Lufthansa Pilot Salary 2026
Estimated First Officer and Captain pay. Page updated .
How much does a Lufthansa pilot make in 2026?
Our estimate for Lufthansa pilot pay in 2026: a First Officer earns about €73,000 a year at the start and €120,000 by year 10. Captains earn roughly €155,000 to €250,000. These figures have not yet been checked against Lufthansa's current pilot contract; treat them as a range.
- First Officer, year 1
- €73K/yr
- First Officer, top
- €120K/yr
- Captain, year 1
- €155K/yr
- Captain, top
- €250K/yr
Lufthansa pilot pay scale 2026
| Seat | Year 1 | Year 5 | Year 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Officer | €73,000 | €95,000 | €120,000 |
| Captain | €155,000 | €200,000 | €250,000 |
Where these numbers come from
The pay scale above is an estimate. We have not been able to check it line by line against Lufthansa's current pilot agreement or an official pay publication, so we do not present it as a pay scale. Pages where we have done that check say “From the pilot contract” and list the source and the date we read it. If you hold the current Lufthansa scale, the contact page is the fastest way to get it corrected.
Before Lufthansa pays you any of this, you sit their aptitude battery.
Sit a timed practice paper free — no account. Scored on pace as well as accuracy, because pace is what the real battery culls on.
How Lufthansa pay compares
Same currency, ranked by top Captain pay. New First Officer pay sits in the lighter bar.
- Lufthansa (this page)EstimateCapt €250KFO yr 1 €73K
- Air FranceEstimateCapt €230KFO yr 1 €63K
- KLM Royal Dutch AirlinesEstimateCapt €215KFO yr 1 €62K
- IberiaEstimateCapt €200KFO yr 1 €58K
What it takes to get hired at Lufthansa
Checked against Lufthansa's official careers pages on August 22, 2026. Full Lufthansa recruitment guide
| Where Lufthansa sends candidates | Lufthansa Group's careers site does not publish pilot criteria itself. Its pilot entry pages return 404 and refer candidates to be-lufthansa.com. |
|---|---|
| Status of that pointer (checked 22 Aug 2026) | be-lufthansa.com does not resolve. It has no DNS A record and no CNAME on either the Cloudflare or the Google public resolver, and www.be-lufthansa.com returns NXDOMAIN. Anyone following Lufthansa's own published link reaches nothing. |
| What this does NOT mean | A dead pointer is not evidence that hiring is closed. Lufthansa Group recruits across several airlines and may have moved its pilot recruitment to a portal we could not identify. Contact Lufthansa directly before concluding anything about the state of hiring. |
| Licence and medical | EASA licence appropriate to the operating carrier, and an EASA Class 1 medical |
| Selection | Lufthansa Group has long used the DLR (German Aerospace Center) aptitude selection for its cockpit intake. We could not confirm from a live Lufthansa source what the current process or its thresholds are, so we are not stating them as current. |
From student pilot to Lufthansa Captain
Shown for the EASA system most non-US airlines recruit from; other authorities are similar. Hour figures are regulatory minimums, time ranges are typical.
Step 1
Class 1 medical + theory
First month EASA Part-MED / Part-FCLBook the Class 1 medical before paying any school. Then ATPL theory: 13 subjects under the EASA syllabus (other authorities differ).
Try free private-pilot theory questions (FAA format)Step 2
CPL / IR / multi-engine training
≈ 200 h (EASA integrated minimum 195 h) 18–24 months integrated EASA FCL Appendix 3Integrated course in one go, or modular (PPL first, then hour building, CPL, IR). Ends with multi-crew (MCC/APS) training.
Step 3
Type rating (A320 / 737)
Simulator + base training 2–3 monthsPaid by the airline in some cadet or direct-entry schemes, self-funded in others — check the specific vacancy.
Step 4
Lufthansa First Officer
Airline-specificLow-hour pilots usually join with a frozen ATPL.
Step 5
Full ATPL (unfrozen)
1,500 h incl. 500 h multi-pilot 3–4 years of line flying EASA FCL.510.AThe licence you need to be pilot-in-command of a multi-pilot airliner.
Step 6
Lufthansa Captain
Command course Depends on seniority and growthUpgrade criteria (hours, time in seat, assessment) are set by each airline.
Knowing what Lufthansa pays is the easy part. Getting through their selection is the part that decides whether you ever earn it.
Before a human reads your application there is an aptitude battery, and candidates consistently report it as the heaviest cull — pace, not difficulty. You can practise it here for free: timed papers generated fresh each run, plus a divided-attention drill that measures how much your performance degrades under load.
Already past the paperwork and preparing for the panel? , scored against the answers a panel is listening for. Seven days of access, no subscription.
No Lufthansa pack yet — want it built?
We will not pretend to have one. We build the next pack for the airline that gets asked for most, so leaving your address here is a vote. No sequence, one email when it ships.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Lufthansa pilot make in 2026?
Our estimate for Lufthansa pilot pay in 2026: a First Officer earns about €73,000 a year at the start and €120,000 by year 10. Captains earn roughly €155,000 to €250,000. These figures have not yet been checked against Lufthansa's current pilot contract; treat them as a range.
Is Lufthansa hiring pilots in 2026?
Lufthansa is hiring pilots, according to its official careers pages as of August 22, 2026. Openings change month to month, so check the live posting before you apply.
What do you need to fly for Lufthansa?
Where Lufthansa sends candidates: Lufthansa Group's careers site does not publish pilot criteria itself. Its pilot entry pages return 404 and refer candidates to be-lufthansa.com. Status of that pointer (checked 22 Aug 2026): be-lufthansa.com does not resolve. It has no DNS A record and no CNAME on either the Cloudflare or the Google public resolver, and www.be-lufthansa.com returns NXDOMAIN. Anyone following Lufthansa's own published link reaches nothing. What this does NOT mean: A dead pointer is not evidence that hiring is closed. Lufthansa Group recruits across several airlines and may have moved its pilot recruitment to a portal we could not identify. Contact Lufthansa directly before concluding anything about the state of hiring.
Where do these Lufthansa pay figures come from?
They are estimates that we have not yet checked against Lufthansa's current pilot contract or an official pay publication. Pages we have checked say "From the pilot contract" and name the source and date.
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