From the application page requirements: "... LPE6 English level ..."

This will prevent most from applying.

I'd say that at least 50% of the pilots in the airline I work for have lvl 6 printed on their license tbh...and that means thousands of guys.

I guess non-Dutch pilots are not really interested in KLM.

I dont think Dutch authority give validation to ICAO licenses (so you can fly with it max 2 years before you obtain EASA) . If so you need to get EASA licence before you apply.

Obrigado, meu amigo!

I’ll certainly contact them and move from there. Let’s see!

Anyway, I’m getting my Easa Licence. Should have done it few years back, but never thought one day would be possible to join KLM.

cheers! 👍🏼👊🏼

thank you so much for your reply! :-)

I heard by an European pilot here at AA that KLM pays the 13th salary in December. Is that true? I know some countries is mandatory for companies to pay the 13th salary in December (not talking about profit sharing). In the US this, as I must know, doesn’t exist, although the salary is good.

thank you once again for those who take the time to answer!

Let’s us know what pilots recruitment say. Very curious :)

Buona fortuna

As soon as I get a response from them I post it here.

Grazie/Obrigado

It’s easier said than done I guess. To take full advantage of the KLM terms and conditions you must stay there for years and years, i.e. you are basically choosing to start your career all over, in the lowest position, in yet another foreign country. That’s a rather large commitment that not many are prepared to make. It narrows down the gene pool a bit to say the least.

Totally agree, but I was expecting the number of applicants to be way higher than this tbh.

14 times a year(Dec and May 2X) It’s fix. Profit share on top if applicable. For me the most important working condition is the LOL. 70% of last salary+pensioen till your retirement. That gives the family so much stability towards the future.

Dutch is one of the hardest language to learn and reaching an A2 level within one year is absolutely ridiculous.

Okay. Just my 2 cents about the country. Working in an airline in the group so commuting with klm jump seats are really great. I am not applying to KLM because im trying to leave the country. Even as commuters life with KLM jumpseats are actually great but the salary after tax and the cost of decent housing is a big issue. Bigger than I thought when I joined. Flying, rights, union, sick leave, commuting, they are all great. But at the end of the day I will have to leave because I cannot endure the first 10 years of my career in the country. Many pilots are coming after a whealthy decade in ME or they are young with local parents, or they are already in NL and have other business. All the commuters in my Commuting base, when they report for duty in AMS, they stay at their parents or had already bought their housing in the past and mind you they are sometimes well above their late 40s.
if your profile is right you will love the place. As for company it is a great place and people if you are ready for the lifestyle in the country.

Any invitations yet? Didn’t hear anything since weeks :(

Great post, man!

What one can expect of annual income (pay + pension together) for the first 2 years with KLM? Someone just posted above the company pays 14th salary a year. Not even included the Profit Sharing (of course, If the company had had profit).

My only concern would be the first 2 years (I’m 39 yo), but with 14 salaries a year, looks like it’s pretty decent.

thanks!!

Because of your age, your starting salary will be higher than someone who is 22 (shorter time to pension date).

Year 1: 107K gross + about 20% pension contribution (some into the pension fund, some on your bank account).
After 2 years: 118K gross, assuming no fleet or seniority pay increase (SO/FO EUR pay has a seniority component).

You will pay about 45% in taxes on this salary. Means about 4200 net (x14) for year 1. Please keep in mind that houses are very, very expensive in NL at the moment (look it up on funda.nl -> 'zoek op kaart' = look on map, next to the search bar). On one salary, you can loan about x5 your gross salary, at about 4% interest at the moment (look it up on e.g. ING.nl).

