Air India · First Officer / Copilote
B737 Co-Pilot (First Officer / Senior First Officer) - Air India Express
Air India Express is recruiting co-pilots already type rated on the B737, as First Officer or Senior First Officer. The place of posting will be assigned according to company needs.
- Employer
- Air India
- Position
- First Officer / Copilote
- Base
- Base selon les besoins de la compagnie (Air India Express)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737
- Contract
- Non indiqué
- Pay (public sources)
- Captain: about INR 4.75 to 8.5 lakh per month; first officer: about INR 3.45 lakh per month (2023 scale, raised 8 to 15% in August 2026)
- Seen
- 8 October 2026
Key points
- Position with Air India Express, part of the Air India Group
- Valid B737 co-pilot type rating required
- Minimum 100 hours of commercial airline flying after line release on B737
- Maximum age 40, extended to 45 for defence pilots with B737 rating and ATPL
- Place of posting assigned according to company requirements
What the employer asks for
- Indian national or Overseas Citizen of India
- Valid CPL or ATPL with current instrument rating and proficiency check
- Valid FRTOL and COP/RTR
- Valid Class I medical fitness certificate
- ICAO Aviation English Language Proficiency level 4 or above endorsed on Indian ATPL
- Clean incident/accident record, breath analyser test, and details of any DGCA enforcement action
- Mandatory eGCA ID with all licences and documents validated
- Valid B737 co-pilot type rating
- Minimum 100 hours of commercial airline experience post line release on B737
- Maximum age 40, or 45 for defence pilots with B737 rating and ATPL
The selection process
- Psychometric assessment
- Personal interview
- Simulator flight proficiency test
- Pre-employment medical examination
Summary written by ForAllPilots from the employer's posting. Only the official posting counts: check every condition before you apply.
Pay and conditions, from public sources
Figures published by the airline, pilot unions or the press, each one dated (last update: August 2026). For information only.
- 2023 scale: after a raise of about 20%, Air India set monthly pay at INR 3.45 lakh for a first officer, 4.75 lakh for a captain, 7.5 lakh for an internally upgraded captain ("commander") and 8.5 lakh for a senior captain (April 2023).
- Trainee pilots: INR 50,000 per month at first, then INR 2.35 lakh per month after line release, for up to one year (April 2023).
- Flying allowance: paid per hour, from INR 2,900 to 3,770 for a first officer and INR 6,500 to 8,450 for a commander depending on hours flown; plus a widebody allowance of INR 75,000 per month for commanders and INR 25,000 for other pilots (April 2023).
- Annual earnings: according to an Air India executive, every captain in the group would earn at least INR 1 crore (10 million rupees) a year at 70 flying hours, allowances included (April 2023).
- 2024 raise: from 1 April 2024, +INR 5,000 per month for first officers and captains, +INR 11,000 for commanders, and a new annual performance bonus of up to INR 1.8 lakh (May 2024).
- 2026 revision: an 8 to 15% raise, largest for commanders; at about 55 hours a month a senior commander goes from about INR 7.5 to 8.3 lakh and a first officer from just over 3 to about 3.3 lakh; guaranteed pay is still based on 40 hours (August 2026).
- Leave: the same revision cuts privilege leave from 30 to 24 days, with weekly days off not counted as leave; Air India Express pilots objected to the cut (August 2026).
- Air India Express: a Boeing 737 fleet allowance of up to INR 21 lakh for senior commanders and INR 10 lakh for senior first officers is paid in three instalments from October 2026 (August 2026).
Sources read (4)
The Air India selection, as candidates tell it
What candidates report on forums (Aeronet, Pilot Jobs Network) and what the employer publishes, summarised by ForAllPilots. It is not the official process: it changes from one campaign to the next, always check the posting.
Reliability of the reports : low
The stages
- Cadets and junior first officers: written test, psychometric assessment, group discussion, individual interview, simulator check, then medical.
- Experienced pilots: no written test, but psychometrics, interview, simulator, medical and background check.
- Simulator sometimes at the candidate's expense in some Indian campaigns; foreign captains recruited through agencies.
The aptitude tests
- Written and psychometric tests whose content candidates have not described in detail.
The technical part
- Few accounts; simulator check of flying proficiency.
Candidates' tips
- The information comes from official announcements more than from candidates: check each campaign.
Our exercises to prepare
Give yourself every chance
A first officer selection usually combines a technical test (ATPL and aircraft knowledge), aptitude tests, a group exercise, an HR and technical interview, then a simulator check.
Revise the ATPL subjects that come up most in technical interviews: performance, meteorology, systems, procedures. Prepare concrete examples of crew teamwork for the interview.
If the posting mentions aptitude tests, practise the most common families of exercises: mental arithmetic, multitasking, orientation, reasoning.