Skip to content
worldsalaries .com

Average Air Crew Member Salary in India for 2026

An air crew member in India earns about 239,000 INR a year. That's 38% below the national average of 384,200 INR.

Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in India sit around 125,700 INR a year, while the very top stretches to 365,400 INR. Everything on this page is in Indian rupee (INR, symbol ₹), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.

The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in India, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.

How much does an air crew member make in India?

Average salary
239,000 INR
19,916 INR per month
Lowest reported
125,700 INR
10,475 INR per month
Highest reported
365,400 INR
30,450 INR per month

A typical air crew member working in India brings home around 19,916 INR a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 125,700 INR, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 365,400 INR for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.

The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior air crew member working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.

How air crew member pay ranges in India

A good way to think about salary in India is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all air crew members in India earn less than 225,300 INR a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".

Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 159,100 INR (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 275,500 INR (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of air crew members sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.

The very lowest reported salaries sit around 125,700 INR. The highest stretch to 365,400 INR, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.

125,700
Low
225,300
Median
365,400
High
159,100
25th
275,500
75th
The middle 50% sit between the 25th and 75th percentile Tails are the lowest and highest reported All figures in INR

Air crew member pay by experience in India

Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for an air crew member in India, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical air crew member salary changes as you move through the career ladder.

  • 0-2 Years
    148,300 INR
  • 2-5 Years
    +22% from previous
    180,300 INR
  • 5-10 Years
    +40% from previous
    252,300 INR
  • 10-15 Years
    +17% from previous
    296,000 INR
  • 15-20 Years
    +10% from previous
    325,900 INR
  • 20+ Years
    +6% from previous
    345,100 INR

The single largest jump on the ladder is from 2 - 5 Years to 5 - 10 Years, where pay rises by about 40%. That is the point at which a air crew member typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.

Air crew member pay by education in India

Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving air crew member pay in India. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.

Below is the average air crew member salary in India broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.

  • Certificate or Diploma
    180,300 INR
  • Bachelor's Degree
    +29% from previous
    232,900 INR
  • Master's Degree
    +42% from previous
    330,900 INR

Air crew member gender pay gap in India

The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and India is no exception. Male air crew members in India earn an average of 253,400 INR a year, while female air crew members earn around 221,500 INR. That works out to a 14% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.

A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.

Air Crew Member gender pay gap

13%

Men earn this much more than women on average in India.

Men 253,400 INR
Women 221,500 INR

Pay raises for an air crew member in India

Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.

A typical worker doing this role in India sees a raise of about 12% every 15 months, which works out to roughly 10% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.

Across all jobs in India, the national average raise is around 9% every 16 months.

By industry

Industries with the highest pay raises in India:

  • Banking
    1%
  • Energy
    2%
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Travel
  • Construction
  • Education

By experience level

Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.

  • Junior Level
    3% - 5%
  • Mid-Career
  • Senior Level
  • Top Management

Air crew member bonus rates in India

Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.

26%

26% of air crew members in India reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes an air crew member a low-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.

Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 1% to 3% of base salary. The remaining 74% of air crew members reported no bonus at all over the same period.

Which careers pay bonuses in India

Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.

  • Finance
  • Architecture
  • Sales
  • Business Development
  • Marketing / Advertising
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Customer Service
  • Human Resources
  • Construction
  • Transport
  • Hospitality

Air crew member: public vs private sector pay

Public-sector pay in India is about 6% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.

Public vs private pay gap

5%

Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in India on average.

Public sector 392,300 INR
Private sector 371,100 INR

Air crew member salary by city and region in India

Air crew member pay is not even across India. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities and regions in the dataset, followed by the full location table.

