What does Malaysia Airlines publish about pilot pay?

Malaysia Aviation Group, the parent of Malaysia Airlines, lists collective bargaining agreements and the ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men as "Information unavailable" in its 2025 sustainability report. The airline's careers page promises competitive benefits and compensation in keeping with industry standards and experience, but gives no figures. The group reported 1,287 pilots in its pilot group in 2023, 1,369 in 2024 and 1,307 in 2025, plus 43, 43 and 28 management pilots. Its 2024 report put pilots at 1,412, or 10% of the workforce.123

Has Malaysia Airlines raised pilot pay recently?

In March 2024 group managing director Izham Ismail said pilots, cabin crew, engineers and technicians would receive a pay increase in line with the rising cost of living and inflation, and that crew flying to overseas stations would get flying allowance increases of as much as 30% from their current base, depending on the region. He conceded that the new package would still be lower than those of some rival airlines, but said the increases would narrow the gap. In September 2024 Izham said the group had given all employees a salary increment twice, and described its remuneration philosophy as productivity-driven, with gross pay including productivity, efficiency and incentives. The Total Rewards Transformation Programme, introduced in August 2022, pays permanent employees based on their performance. According to an unnamed source, senior captains with at least 30 years of experience saw salary cuts of as much as 40% during the pandemic, and their pay had not yet been restored to 2019 levels.910

Do Malaysia Airlines pilots receive bonuses?

After its first annual net profit since privatisation, the group rewarded staff with a bonus of between two and five months' salary, depending on performance, according to The Edge Malaysia in March 2024. In April 2025 the same paper put that FY2023 bonus at up to six months' pay. For the 2024 financial year it announced up to 2½ months' salary in bonuses, smaller because net profit fell to RM54 million.911

What did the pilots' association negotiate?

In 2005 the airline signed a memorandum of understanding with the MAS Pilots' Association covering 1,254 pilots, backdated to September 2004 and valid until the end of August 2007. It included basic salary rises averaging 25%, a maximum 60% increase in the productivity allowance and retirement at 60, after the airline admitted its salaries had fallen below those of other majors. In 2024 The Edge Malaysia reported that the airline had long been losing pilots and flight attendants to Singaporean and Middle Eastern carriers.1012

How quickly do Malaysia Airlines pilots become captains?

According to Captain Ab Manan Mansor, president of the Malaysian Pilots Association, Malaysia Airlines pilots typically reach the rank of captain, or four bars, by 30, while a second officer wears two bars. In August 2018 the airline said it needed 150 pilots, citing retirement, attrition and pilots finding better opportunities, and had put about 250 pilots through training phases in three weeks.45

What benefits do Malaysia Airlines staff receive?

Group employees receive a free annual confirmed ticket (ID00), confirmed tickets at a 75% discount and standby tickets at a 90% discount, as well as ZED tickets with partner airlines and medical cover for dependants up to 24 years old. Under the early retirement scheme, employees receive three months' gratuities based on basic salary plus work-related allowances, and retiree tickets require at least ten years of service.1

How did the pandemic affect pay?

In March 2020 all 13,000 Malaysia Airlines staff were offered three months of voluntary unpaid leave. In April 2020 the group's top executives took a 35 per cent cut in total gross income, and managers took 10 per cent to 25 per cent depending on job grade.67

Does Malaysia Airlines train its own pilots?

The group runs a Cadet Pilot programme, and in 2025 it made an offer to its first cadet pilot from the Orang Asli indigenous community. In March 2022 its training arm MAB Academy launched Project Landscape with flight schools and colleges so that future pilots would earn an accredited diploma or degree before joining the national carrier. Since 15 April 2018 Mara has partnered with the group on a pilot cadet programme in which MAB Academy identifies candidates and Mara offers loans to participating students. Course fees at the Czech Aviation Training Centre for cadets enrolled through a Malaysian company between 2019 and 2022 ranged from RM400,000 to RM700,000 per person. For its 2026 Cadet Pilot Programme the group selected 36 cadets from 2,019 applicants.181314