A commercial pilot is someone who holds an FAA commercial pilot certificate, which is the qualification that allows a pilot to be paid to fly. An airline pilot is someone doing a particular job, flying for a scheduled airline under Part 121, and that job requires a further certificate on top: the airline transport pilot certificate, with 1,500 hours behind it. One phrase names a license, the other names an employer, and almost all the confusion between them comes from treating both as job titles.
This page explains what each one authorizes and what sits between them. For the certificate itself, see commercial pilot license requirements and the pillar page for the commercial pilot license in Los Angeles. For the hour requirement that separates the two, read the 1,500-hour rule and R-ATP. Our airline pilot career program covers the first part of that ladder, every rating through MEI in about nine months for $84,000.
One Is A Certificate, The Other Is A Job
The FAA issues pilot certificates in a ladder: student, sport, recreational, private, commercial, airline transport. Each one is a legal document describing what you may do. The commercial pilot certificate is the rung at which compensation becomes possible, and 14 CFR 61.133(a) is where that is written down: a commercial pilot may act as pilot in command of an aircraft carrying persons or property for compensation or hire, and may act as pilot in command of an aircraft for compensation or hire, in each case provided the pilot is qualified under the parts of the regulations that apply to the particular operation.
Notice that last clause, because it does most of the work. The certificate alone does not authorize any specific commercial operation. Flying passengers for hire on demand means complying with Part 135. Flying for a scheduled airline means complying with Part 121, which has its own crew qualification rules that go well beyond the commercial certificate. The line between what the certificate allows and what needs an operator, which turns on common carriage and holding out, has its own page.
“Airline pilot” is not a certificate at all. It is a description of who employs you and which part of the regulations your flying is conducted under.
What A Commercial Certificate Lets You Do
At 250 hours with a fresh commercial certificate, an instrument rating and a second-class medical, the flying that is genuinely open to you includes:
- Flight instruction, once you add the CFI certificate. This is where most American commercial pilots start.
- Banner towing, aerial survey, photo flights and pipeline patrol, generally under Part 91 or Part 137 depending on the operation.
- Skydive operations, flying jumpers to altitude.
- Second-in-command roles in some Part 135 operations, where the operator's own minimums allow it.
- Ferry and repositioning flights for owners, brokers and maintenance shops.
Our page on what a commercial pilot does goes through each of those in detail, and time-building jobs for new commercial pilots covers how people actually get them.
One limitation matters more than any other at this stage. 14 CFR 61.133(b)(1) provides that a commercial certificate issued without an instrument rating in the same category and class carries a limitation prohibiting the carriage of passengers for hire on cross-country flights of more than 50 nautical miles, or at night. That is why the instrument rating is treated as compulsory in practice even though it is optional in law.
What An Airline Pilot Needs On Top
To fly for a scheduled airline in the United States you need an airline transport pilot certificate. Since 2013, 14 CFR 121.436 has required an ATP certificate for both the captain and the first officer at a Part 121 carrier, which ended the era when a commercial certificate got you into the right seat of a regional jet.
The ATP itself requires, under 14 CFR 61.159, at least 1,500 hours of total time as a pilot, including 500 hours of cross-country flight time, 100 hours of night flight time, 75 hours of instrument time and 250 hours of pilot-in-command time. 14 CFR 61.153 sets the minimum age at 23. Before you may even take the ATP knowledge test you must complete an Airline Transport Pilot Certification Training Program under 14 CFR 61.156, and you will need a type rating for the specific aircraft you are hired to fly, which the airline normally provides.
There are reductions. 14 CFR 61.160 creates the restricted ATP, available from age 21, which lowers the total-time requirement to 750 hours for certain military pilots, 1,000 hours for graduates of an authorized bachelor's degree aviation program, and 1,250 hours for an associate degree or a partial bachelor's program, in each case at an institution holding a letter of authorization under 61.169. Our page on the 1,500-hour rule and R-ATP tables every reduction.
The medical changes too. Under 14 CFR 61.23(a)(1), a first-class medical certificate is required when exercising airline transport pilot privileges as pilot in command in Part 121 operations. A commercial pilot needs at least a second class. Our pages on the first-class medical and the second-class medical compare them.
Side By Side
| Commercial pilot | Airline pilot, Part 121 | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An FAA certificate | A job, requiring the ATP certificate |
| Certificate required | Commercial, 14 CFR 61.129 | Airline transport pilot, 14 CFR 61.159, plus a type rating |
| Minimum total hours | 250 | 1,500, or 750 to 1,250 under the restricted ATP in 61.160 |
| Minimum age | 18 | 23, or 21 for a restricted ATP |
| Medical certificate | At least second class | First class for pilot in command in Part 121 |
| Instrument rating | Optional in law, needed in practice | Built into the ATP |
| Typical employers | Flight schools, survey and patrol operators, skydive centers, charter operators | Regional and major scheduled airlines |
| Training cost with us | $15,400 for the commercial course | Hours and a type rating beyond it; $84,000 for our full career program to 260 hours |
Why The Two Terms Get Tangled
Part of the confusion is federal statistics. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics groups the whole profession under a single heading, “airline and commercial pilots”, and then splits it into airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers on one side and commercial pilots on the other. So a phrase that sounds like two job titles is in fact one occupational category containing two very different working lives and two very different pay distributions.
