landing and taking off during the night hours freeing up slots for cargo

. So it makes sense to avoid daytime rushhour for cargo that doesn’t have a sleep cycle to mess up.

Do cargo flights have flight attendants?


Flight attendants make an appearance on cargo flights

It’s not all that common for cargo planes to employ flight attendants to manage goods. Normally, as you would assume, cabin crew would not be needed.

Why are cargo pilots paid more?

Pay at the large cargo operators such as Fedex and UPS is equivalent to passenger airline pilot pay.

Pilots at the large cargo operations will get into wide body airplanes faster and start earning the higher pay associated with those airplanes sooner

.

Are cargo pilots in demand?


The entire commercial airline industry is facing a shortage of pilots for both cargo and passenger planes

. Estimates suggest that there will be 1,600 unfilled pilot positions in the U.S. by 2020. One of the reasons for the lack of new commercial pilots is due to the high barriers of entry for new pilots.

How much do FedEx cargo pilots make?

Average FedEx Pilot yearly pay in the United States is

approximately $202,264

, which is 185% above the national average.

How many flight hours does it take to fly a cargo?

The FAA usually requires commercial pilots who want to become airline pilots to acquire 1,500 hours of in-flight training, while cargo pilot candidates typically acquire

at least 3,000 hours

.

Do cargo pilots fly for free?

Privileges. You may have heard that most pilots have free or reduced-rate travel privileges for themselves and their family members. In fact,

flight benefits and discounts are very rare and small when you are a cargo pilot

. Only a few of them get some small discounts for their own tickets.

How much do UPS pilots make starting out?

UPS Pilots Salary

UPS First Officer Pay:

Year 1: $50,000

. Year 5: $200,000.

How often do cargo pilots fly?

Depending on the duration of flights on our schedule, cargo pilots fly anywhere from

one leg a day to 4 legs a day (or night)

. Passenger pilots may sometimes fly up to 5 or 6 flights in a duty period – now that’s hard work!

Are airline pilots rich?

As a result,

commercial pilots are paid well

. According to The Occupational Outlook Handbook, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the salary for commercial pilots is $93,300 per year, which was the the median annual wage in May 2020. The median annual wage for airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers is $160,970.

Is being an airline pilot worth it?


Yes, being a pilot is worth it for many students

. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 5% job growth for airline and commercial pilots over the next ten years. This is faster than the average growth for all occupations.

Which airline has the best benefits for pilots?

The pay for new pilots is highest with

United Airlines

, and they also enjoy excellent medical insurance, free flights, adoption assistance services, and many other attractive benefits that draw them in and keep them satisfied throughout their careers.

Who pays pilots more FedEx or ups?

But serving as a captain on the same plane with the maximum years of company tenure is much more lucrative at other cargo airlines.

Pilots with the maximum years of experience earn $313 an hour at FedEx and $309 at UPS

.

How much does a 747 pilot get paid?

The national average salary for a Boeing 747 Pilot is

$85,103 per year

in United States.

How much do first year FedEx pilots make?

FedEx Pilots Pay

Fedex First Officer Pay: Year 1:

$75,000

. Year 5: $165,000. Year 15: $203,000.

How much cargo can a plane carry?

Payload:

1 to 10 tons
Crew: 2 Configuration: bulk or palletised cargo Range: up to 4 hours

Do cargo planes have bathrooms?


Many Air Force planes already have private bathroom compartments, or partitioned spaces

. The C-130 Hercules has a urinal and toilet tucked back in the cargo area of the plane, with a curtain airmen can close around them.

Are night flights faster?

Due to the low levels of travel during the night, and the cold breezes that tend to happen at night,

many pilots tend to find it easier to fly at night than they do during the day

. This is because there isn’t as much friction against the wings, which allows the flight to be smoother, and hopefully without turbulence.

Do commercial flights carry cargo?


A large passenger aircraft, such as the Boeing 777-300, can carry up to 21,000kg of cargo

, in addition to a full load of up to 442 passengers (in a two-class configuration). The cargo capacity is therefore useful to add to the revenue of each flight.

Why do cargo airlines use older planes?

Why do cargo airlines fly older aircraft? First, these older aircraft are

cheaper to buy

. Less capital expenditure allows the carrier to expand the cargo fleet fast (more on that below) and to turn a profit quicker. If a plane costs less upfront, then cargo carriers don’t mind spending more maintaining them.

Do cargo planes avoid turbulence?

Airlines want passengers to be comfortable throughout the journey, which is the main reason for avoiding turbulence. Cargo planes, filled with packages instead of people, on the other hand,

tend to stay the course even when the air is rough.

Juan Martinez
Author
Juan Martinez
Juan Martinez is a journalism professor and experienced writer. With a passion for communication and education, Juan has taught students from all over the world. He is an expert in language and writing, and has written for various blogs and magazines.