Commercial Pilot Salary and Benefits
A commercial pilot is an airline pilot who can operate and navigate the flight of fixed-wing aircraft on non-scheduled air carrier routes or helicopters. One must possess a commercial pilot certificate in order to become a commercial pilot. According to the US Dept of Labor Statistics the average annual salary for a commercial pilot is $67,500. Commercial pilot salaries can vary quite a bit by location though.
Earnings Based on Location
As with nearly every job, a commercial pilot’s salary will vary depending upon where he or she works. The state with the highest pay is New Hampshire with $113,020 being the annual mean wage, followed by Connecticut with $106,130, New York with $95,240, Pennsylvania with $92,370 and Virginia with an annual mean wage of $85,820.
Benefits
Besides the nice salaries commercial pilots receive, there are some other benefits associated with this career choice. Commercial pilots most usually receive life and health insurance coverage for themselves and even for their family members. The types of insurance plans offered commercial pilots depend greatly upon who the employer is but they typically cover basic health, vision and dental. Commercial pilots also are privy to retirement benefits of some type and again the types offered vary depending on the employer but most tend to be 401K plans. Considering that the work involved consists of air travel, a commercial pilot also receives the benefit of seeing and visiting new places and meeting new people on a nearly daily basis.
Where Commercial Pilots Work
Most commercial pilots are airline pilots, co-pilots and flight engineers who transport both people and cargo. However, over 30% of all commercial pilots dust crops, spread seed for re-forestation, test aircraft, fly passengers and cargo to areas not served by regular airliners, direct firefighting efforts, track down criminals, monitor traffic and rescue and evacuate injured people. As you can can clearly see, commercial pilots can work for a wide variety of companies and organizations ranging from industrial farms to state and county law enforcement departments.
Commercial Pilot Job Description
By definition, a commercial pilot is a person who is trained and licensed to plan flight routes, check aircraft systems and navigate aircraft using instruments. He or she is an aircraft pilot who is licensed to transport passengers or goods. He or she may also be involved with non-cargo and non-passenger work such as crop dusting, seeding acreage from the sky or rescuing individuals in distress.