Your first airline offer can contain several documents: an employment or service agreement, a training agreement, pay schedules, roster policies and an offer letter with conditions. Read them together. The headline salary and aircraft type will not tell you what you must pay, when paid work begins or how much time you will spend away.
Use this checklist to collect written answers before signing. It is a practical comparison framework, not a determination of your legal status, tax position or the enforceability of a clause.
1. Who is actually offering the role?
Record the legal employer or contracting entity, country, operating airline, advertised base and any recruitment intermediary. Check that the offer corresponds to the vacancy you applied for. If the recruiter, training school and airline are different organisations, identify which one undertakes each obligation.
Start from the operator’s official careers page. The European ACMI careers directory provides official routes for that sector. A working careers link does not verify a private offer, the recruiter contacting you or the terms of a contract.
2. Is this employment or a service contract?
Ask what arrangement is proposed and where the work will be performed. Identify payroll responsibilities, required business registration, social-insurance contributions, insurance and expenses. Do not assume that a label in the offer settles your status in every jurisdiction.
For cross-border work, list your residence, assigned base, contracting country and expected deployments. Obtain qualified advice where necessary. EU guidance on cross-border work explains that working across borders can involve different systems; it does not calculate a pilot’s individual tax or social-security outcome.
3. Which conditions remain before your start?
Write down any outstanding licence, medical, work-permission, background-check, assessment and training conditions. Ask when the offer becomes binding, what could postpone the start and what happens if the airline cannot provide a training or line-flying place.
Distinguish a planned course date from a guaranteed paid start. If you currently have a job, compare notice obligations and cash reserves before committing to a resignation or non-refundable travel.
4. What pay is guaranteed, and when does it begin?
Separate fixed pay, variable block-hour or sector pay, allowances, bonuses and expenses. Confirm the currency, gross or net description, payment schedule and the guaranteed minimum. Ask how training, standby, leave and low flying months are treated.
| Pay item | Written answer to collect |
|---|---|
| Basic pay | Amount, currency, start date and whether it changes after line release. |
| Variable flying pay | Rate, qualifying hours or sectors, and any minimum or cap. |
| Per diem | Which days qualify, payment currency and what the allowance must cover. |
| Bonus | Conditions, payment timing and whether it can be withheld or reclaimed. |
| Deductions | Training, accommodation, uniform, travel or other charges and their authority. |
Use the contract comparator to compare the supported annual pay and personal-cost inputs. Its result is an estimate based on your assumptions, not payroll, a tax calculation or a legal assessment.
5. Where is your base, and who pays to reach it?
Record the assigned base separately from your home address and positioning gateway. Ask whether you must relocate, whether the base can change, what notice is given and who pays for positioning flights, airport transfers and accommodation.
Distinguish an ordinary commute you fund yourself from company positioning. Ask what happens when a flight is cancelled or a roster change makes the planned journey unusable. Staff-travel access is not the same as a confirmed ticket that gets you to duty on time.
6. How does the roster work in practice?
Request a sample roster and the policy on changes. Establish whether travel days sit inside or outside the advertised work block, how leave is booked, what standby can require and how much notice you receive.
For a rotational offer, ask where days off may be spent and who pays if the employer needs you to remain away from home. Read the ACMI roster and lifestyle guide alongside the actual agreement.
Duty and rest compliance is a separate issue from whether a roster fits your life. EASA’s Air Operations FAQs include flight time limitations and roster-change guidance. An advertised pattern does not by itself establish compliance, and this checklist does not calculate duty limits.
7. Which training costs can come back to you?
Read the training agreement alongside the offer. Record the initial liability, repayment period, reduction schedule, currency and triggers. Ask about failure in training, resignation, employer termination, redundancy and loss of medical fitness.
Identify charges outside the headline bond: retests, extra simulator sessions, accommodation, licence fees or notice-related costs. If documents conflict, ask for a corrected set before signing. Our type-rating decision guide provides a fuller cost and downside worksheet.
8. What cover and support are included?
Ask about sick pay, annual leave, pension or other retirement provision, medical insurance, loss-of-licence cover and travel cover. For each insurance benefit, obtain the policy scope, limits, exclusions and who pays the premium. Check where cover applies during deployment and whether benefits continue in training.
Also ask who handles licensing administration, medical renewals, visas and recurrent training. A benefit list is less useful than knowing which costs and administrative tasks remain yours.
9. How do probation, notice and exit work?
Record probation length, notice during and after probation, termination provisions and final-payment arrangements. Ask how training repayment interacts with notice and what happens if a customer contract, base or fleet assignment ends.
For service agreements, check cancellation, payment disputes and liability provisions. For employment agreements, check the applicable grievance and employment processes. Where the financial exposure is substantial, take the complete document set to a qualified adviser.
10. Which career promises are actually commitments?
Ask how seniority is determined, what governs command selection and whether fleet or base transfer affects progression. Distinguish eligibility for an upgrade from an available position and successful training. Avoid budgeting on an undated promise of rapid promotion.
Before you sign
Collect the terms. Then compare the offer.
Separate guaranteed pay, personal work costs and training liability. Put “not confirmed” beside unanswered questions rather than assuming the favourable answer.
Compare the pay and costsThe comparator is a worksheet based on your inputs, not a tax calculation or legal assessment.
A comparison sheet to complete before signing
For each offer, record: legal entity; contract model; base; earliest paid date; guaranteed annual gross pay; variable-pay assumptions; personally funded travel and living costs; training exposure; notice; and unresolved questions. Put “not confirmed” in missing fields rather than assuming the favourable answer.
Run an ordinary-year scenario and a delay or low-flying scenario. Keep one-off training liabilities visible beside recurring costs. Choose an offer only after the terms you rely on are written down.
Frequently asked questions
Is the highest advertised salary the best offer?
Not necessarily. Compare guaranteed pay, timing, unavoidable costs, training exposure, benefits and the roster. Use the same assumptions for both offers.
Can I rely on a recruiter saying a clause is never used?
Ask for the relevant commitment in the written agreement. An informal reassurance does not remove the clause you sign.
Should I sign while waiting for missing documents?
Ask for the complete set and enough time to review it. Keep unresolved terms visible, particularly those affecting payment, training liability and start-date conditions.
Sources and scope
Official background resources checked 2 October 2026: EU cross-border work guidance and EASA Air Operations FAQs. The questions above are editorial guidance; they do not describe one airline’s contract or establish an individual legal or tax outcome.
