Pay & conditions · Africa

Airlink: pilot jobs, pay and conditions

South Africa · Regional · 4Z / LNK

Hiring now

Airlink's pilot careers page lists First Officer (with Cadet FO and Connect FO entry routes from 200h and 500h), Accelerated Command and Direct Entry Command positions in Johannesburg, all open until 31 Dec 2026. Applicants must be South African citizens.

Pay

Unofficial figures. Not from an agreement or the airline: collected from pilot forums, salary sites and other public sources. Treat them as indicative.

Only salary-site figures exist; nothing official or from the press. Glassdoor's Airlink (South Africa) Johannesburg salary page, viewed 2026-11-01 (no date given for the entries), shows: 'Pilot, First Officer' ZAR 48,000-73,000 per month and 'Captain' ZAR 98,000-115,000 per month, each based on only 2 salary submissions. A separate 'Airline Pilot (First Officer)' title there shows ZAR 20,000-69,000 per month (2 submissions); the lower end may reflect junior or cadet FOs. Glassdoor does not say whether these are base or total pay, so treat them as a rough indication only. The careers page does not state salary. Pilot reviews on PilotsGlobal (2024-2025) rate pay and benefits 2/5 and describe high flying hours and long multi-sector days. PayScale's Airlink employer page (updated Feb 2024) has no pilot titles. Airlink is privately owned and does not publish a pilot agreement. A South African salary blog (calcmypay.co.za, 2026) gives Airlink ranges, but it describes them as its own estimates, so they were not used.

Open vacancies (3)

Accelerated Command

Apply ↗

Embraer (medium aircraft) · JNB · minimum 5,000 hours · permanent · closes 31 Dec 2026 · apply on flyairlink.com

5,000h total incl. 2,000h on medium aircraft; ATPL with valid IR; Grade 12; based at O.R. Tambo.

Direct Entry Command

Apply ↗

Embraer (medium jet) · JNB · minimum 5,000 hours · permanent · closes 31 Dec 2026 · apply on flyairlink.com

5,000h total incl. 2,000h on medium aircraft and 500h PIC on medium jets; ATPL with valid IR; Grade 12; based at O.R. Tambo.

First Officer (incl. Cadet FO and Connect FO routes)

Apply ↗

Embraer ERJ/E-Jet · JNB · minimum 1,000 hours · permanent · closes 31 Dec 2026 · apply on flyairlink.com

Direct FO: 1,000h total incl. 200h multi-engine and 200h turbine; SACAA CPL/ATPL/frozen ATPL with IR. Lower-hour routes: Cadet FO from 200h and Connect FO from 500h with ME IR CPL. Grade 12 and South African citizenship required. FSTD experience preferred.

Conditions

Roster

Pilot reviews (PilotsGlobal, 2024-2025) describe high annual hours and long multi-sector duty days; no official roster pattern published.

Bases

JNB

Fleet

ERJ135, ERJ140, E170, E175, E190, E195, E195-E2

Careers site

flyairlink.com ↗

Requirements

First officer

1,000 hours minimum

Captain

5,000 hours minimum

Type rating

Not required; previous simulator (FSTD) training preferred for FOs.

Licence

SACAA CPL, ATPL or frozen ATPL with valid instrument rating (FO); ATPL for command

Other

FO: 1,000h total incl. 200h multi-engine and 200h turbine; Cadet FO route from 200h and Connect FO route from 500h (ME IR CPL). Accelerated Command: 5,000h incl. 2,000h on medium aircraft. Direct Entry Command: 5,000h incl. 2,000h medium aircraft and 500h PIC on medium jets. Grade 12 and South African citizenship required for all.

Sources

Not from an official source: figures collected from pilot forums, salary sites and other public sources. Indicative only · checked 1 Nov 2026

• Airlink - Pilot Careers
• Airlink pilot reviews - PilotsGlobal
• Airlink (South Africa) Salaries in Johannesburg - Glassdoor
• Average Salary for Airlink Employees in South Africa - PayScale

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