Not yet. I am still waiting as well. So more time to begin learning dutch ;)

I am not sure about the final figures in KLM. It has more complicated structure than Transavia. It takes into account age, fleet and experience. In Transavia less than 2700 hours you start level 4, if more you start level 7. Overall net salary difference will be 500euros approximately. Although you will be paid slightly higher in KLM, it is still negligible. The 13th and 14th salaries are called holiday payment and end of year bonus. These are taxed even more because it is considered luxury. There is also something called 30% rulling. Which is a tax credits for expats hired from abroad. Normaly all pilots qualify for this. It is good because it increases the net salary by aprox 1k. But it is a mess to get it. Nobody knows about it in companies.Takes months, and it last 5 years. So level 4 entry inTransavia would get close to 5.5k to 6k net WITH tax ruling 14 salaries /12months and the last year of ruling you would get around 7k and then back to 5k -5.5k after loosing ruling at level 9. To get anywhere close to 10k net In Netherlands, it would take around +15 years I think.

1300 Euros for rooms are not uncommon. If you like to buy like I wanted at first, studios or 1+1 apartments are in the range from 250k to 350k... more if you like to live better with family in addition to which you have to bid 50k in an closed envelope to be selected which is not covered by bank loans. Some KLM commuter captains are sharing crashbeds in a way like school dorms used to be to make it cheaper (they are paid a lot of money but they still want to save more)

You can find studios around 1.5k but you have to see in longterm, how long can you last like this until the salary can catch up.
Not everything is dark, in fact everything I havent mentioned is positive from my POV. I have had one of the best times in flight decks of Klm or Transavia. Absolute pleasure to work with. Both City Hopper and mainline. Training is fun too. It is not uncommon to see people failing checks but it is made in a way that is teaching everyone involved and not horrible consequences like other places. Openminded instructors as well.

Once you fix the biggest hurtle to settle down in Netherlands the rest is worth for many people.

one last thing I forgot: If you live somewhere else and commute to AMS on longhaul or day trips then you can save up by using hotels in stead of renting apartment.

cheers

previous poster sums it up quite nicely.

Should you start at 39 y.o, Second officer or First officer EUR fleet year 1: €7.820/month, year 2 approx €8.380/month.

Historically the KLM "standard career" considers entry in the company as a former flight school cadet round 20-22 years old. Hence salaries in the beginning are quite low but have a steep progress, figures on PPJN are quite accurate.
Also take into consideration that the company pays up to 40% of the salary as pension contribution (not visible in the given numbers)

What's the mandatory retirement age in KLM? Can pilots work until 65 or they have to retire earlier?

I’d like to thank all of you who replied back explaining the salary system at KLM.

• Another few questions (sorry): at my age, 39, how much of a pension would I get a month? 40%? Looks like the pension scheme it goes from 25% to 42%.

• Can I choose to have the 40% pension of my gross salary on the top of my pay and make it part of my salary as well?

• And I guess the salary + 40% pension would be taxable all the same, right?

• Does the company pay per diem when you’re flying? At AA the company pays $3.41 per hours for the time you show up to work til the last hour of the sequence (or paring, here we call sequence). So let’s say your sequence lasts 72:48h from the time you show up to work til you shut down the engines back to your base. It’s gonna be 72:48h x $3.41.

When you fly out of the US, even to the Caribbean/Canada, it goes to $4.01 per hour. Any international flight the per diem is a little higher. And it’s not taxable in the US, I guess in Netherlands is not taxable as well.

So, Using the example above to clarify about the salary + pension;

- 2nd year pay is: €8.380,00 a month + the 40% pension.
Thus, we would have the following math:

€8.380 + 40% = €11.732,00 (gross salary a month if you choose to have your pension at the top of your salary) + your per diems.

Is my thinking correct?

Sorry once again for those questions, but it looks completely different pay scheme and pension then here at American Airlines (the “pension” in the US is called 401K and the 3 legacies in the US pays the same. 18% of your gross salary on your 401k, however, you can not ask them to put on the top of your salary and receive it as part of your salary) and other companies I’ve flown with.

Just trying to understand a bit and see what I could expect, IF one day I have the chance to join KLM.

By the way I just applied. Meanwhile I started studying for my EASA as well. 🤞🏼

Cheers and safe flights guys!!