Airline to Pay Pilots Up to $100,000 a Year for Taxiing on the Ground Instead of Flying 0 28

Currently, British Airways (BA) is hiring pilots to operate wide-body aircraft; however, successful candidates will not be taking off or landing the aircraft.

In reality, the UK’s national carrier is looking for experienced pilots who will only taxi planes on the ground between terminals at Chicago O'Hare International Airport in the United States.

This somewhat puzzling position prompted Ben Schlappig, an expert on airlines, hotels, and loyalty programs and founder of the website One Mile at a Time, to call it a "niche" – and he is not far from the truth.

The job listing posted on a recruitment website offers a salary ranging from $90,000 (76,995 euros) to $100,000 (85,551 euros), but the pilots will never take to the skies.

Among the requirements for candidates are "recent experience as a captain or first officer on Boeing 777 or 787" as well as "willingness to learn and adapt to British Airways’ standard operating procedures" and "good knowledge of procedures at Chicago O'Hare Airport."

Why is such a position even needed?

At Chicago's main airport, BA flights arrive at Terminal 5 and depart from Terminal 3. This means that experienced pilots are needed to taxi planes between their two temporary "homes."

Such work is not unprecedented but remains a rarity.

At most airports, planes on the ground are moved using tugs. However, at O'Hare, it is considered more efficient and safer for various reasons to use the aircraft's own engines.

It is not surprising that taxiing pays less than the work of even less experienced pilots hired by leading U.S. airlines.

According to data from ATP Flight School, airlines like American and United offer starting salaries of over $117,000 (100,094 euros).

Who might find such a job appealing, where the main task is not to fly in the sky but to slowly taxi planes on the ground?

"I suppose if you recently retired, didn’t pass a medical exam, and so on, this could be an interesting position," says Schlappig.

Although this position seems entirely new, it actually did not appear yesterday.

"We have been hiring highly qualified local pilots to reposition our aircraft between Terminals 5 and 3 since flights were moved to Terminal 3 in 2024," a representative of the airline told Euronews Travel.

Currently, BA operates daily direct flights from London Heathrow to Chicago and aims to expand its long-haul network in the U.S. and beyond.

Starting in winter 2026, the number of flights to New Orleans will increase to four per week, flights to Baltimore will become daily, and there will be 12 flights per week to Houston.

The carrier expects that by the end of this year, its international long-haul route network will grow by 9% due to increased flight frequency. Additionally, it is adding two new direct destinations – Melbourne in Australia and Colombo in Sri Lanka.