The other part is ordinary usage. People say “commercial pilot” when they mean “someone who flies airliners”, in the same way they say “commercial flight” to mean a scheduled airline service. That usage is harmless in conversation and actively misleading when you are planning a career, because it hides the 1,250 hours sitting between the two certificates.
The Pay Is Not The Same Distribution
Commercial pilot work covers an enormous range, from a first-year flight instructor to a corporate jet captain, and the pay spread reflects that. Airline pay is narrower and steeper, governed by contract pay scales that rise sharply with seniority and equipment rather than by individual negotiation.
The federal figures, with their sources attached, are on our pilot pay guide, which reports a median annual wage of $123,220 for commercial pilots from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. For the airline side see the airline pilot salary guide, and for the roles most new commercial pilots take first, flight instructor salary and commercial pilot salary. What none of those numbers show is the first two years, when a new commercial pilot is usually instructing and earning far less than any median.
Which One Should You Aim For
The question is slightly false, because you cannot aim for the second without passing through the first. Every airline pilot in the country holds a commercial certificate, earned it first, and flew a thousand hours or more afterwards before an airline would look at them.
What the question really asks is whether you intend to stop at the commercial certificate. Plenty of people do, deliberately. Flight instruction is a career rather than a waiting room for a fair number of the instructors we know. Survey, patrol and charter flying suit people who want to fly for a living without the seniority system and the nights away. And the commercial certificate is also simply a very good qualification to hold if you own an aircraft and want to fly it to a professional standard.
If the airlines are the goal, the useful reframing is this: the commercial certificate is the halfway point, not the finish line, and the second half is measured in hours rather than dollars. That is why the CFI route dominates, and why our CFI, CFII and MEI program exists at all.
Related Reading
- What does a commercial pilot do — the jobs available at 250 hours.
- The 1,500-hour rule and R-ATP — every reduction, tabled.
- How to become an airline pilot — the route beyond the commercial certificate.
- How much pilots make — federal pay data with sources.
- Commercial pilot license requirements — the 250 hours in regulation order.
- Regional versus major airlines — how the airline career is structured.
Commercial Pilot Vs Airline Pilot FAQ
What Is The Difference Between A Commercial Pilot And An Airline Pilot?
A commercial pilot holds an FAA commercial pilot certificate, which allows a pilot to be paid to fly. An airline pilot is employed by a scheduled airline operating under Part 121, which under 14 CFR 121.436 requires an airline transport pilot certificate for both captain and first officer. One is a license, the other is a job.
What Is A Commercial Pilot?
A pilot holding a commercial pilot certificate issued under 14 CFR 61.129, which requires 250 hours of flight time at a Part 61 school, a minimum age of 18, and at least a second-class medical certificate to exercise the privileges. It authorizes flying for compensation or hire, subject to the rules governing the particular operation.
Can A Commercial Pilot Fly For An Airline?
Not at a Part 121 scheduled airline. Since 2013, 14 CFR 121.436 has required an airline transport pilot certificate for both pilot positions. A commercial pilot can fly for some Part 135 charter operators, often as second in command, depending on that operator's own minimums.
How Many Hours Does An Airline Pilot Need?
1,500 hours under 14 CFR 61.159, including 500 hours cross-country, 100 hours night, 75 hours instrument and 250 hours pilot in command. The restricted ATP in 61.160 lowers that to 750 hours for certain military pilots, 1,000 for an authorized bachelor's aviation degree and 1,250 for an associate degree route.
Why Do Statistics Say Airline And Commercial Pilots Together?
Because the US Bureau of Labor Statistics treats them as one occupational group, then splits it into airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers on one side and commercial pilots on the other. The single heading hides two very different working lives and two very different pay distributions.
Is A Commercial Pilot License Worth Getting If I Want To Fly For An Airline?
It is not optional. Every airline pilot holds a commercial certificate and earned it first. The commercial certificate is the halfway point of an airline career, with the second half measured in flight hours rather than course fees.
What Medical Certificate Does Each One Need?
A commercial pilot needs at least a second-class medical under 14 CFR 61.23(a)(2). A pilot in command exercising airline transport pilot privileges in Part 121 operations needs a first-class medical under 61.23(a)(1).
Map The Route With Someone Who Has Flown It
If you are trying to decide whether to aim at the commercial certificate, an airline career, or something in between, book a free consultation and bring your logbook and your timeline. We will be straight with you about the hours and the money rather than about the destination. If you have not flown a light aircraft at all yet, start there: a 60-minute discovery flight is $229, you fly it yourself, and it is logged as dual instruction toward every certificate on this page. Call (818) 330-1318 any day from 9 AM to 9 PM, or come to 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108, Van Nuys, CA 91406, on Van Nuys Airport.
