Airline Careers
FS Reality has a full airline career system. You can apply to real-world airlines, hold a rank, fly assigned bid-line schedules, and earn pay for every flight.
There are over 600 real-world airlines in the system backed by more than a quarter million real-world schedules and routes. Every aircraft in every fleet exists in the system as a unique entry with its actual registration number. When you fly a schedule leg, you are physically repositioning that aircraft in a persistent shared world. Land it at its destination and it stays there until another pilot takes it out.
This is separate from freelance flying. You don’t have to join an airline, but it’s there if you want a structured career with progression, real schedules, and real consequences.
How It Works
- Apply to an airline. Browse the airline list, review terms, and submit an application. See How to Apply to an Airline.
- Get hired. If accepted, your contract starts and you gain access to the Airline Workplace.
- Fly schedules. Generate a bid-line schedule, approve it, and fly the assigned legs.
- Get paid. Earnings are calculated from flight hours, per diem, and deadhead legs.
- Progress your rank. As your experience grows, you advance from First Officer to Senior Captain.
What Changes When You’re on a Schedule
When you have an active airline schedule:
- You fly the airline’s assigned aircraft, not a personal rental.
- You are locked to the schedule until it is completed.
- You cannot rent other aircraft or fly freelance while the schedule is active.
- Your position may be automatically repositioned to the schedule’s departure airport.
How You Get Paid
| Pay Type | How It’s Calculated |
|---|---|
| Flight pay | Hours flown times your hourly rate |
| Per diem | A daily travel allowance, paid once per schedule day |
| Deadhead pay | Half your hourly rate for positioning flights |
| Minimum day credit | A guaranteed minimum if a day’s legs fall short of the minimum credit |
Your hourly rate depends on your rank and the airline’s tier. Larger carriers pay more. See The Airline Workplace for the full rank and pay breakdown.
What to Expect
These estimates are based on flying 65 hours per month with 30 days of per diem.
| Career Stage | Est. Monthly Total |
|---|---|
| New First Officer, Level 1, light aircraft | ~$4,750 |
| Senior First Officer, Level 1, regional jet | ~$7,090 |
| Captain, Level 2, regional jet | ~$9,175 |
| Captain, Level 3, regional jet | ~$10,480 |
| Senior Captain, Level 3, narrowbody | ~$14,315 |
| Captain, Level 5, heavy widebody | ~$19,200 |
Actual earnings vary depending on your schedule, aircraft type, and the airline’s tier. See The Airline Workplace for the full pay rate tables.
Getting Ready
Before applying, it helps to have pilot ratings and aircraft type ratings on your record. Airlines use these when calculating your approval odds. See Training Marketplace.