  • West Bengal
  • Maharashtra
  • Uttar Pradesh
  • Tamil Nadu
  • Rajasthan
  • Delhi (city)
  • Gujarat
  • Jharkhand
  • Bihar
  • Karnataka
LocationTypeAverageMedianRange
West BengalRegion297,000 INR305,600 INR148,300-464,900 INR
MaharashtraRegion290,800 INR290,800 INR142,300-448,500 INR
Uttar PradeshRegion288,700 INR283,700 INR150,000-448,500 INR
Tamil NaduRegion288,100 INR297,000 INR139,100-450,300 INR
RajasthanRegion286,400 INR275,800 INR151,800-442,200 INR
Delhi (city)City282,500 INR282,500 INR142,300-442,200 INR
GujaratRegion279,400 INR279,400 INR138,800-433,400 INR
JharkhandRegion275,800 INR271,300 INR138,800-424,300 INR
BiharRegion275,500 INR301,800 INR125,700-440,200 INR
KarnatakaRegion275,200 INR277,400 INR134,600-425,100 INR
KeralaRegion273,000 INR288,700 INR129,000-431,300 INR
AhmadabadCity273,000 INR292,000 INR128,500-433,400 INR
ChennaiCity271,300 INR271,300 INR136,200-417,100 INR
MumbaiCity268,900 INR273,000 INR130,400-421,400 INR
Madhya PradeshRegion268,900 INR257,700 INR138,800-412,000 INR
Andhra PradeshRegion268,900 INR259,100 INR138,800-412,000 INR
JaipurCity263,100 INR267,100 INR129,000-409,000 INR
PuneCity263,100 INR277,400 INR125,100-415,900 INR
HyderabadCity261,300 INR239,000 INR138,800-394,800 INR
AssamRegion261,300 INR272,800 INR124,400-409,000 INR
BangaloreCity261,300 INR245,300 INR139,100-394,500 INR
KanpurCity261,300 INR239,000 INR138,800-394,800 INR
OrissaRegion259,100 INR263,900 INR125,700-406,300 INR
SuratCity254,800 INR233,900 INR139,100-384,500 INR
LucknowCity253,400 INR239,300 INR128,900-384,500 INR
UttaranchalRegion253,400 INR237,400 INR134,600-384,200 INR
IndoreCity252,300 INR273,300 INR116,180-401,300 INR
Delhi (region)Region252,300 INR232,400 INR137,400-383,300 INR
KolkataCity251,500 INR239,000 INR128,500-383,300 INR
PunjabRegion249,600 INR232,900 INR136,200-378,800 INR
Himachal PradeshRegion246,500 INR267,100 INR114,900-394,800 INR
HaryanaRegion245,300 INR254,700 INR119,500-384,500 INR
ChhatisgarhRegion245,300 INR239,000 INR124,400-378,300 INR
NagpurCity239,300 INR222,300 INR128,500-365,400 INR
Jammu & KashmirRegion239,300 INR228,500 INR129,000-367,900 INR
LudhianaCity239,000 INR225,300 INR125,700-366,200 INR
BhopalCity238,900 INR225,700 INR127,700-361,500 INR
VisakhapatnamCity238,900 INR225,700 INR125,700-365,400 INR
Pimpri-ChinchwadCity237,400 INR254,800 INR110,340-376,800 INR
MeghalayaRegion233,900 INR252,300 INR107,580-372,600 INR
TripuraRegion233,600 INR252,300 INR106,960-371,100 INR
NagalandRegion233,600 INR228,000 INR117,440-361,600 INR
VadodaraCity232,400 INR221,500 INR119,900-354,000 INR
PondicherryRegion228,500 INR239,300 INR106,780-359,900 INR
CoimbatoreCity227,600 INR239,000 INR111,460-359,900 INR
ManipurRegion225,700 INR233,600 INR107,580-351,200 INR
MaduraiCity225,300 INR243,000 INR101,960-357,700 INR
ChandigarhRegion221,500 INR207,800 INR115,260-332,100 INR
GhaziabadCity221,500 INR221,500 INR114,900-345,100 INR
GoaRegion217,900 INR209,700 INR112,180-335,100 INR
Andaman & Nicobar IslandsRegion217,900 INR201,100 INR118,800-330,700 INR
PatnaCity217,900 INR204,000 INR114,000-332,500 INR
Arunachal PradeshRegion215,100 INR215,100 INR109,000-335,100 INR
Dadra & Nagar HaveliRegion214,000 INR221,500 INR103,580-335,800 INR
SikkimRegion209,700 INR209,700 INR106,740-325,900 INR
MizoramRegion209,500 INR197,600 INR113,780-320,500 INR
agraCity209,500 INR209,500 INR105,300-327,800 INR
LakshadweepRegion205,700 INR187,300 INR110,380-309,800 INR
Daman & DiuRegion200,000 INR210,500 INR94,900-315,900 INR

Air Crew Member in India: FAQs

  • How much does an air crew member make per month in India?

    An air crew member in India earns about 19,916 INR a month before tax, based on an annual average of 239,000 INR.

  • What's the salary range for an air crew member in India?

    Entry-level air crew members in India start near 125,700 INR. Top-end pay reaches around 365,400 INR. The middle 50% of earners sit between 159,100 and 275,500 INR.

  • Is the median air crew member salary in India higher or lower than the average?

    The median is 225,300 INR, lower than the average of 239,000 INR. Half of air crew members in India earn below the median, half earn above it.

  • What's the gender pay gap for air crew members in India?

    Men working as an air crew member in India earn around 14% more than women on average (253,400 vs 221,500 INR a year).

  • Do air crew members in India get bonuses?

    About 26% of air crew members in India reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 1% to 3% of base salary.

  • Do air crew members earn more in the public or private sector in India?

    In India, the public sector pays an air crew member about 6% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.

  • How often do air crew members in India get a pay raise?

    An air crew member in India sees a raise of around 12% every 15 months, equivalent to roughly 10% a year.