Qantas Pilot Salary 2025: How to Convert Hourly Rates and Annual Pay Under the New Enterprise Agreement
Under the Qantas Short Haul EA 2024, a pilot's annual salary is set by category and years of service, with an additional hourly rate for flying beyond minimum guarantee hours calculated as annual salary divided by 782.
Qantas Pilot Salary 2025: Understanding the Numbers
If you're researching the qantas pilot salary 2025, you've likely seen figures from the new Short Haul Enterprise Agreement (EBA9) approved by the Fair Work Commission in May 2025. This article explains how to convert those annual salaries into hourly rates, how tax and super apply, and how the conversion differs from the standard award.
Annual Salary to Hourly: The Standard Formula
For most Australian employees, the basic conversion is:
Annual gross ≈ hourly rate × hours per week × 52
This assumes 38 ordinary hours per week (the standard full-time week under the National Employment Standards). For example, the National Minimum Wage from 1 July 2026 is $26.44 per hour. Multiplying by 38 and by 52 gives an annual salary of about $52,269. That figure is before tax, Medicare levy, and super.
You can use the timesheet to do this calculation yourself. Enter your base hourly rate, and the tool shows the weekly, fortnightly, and annual figures. A checkbox adds 25% casual loading on top of that base rate.
How Qantas Pilot Salaries Are Converted
The Qantas Short Haul Enterprise Agreement 2024 (EBA9) sets annual salaries for Captains and First Officers based on category and years of service. For additional flying hours beyond the minimum guarantee, the applicable hourly rate is calculated by dividing the annual salary by 782. This divisor reflects the typical flying hours in a 28-day bid period (53 hours and 24 minutes per bid period, as defined in the agreement).
For example, if a Captain's annual salary is $200,000, the additional hourly rate would be about $255.75 per hour. The minimum guarantee hours are already covered by the annual salary. This is different from the standard 38-hour week conversion.
Award Conversion for Other Pilots
For pilots not covered by an enterprise agreement, the Fair Work Ombudsman's Air Pilots Award 2020 applies. It contains only annual salaries. To get the hourly rate for full-time or part-time pilots, divide the annual salary by 52 to get the weekly rate, then divide by 38. For casual pilots, the rate per flying hour is 1/800th of the annual salary plus a 25% loading. Casual helicopter aircrew use 1/38th of the minimum weekly rate plus loading.
Fortnightly Pay and Take-Home Amounts
Many pilots are paid fortnightly. To find your fortnightly gross, multiply the weekly rate by 2. For a full-time pilot under the award, weekly rate = annual salary ÷ 52. Under the Qantas EA, the weekly rate for redundancy purposes is also annual salary ÷ 52. The fortnightly figure helps with budgeting and comparing to average pay data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Tax and Medicare on Your Annual Salary
Once you have your annual gross, you can estimate tax using the 2026–27 resident tax rates:
- Nil on the first $18,200
- 15% on income from $18,201 to $45,000
- 30% on income from $45,001 to $135,000
- 37% on income from $135,001 to $190,000
- 45% on income above $190,000
Plus the Medicare levy of 2% (generally). The Australian Taxation Office applies these to your taxable income. Use take-home pay tools to see what remains after tax and Medicare.
Superannuation Paid on Top
Employers must pay super guarantee of 12% on ordinary earnings, up to the maximum contribution base of $270,830 (2026–27). This is on top of your salary. For a Qantas pilot earning $200,000, the super contribution would be $24,000 (12% of $200,000) because it's below the cap. For earnings above $270,830, super stops at the cap. See super and packaging for more.
Casual Loading and Award Rates
If you're a casual pilot under the award, your hourly rate includes a 25% loading. That loading is already built into the $33.05 per hour casual minimum wage (from 1 July 2026). For award-covered casual pilots, the calculation is: (annual salary ÷ 800) × 1.25. Never enter a rate that already includes casual loading into the timesheet – use the base rate and tick the casual checkbox.
Key Differences: Award vs Enterprise Agreement
The Qantas EA overrides the award for its employees. It provides higher annual salaries, different hourly divisors, and additional benefits like roster disruption credits and loss of licence insurance. The award is the safety net for pilots not covered by an agreement. Always check which applies to you using pay guides or the Fair Work Ombudsman's Find My Award tool.
Summary
The qantas pilot salary 2025 figures from the new EA gives you a clear annual salary. To convert to an hourly rate for extra flying, divide by 782. For standard award conversions, use 38 hours per week. Remember that tax, Medicare, and super are separate calculations. Use reference tables to check current rates and hourly conversion tools to avoid mistakes.
This estimate assumes no unpaid overtime, no penalty rates, no allowances, and no salary sacrifice. It's a starting point for understanding your pay.
Open the same rate on the home timesheet. Read the reference tables before treating a figure as your pay.