Cabin crew pay in Spain, Portugal and Italy compared: what the southern European legacy and low cost carriers actually pay after tax
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#1 Iberia, seven years, and I have friends at TAP, ITA, Vueling, Ryanair Spain and Volotea, so here is the southern European pay picture in one place, in structure and in honest ranges, because it is the region where the gap between the ad and the payslip is largest.
The legacy carriers
Iberia, TAP, ITA. A basic under a collective agreement, flying hour pay, layover allowances on the long haul in the destination currency, a seniority scale, and the national tax and social contributions. New joiner net at Iberia in Madrid: a modest Spanish salary that is tight for a solo flat. Mid seniority on long haul: comfortable. TAP similar in Lisbon with Lisbon rent as the problem. ITA in Rome similar with the Italian tax and the post Alitalia contract that is still settling.
The low cost carriers
Vueling, Ryanair's Spanish and Italian bases, Volotea, easyJet's continental bases, Wizz in Italy. Lower basic, sector pay, commission, and the local contract (the Ryanair Malta Air thread explains why the contract name matters). A summer month at a busy base is close to a legacy new joiner's net. A winter month is well below. The seasonal swing is the defining feature.
After tax
Spain, Portugal and Italy all take a real share in tax and social contributions, and the net is what matters. Southern European crew are paid less than their northern colleagues at the same airlines' northern bases in gross, and the cost of living outside the capitals is lower, which partly compensates. In the capitals (Madrid, Lisbon, Rome, Barcelona, Milan) it does not compensate and sharing is the norm for years.
The honest ranges
I will not give numbers that will be wrong in a year. The structure: legacy new joiner around the national median wage, legacy long haul mid seniority at one and a half to two times that, low cost summer around the median, low cost winter below it. The agreements are public for the legacy carriers (STAVLA, SNPVAC and the Italian unions publish) and those are the primary sources.
What the region is good for
Living in a southern European city with a proper contract at a legacy carrier, or building hours fast at a low cost base near home. Nobody saves Gulf money here. Everybody eats well.
What surprises northern applicants
The gap between the Barcelona base pay and the London base pay at the same low cost airline. The southern contracts are local and so are the numbers. A British crew member transferring to Spain takes a cut in gross and a bigger cut in expectation.
Crew from TAP, ITA, Vueling and Volotea: correct or add below. The region deserves one honest thread.
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#2 TAP, and the Lisbon picture is exactly this. The agreement is public through SNPVAC, the new joiner net is tight, the long haul allowances are the story. Rosa's structure is right for all three legacy carriers.
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#3 ITA Rome, and the post Alitalia contract is still settling, as she says. The net for a new joiner is a Roman rent and not much more. The long haul is the prize and the seniority list is young, which helps.
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#4 Vueling Barcelona, and the seasonal swing at the low cost bases is the whole story of our pay. July is fine. January is a lesson. Every southern low cost crew learns the same one.
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#5 Rome, ex Ryanair Ciampino, and the gap between the Italian base pay and the Dublin base pay at Ryanair was the thing that shocked me most when I compared payslips with an Irish colleague. Same aircraft, same day, local numbers.