How is a KLM pilot's salary calculated?

KLM pilots are not paid from a published euro pay scale: the collective agreement for KLM pilots sets the gross monthly salary with a formula. In the April 2026 version of the agreement, the monthly salary S equals (L + P + F + 198.03) multiplied by a factor A, which has been 3.9993 since 1 January 2025. L, the age component, is 2.5 times the pilot's age in full months, and P, the service component, adds 70/12 for every full calendar month of active service with KLM. F is the function component, which depends on rank and aircraft type. Age and service together count for no more than 3,050 for pilots employed at KLM.1

What does the function component look like for each rank?

Since 8 September 2025, a captain on the Boeing 777, Boeing 787, Airbus A330 or Airbus A350 has a function component of 3,000. For a captain on the Boeing 737 it is 1,900, on the A32Xneo it is 1,900 to 2,100 depending on the number of seats, and on the Embraer fleet it lies between 1,100 and 1,900. First officers on the Boeing 777, Boeing 787, Airbus A330 and Airbus A350 have a function component of 1,500. For second officers and short-haul first officers, the component starts at 550 for the most junior pilots and rises with seniority through 600, 800 and 1,000 to 1,050; these values are raised each month by the same amount depending on the A32Xneo fleet, so they are minimum values. The agreement itself gives no euro amounts per rank, only the formula.1

What comes on top of the monthly salary?

Around 31 May, pilots receive a holiday payment of 8% of 12 times the monthly salary in force on 31 May. At the end of December there is a year-end payment of 8.33% of 12 times the salary in force on 31 December. Profit sharing depends on the operating margin of the KLM group excluding Transavia: nothing is paid up to a margin of 3.7%, the payment rises linearly from 0 to 20% between 3.7% and 11.3%, and it is 20% above 11.3%. The profit share is not pensionable and is paid in April of the following year. Alongside the salary, pilots receive a monthly pension premium allowance of 11% of the monthly salary, while their own contribution is 14%. Pilots who join with a student loan for their initial flight training can receive a one-off gross interest compensation of EUR 16,950.46 (amount on 1 January 2025), provided the outstanding debt is at least EUR 30,000 and the training was completed no more than 15 years earlier. Pilots trained at the KLM Flight Academy from 1 January 2017 onwards are not eligible for this compensation.1

Where do the pay talks stand in 2026?

On 1 June 2026, the pilots' union VNV and KLM announced an agreement in principle on a new collective agreement running from 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2027. Instead of back pay, the deal provides a one-off gross payment of 1% over the intervening period, and a further pay rise of 1.5% from 1 January 2027, linked to productivity measures. The VNV said the previous agreement had expired almost a year earlier and that the new one can formally take effect after ratification by its members. Luchtvaartnieuws reported on 26 May 2026 that the deal included a salary increase of 3.25 percent, which the VNV said had never been a point of discussion, and that members were due to vote in July. That figure does not appear in the VNV's own announcement, which sets out the pay terms described above. The same report said the VNV would have to start talks again in the autumn about the period after February 2027. The VNV news overview, checked in October 2026, did not show a result of the member vote.238

What does a cadet earn at the KLM Flight Academy?

During training, the KLM Flight Academy pays a training allowance of EUR 700 gross per month from the start of the programme. For 2026 the total training cost has been set at EUR 163,500, which can be paid in one go after joining KLM or deducted from gross salary over 10 years, with a monthly deduction of EUR 861 for 2026, indexed annually. KLM announced in December 2025 that people starting at the academy from 1 January 2026 can exchange the funding of their training for their future gross salary, which is reduced by a monthly training contribution for 120 months after they join. The programme consists of 9 months of theory, about 6 months of single-engine and about 6 months of multi-engine flying, and 3 months of integrated MCC and type rating training at Schiphol.457

What has been agreed on rosters and workload?

Under an agreement reached in August 2025, KLM pilots work one extra day per month in the summer season of 2026, and KLM may schedule pilots for an extra day in their weekend once per quarter. In return, the scheme that lets pilots travel at a discount once a year was made permanent. The agreement in principle of 1 June 2026 keeps the formal sign-off time at Schiphol at 30 minutes, but from the IATA winter season 2026-2027 rosters are assessed as if it were 40 minutes; where that would call for an extra pilot, pilots receive an extra rest day instead.26

Are KLM Cityhopper pilots paid under the same agreement?

Yes: under article 7.5 of the collective agreement, KLM can assign a pilot to KLM Cityhopper on joining, after which the additional or different provisions of Annex 21 apply. In the pay formula, age and service together count for no more than 1,900 for pilots in regional roles at KLM Cityhopper, compared with 3,050 at KLM.1

What pilots say

A pilot reported in 2017 that a training debt of about 140,000 euros could be paid off in 5 years, partly thanks to a KLM contribution to training costs and a rapidly rising salary.9