United Airlines vs American Airlines
A side-by-side comparison of pilot careers at United Airlines (UA) and American Airlines (AA) — covering salary, fleet, requirements, and more.
Airline selection starts with an aptitude battery
It screens you before a human reads your application. Sit a timed practice paper free — scored on pace, which is what actually culls candidates.
Which one fits you
Read from the numbers above rather than from opinion. Where the published data does not settle a question, it is left open instead of guessed.
United Airlines opens earlier
United Airlines states 1,000 hours where American Airlines states 1,500. That gap is roughly 1 year of flying at a typical instructor's pace, so for most candidates these are not two applications you send the same week — one is now and the other is later.
American Airlines pays higher at both ends
Top of band: $200,000 as an FO and $400,000 as a captain. Bands are wide because seniority, fleet and country tax all move them — treat this as direction, not a payslip.
Whichever you pick, the gate is the same shape
Both run an aptitude battery before a human reads your CV, then a competency interview scored against the ICAO pilot competencies. We have a full pack for United Airlines, and not for the other one yet.
Knowing what United Airlines 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. And when you reach the interview, there are 100 United Airlines-specific questions with model answers, the red flags that fail each one, and the follow-ups the panel actually asks.
Head-to-Head Comparison
Requirements Comparison
United Airlines
- ATP certificate
- 1,500+ hours total time
- FAA Class 1 medical
- 1,000+ hours PIC preferred
- 4-year degree preferred
American Airlines
- ATP certificate
- 1,500+ hours total time
- FAA Class 1 medical
- FCC Restricted Radiotelephone permit
- US work authorization
- 4-year degree preferred
Pros & Cons
United Airlines
Pros
- +Industry-leading captain pay
- +Modern fleet with 787 Dreamliner
- +Diverse fleet with many type rating opportunities
- +Large domestic route network
Cons
- –Longer wait for specific type ratings due to fleet size
American Airlines
Pros
- +Industry-leading captain pay
- +Modern fleet with 787 Dreamliner
- +Large domestic route network
About Each Airline
United Airlines
United Airlines operates a massive global network from its hubs in Newark, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington.
Full United Airlines career guide →American Airlines
The world's largest airline by fleet size, American Airlines is based in Fort Worth, Texas and operates an extensive domestic and international network.
Full American Airlines career guide →Calculate Your Salary
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