US airline pilot reveals how much money he makes in a year

A US airline pilot turned social media and YouTube creator has uploaded a new video to reveal how much money he makes in a year as a Captain, and how much new recruits can make a year.

74 Gear has been documenting his work life on YouTube for the better part of a decade.

Whether it’s vlogging from the cockpit of an Atlas Airline Boeing 747, or debunking aviation myths on TikTok, he does the lot.

But now, he’s answered the most asked question: how much do pilots earn?

US Airline pilot reveals his yearly income

Flying a commercial airplane might seem to be a bit of a cruise, especially when you spend hours on a flight to your holiday destination, but it requires a lot of skill.

With so many passengers to care for, maneuvers like this at the most difficult airport in the world are worth every penny that the pilots earn.

Speaking of earnings, US Airline pilot ‘Kelsey’, AKA 74 Gear on YouTube, has broken down how much he gets paid in a very candid upload on his channel.

As a senior captain for Atlas Airlines, the pilot detailed what a new starter can earn, all the way up to the $230,000 annual wage for his role.

Speaking on YouTube, the US Airline pilot revealed that there is no standard wage, and that most employers will use hourly rates.

With a daily guarantee of four hours, these days can extend to be very lengthy, depending on the route and frequency of journeys needed on the day.

However, for new recruits, the hourly rate is often set at around $40 per hour, taking into consideration an abundance of training costs.

Second-year pilots can then rocket up to $100 an hour, or up to $180 for high-end jobs and exemplary performances.

As for his Senior Captain role, well, that’s a base of at least $300 an hour.

74 Gear estimates that some pilots, who put in overtime at triple-hour rates, can make close to $600k a year.

But flying can be an expensive hobby

While most of his income is his Atlas Air wages, becoming a pilot has also seen Kelsey step out of the Boeing 747 cockpit and into smaller aviation vehicles like a Cessna.

While he doesn’t own a plane himself, other people have also broken down the costs of having the aviation bug, and it’s a steep hobby to have.

Thankfully for Kelsey, his content is often recorded in rentals or friends’ planes when he’s not piloting the beloved 747. So he can skip the six-figure annual fees.

But on his very comfortable $300k+ annual earnings, plus his YouTube revenue, it’s likely that he’ll be able to afford quite a brilliant private jet at some point.

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