Airline dispatchers are one of the less recognized career paths in the airline industry.
But it’s an interesting and dynamic field that’s an excellent choice for aviation enthusiasts who want to work in aviation but don’t want to travel often or work in customer service.
The job is nearly always based at the company’s operations center, and every airline has a team of flight followers and dispatchers working at all hours of the day and night.
If you’re thinking about becoming an airline dispatcher, one of the first questions you’re likely to ask is, How much do dispatchers make?
Of course, the number varies with experience and from company to company.
Here’s a detailed analysis of the information available from around the web. Note that the purpose here is to provide general guidance for individuals considering a career as airline dispatchers; however, more detailed information is available for those ready to begin training for their FAA Dispatcher license.
Airline Dispatcher Salary Breakdown
It’s surprisingly tricky to get the detailed data about an airline dispatcher salary.
Many sites, such as the US government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), categorize flight dispatchers alongside similar careers in trucking, freight, rail, or other transportation systems, like taxis and limos.
Out of this group, airline dispatchers represent a small niche within the larger sample size, making the data of little use for those trying to determine the numbers.
Looking at job postings from a couple of airlines we can find the following pay numbers for brand new dispatchers:
| Airline | Hourly Pay | Annual Pay Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| SkyWest Airlines | $23 | $48,000 |
| Frontier Airlines | $39.54 | $82,000 |
| American Airlines | $52 | $91,000 |
Three job postings, however, don’t really give us a great picture of the industry. So we’ll need to look at crowdsourced data to give us a better understanding of flight dispatcher pay.
Crowdsourced Flight Dispatcher Salary Numbers
The next best place to find dispatcher pay numbers if from crowdsourced numbers shared by users on the Jet Careers forum (also shared on Reddit).
They maintain a spreadsheet with all of the most up to date pay numbers available. Take a look at their spreadsheet to get the most up to date numbers from employees at the various airlines listed.
According to their data the 1st year dispatcher pay at most regional carriers hovers around $20-$25 per hour. Which would give you roughly $41,000 to $52,000 in annual pay. Most airlines have some kind of pay scale that will increase each year.
For the major airlines in the US, dispatcher 1st year pay is around $95,000. With the top out of the pay scale, typically at year 11, is around $170,000.
It’s important to note, however, that there are various ways to increase your pay as a dispatcher and none of the estimates above include overtime pay or premiums that can increase your pay.
Job Board Salary Numbers
While the crowdsourced data is likely the best option here, we can look at what employees share on websites like Indeed and Glassdoor. These websites give us a decent picture of airline dispatcher salaries but there aren’t that many people reporting their pay numbers so the data is quite limited.
Job hunt site ZipRecruiter lists the top-earning airline dispatchers as making $101,745, with an average annual salary of $63,059. While it’s a broad range, that number seems to stand up to scrutiny and serves as a guidepost.
Salary website Indeed collects pay numbers based on direct reports from employees, but the data is limited to the handful of dispatchers who have posted from each airline.
For example, at the time of writing, eight United dispatchers had reported salaries ranging from $26,000 to $255,000, resulting in a company average pay of $111,121.
Seven American dispatchers reported their income to fall between $38,000 and $201,000 (an average of $103,951).
Southwest has a reported range of $33,000 to $137,000, with an average of $76,335. Other sites list their top earners as making $203,000.
Rounding out the big four, only one post comes from Delta, but it has been reported on some sites to be between $85,000 and $100,000, with top earners making up to $170,000.
Smaller airlines with entries on Indeed include Frontier, SkyWest, and JetBlue. There aren’t many companies listed that represent starting positions at small airlines, so it’s impossible to determine accurately what a first-year dispatcher would realistically make.
With seven employees reporting wages at Frontier, the carrier appears to be paying an average of $56,239, ranging from $28,000 to $85,000.
SkyWest is reported as hourly wages, with the rate between $11.40 and $34.35 per hour (averaging $22.86).
Three JetBlue dispatchers report salaries ranging from $57,756 to $132,057, resulting in an average of $87,334.
One respondent from JetBlue’s New York headquarters noted on the site, “The pay could be better considering the corp headquarters is in one of the most expensive cities in the world, but overall, a good place to work. Management in my dept is good but that depends on where you work.”
Although the sample size is small, several themes emerge.
For one, the major airlines pay better across the scale than smaller regionals and low-cost carriers. Secondly, every airline has a broad range of salaries, with starting wages significantly lower than those of top earners.
Factors that Affect a Flight Dispatcher’s Salary
The most significant factor affecting dispatcher salaries is experience.
The experience on your resume is tied to the type of airline you work for.
Beginning dispatchers, licensed but lacking experience, work in lower-paying positions at smaller regional carriers.
As they gain experience, their pay increases; however, the biggest jumps in their salary occur when they move up to jobs at major airlines, which typically pay better in the first place.
This is not unlike the pay jumps that pilots can expect moving from regional carriers to major ones.
Additionally, more experience means more opportunities for vertical moves inside the company.
For example, after several years working in the same department, you may become eligible for management positions.
One Reddit user posted that their salary increased with each jump up the tier. “Per year, I went from making around $30k at a regional. Bumped up to $50k at an international supplemetal cargo. Up to $70k same airline with a promotion. Started around $85k at a major. Still a major almost 10 years in, around $170k.”
Benefits beyond pay must also be considered when comparing salaries between airlines. Benefits packages vary and include features such as flight privileges, paid time off, retirement matching, and health insurance.
Finally, the job’s location will affect pay, but to a lesser extent than experience and the type of airline.
Most of this is due to the basic cost of living and normal regional salary variations that can be expected.
That is to say, it’s expected that high-cost locations, such as New York and California, pay better than lower-cost places, like Texas and Florida.
Find Out More about Working as an Airline Dispatcher
Workers in this field are represented by the Airline Dispatchers Federation (ADF), a voluntary non-union labor organization of 2,734 members as of January 2024.
This includes more than 100 companies worldwide, including every major US airline.
The organization even sponsors a scholarship for aspiring dispatchers.
If you’re seriously considering a career as a dispatcher, you can join the ADF as a student and get access to salary calculators and tons of other excellent resources for aspiring dispatchers.
