Who employs Martinair pilots, and which agreement applies?

Martinair's cargo pilots are employed by KLM and fly for Martinair as the operator, under a collective agreement signed by KLM and the pilot unions VNV and AVV that runs from 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2027. That agreement is treated as the successor to the earlier agreement for Martinair Holland pilots. In August 2025 the VNV described the group as a few dozen former Martinair pilots flying cargo under their own KLM agreement, separate from the 3,500 pilots who fly passengers at KLM and KLM Cityhopper. The Hague Court of Appeal ruled on 8 June 2021 that the Martinair Cargo pilots had become KLM employees on 1 January 2014 through a transfer of undertaking, but refused them a place on the KLM seniority list. On 22 September 2026 the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled that around 250 former Martinair cargo pilots do not fall under the KLM collective agreement, but are in principle entitled to pay from KLM for the period from 1 January 2014 to 1 January 2022.1345

What does a first officer earn?

New pilots start on step 1 of the first officer scale, and can be placed up to step 5 for a valid practical ATPL, an A330/350 or B747-400 type rating, the experience requirements for captain and more than 500 hours of command experience. Step 1 was €5,658.43 gross a month from 1 December 2025, €5,771.94 from 1 July 2026 and €5,861.94 from 1 September 2026, with €5,920.56 set for 1 January 2027. Pilots with at least 6 months' service move up one step every 1 January, to step 20 of the first officer scale, which is €15,969.09 a month from 1 September 2026. Under the previous 2024 to 2025 deal, salaries rose by 14.7% from 1 March 2024 and by 3% from 1 July 2024.16

What does a captain earn?

The captain scale starts at step 8, which is €11,563.86 gross a month from 1 September 2026, and tops out at step 25, which is €20,925.72 a month from 1 September 2026 and €21,134.98 from 1 January 2027. On promotion a first officer is placed on the captain scale by a horizontal shift between the scales from the first commercial flight in command, and keeps first officer pay during command training.1

What comes on top of the salary?

Pilots receive a holiday allowance of 8% of fixed gross annual salary. The year end payment for a first officer is 4.5%, rising to 5.5% in December 2026 and 6.5% from 1 January 2027, calculated over 12 times the monthly salary; for a captain the figures are 3.0%, 4.0% and 5.0%. KLM's profit share pays nothing at an operating margin up to 3.7% and rises in a straight line to 20% of 12 monthly salaries above an 11.3% margin. The pension target age is 58, and the annual pension contribution budget is 37.5% of the contribution base until 1 July 2026 and 40.5% after that, of which the pilot pays 11%. Pilots also receive a 7% life course allowance.1

How did the latest agreement come about?

In September 2025 the AVV union said it had been holding work stoppages for more than a month, seeking a firm job guarantee and a fix for a pension gap, and that 85% of pilots under the cargo agreement were its members. In April 2026 KLM made a final offer with a job guarantee until March 2030, the same pay rise as other KLM staff, a higher year end payment and a higher pension contribution, while pilots would have to give up six days off. The final agreement rules out compulsory redundancies for business reasons from 1 April 2026 up to and including 1 March 2030.127