Pay gap between fighter and commercial pilots compared as both sectors face staffing shortfalls

An analysis of pilot compensation finds that military and commercial flying pay differently, and that comparing them is a matter of economics and politics as much as defence budgets and airline recovery.

Airlines worldwide are short of pilots. Air forces have recruiting and retention problems of their own.

So both the military and the private sector compete for pilots with the strongest offers, the analysis says. It presents the comparison between fighter pilot and airline pilot earnings as hard to reduce to a single figure, since different pressures shape the two career paths.

The source material gave no specific salary figures or national comparisons.