CAREER & SALARY GUIDE
Licensed Aircraft Engineer
Explore salaries, skills, qualifications, career paths and opportunities for Licensed Aircraft Engineers.
Your Guide to a Career as a
Licensed Aircraft Engineer
A Licensed Aircraft Engineer holds a UK CAA Part-66 Aircraft Maintenance Licence, giving them the authority to certify that aircraft maintenance has been carried out correctly and that the aircraft is safe to fly.
It is one of the most tightly regulated technical careers within aviation. The licence can take years to achieve, and earning potential reflects both the responsibility involved and the limited supply of suitably licensed engineers.
This guide covers current salary benchmarks, licence costs, the difference between B1 and B2 categories, the route to becoming licensed and where your career can progress from there.
Inside the Role
Licensed engineers combine technical expertise with the authority and responsibility to certify safety-critical aircraft maintenance.
Certifying Maintenance
Confirm that maintenance has been completed correctly and certify aircraft as safe to return to service within the privileges of your licence.
Mechanical Systems
B1 engineers focus primarily on mechanical areas including engines, airframes, landing gear, hydraulics and fuel systems.
Avionics Systems
B2 engineers specialise in electrical and electronic systems including instrumentation, navigation, communications and flight management systems.
Aircraft Type Approvals
A Part-66 licence must be supported by the relevant aircraft type rating before an engineer can certify maintenance on a specific aircraft type.
Licensed Aircraft Engineer Salary Guide 2027
Pay for licensed engineers rises sharply once you move from unlicensed technician to certifying engineer, because the licence itself is what allows an individual, rather than an organisation, to sign off maintenance as complete and airworthy.
Recent live vacancies show the shape of the market clearly. A newly licensed B1/B2 engineer role in Cranfield was advertised at up to £60,000. British Airways at Heathrow has advertised unrestricted B1 certifying engineer roles at just over £69,000, rising to between £69,000 and £78,850 depending on experience, with shift pay adding a further £4,450 to £9,850 a year on top. Specialist contract engineers, particularly those working on in-flight entertainment and avionics systems, have been advertised at £60 to £70 an hour on fixed-term contracts.
| Career Stage | Typical Annual Salary | Typical Experience |
| Aircraft maintenance apprentice | £16,000 to £24,000 | Level 3 apprenticeship, unlicensed |
| Unlicensed certifying technician | £28,000 to £38,000 | Working towards Part-66 licence and type ratings |
| Newly licensed (single category, no type) | £45,000 to £60,000 | Licence held, building type rating experience |
| Licensed with type rating (single category) | £60,000 to £70,000 | Base rate plus shift pay |
| Dual-licensed (B1 and B2, type rated) | £69,000 to £80,000+ | Employer-paid dual approvals command a premium |
| Contract / specialist avionics engineer | £60 to £70 per hour | Fixed-term, often IFE or avionics specific |
On top of base salary, most airlines and MROs (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul organisations) pay a per-approval allowance for each additional aircraft type a licensed engineer is certified on, plus enhanced shift pay for engineers working nights and weekends, which is standard in base and line maintenance operations running around the clock.
What Can Increase Your Earnings?
Salary does not depend on the licence category alone.
Airlines and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul organisations can pay additional allowances for each aircraft type an engineer is approved to certify.
Enhanced shift payments are also common for engineers working evenings, nights and weekends within base and line maintenance environments operating around the clock.
What Does It Cost to Become Licensed?
The Part-66 application fee is only one part of the overall cost. Training, examinations and aircraft type ratings can make up a much larger share.
CAA Licence Fees
The initial issue of a UK Part-66 Aircraft Maintenance Licence costs £455 per category or sub-category.
A licence verification costs £61, while a change of personal details costs £57. These fees are set nationally by the CAA.
Training & Examinations
The biggest expense usually comes before the licence application.
Candidates must complete the required Part-66 modular examinations and practical maintenance experience. Full-time residential training covering all required modules can cost tens of thousands of pounds if self-funded.
Aircraft Type Ratings
Once licensed, engineers still need the relevant aircraft type rating before they can certify work on a specific aircraft, such as an A320 or 787.
These courses are typically employer-funded, as airlines and MROs need engineers approved on the aircraft they operate.
In practice, most engineers do not fund the full journey themselves. Apprenticeships and cadetships commonly cover initial training and experience, while employers will often fund aircraft type ratings once an engineer is in post.
Both are further split by aircraft class, most commonly B1.1 for turbine (turbofan or turboprop) aeroplanes, and each requires its own dedicated set of modular exams and practical experience under Part-66. An engineer can hold B1 alone, B2 alone, or both, and dual-licensed engineers are consistently the highest earners in the trade because they can certify a wider range of work without needing a colleague to sign off the other half of a job. Employers actively encourage and often fully fund a B1 holder adding B2, or vice versa, for exactly this reason.
There's also a Category A licence, which sits below B1 and B2 and allows limited certification of simpler maintenance and inspection tasks rather than the full range of work, and a Category C licence for engineers certifying base maintenance on an organisational, rather than task-by-task, basis, which sits above B1 and B2 and is typically held by more senior engineers.
How to Become a Licensed Aircraft Engineer
Becoming a Licensed Aircraft Engineer involves a combination of structured technical training, examinations, practical aircraft maintenance experience and formal licensing. Most engineers enter through an employer-backed apprenticeship or cadetship before progressing towards their Part-66 licence and aircraft type approvals.
Start With an Apprenticeship or Cadetship
Many licensed engineers begin through a Level 3 Aircraft Maintenance Certifying Technician apprenticeship.
These programmes are usually delivered with an airline, MRO organisation or the armed forces and combine structured study with logged practical experience on real aircraft from the beginning.
Complete Your Part-66 Examinations
You will need to complete the modular examinations required for your chosen licence category.
These are typically delivered through a CAA-approved Part-147 training organisation, either as part of an apprenticeship or through further training afterwards.
Build and Record Practical Experience
The CAA requires a defined amount of hands-on aircraft maintenance experience before a licence can be issued.
This experience must be recorded and signed off by an appropriately authorised person, providing evidence that the required practical competencies have been completed.
Gain Your Licence and Type Rating
Once the examination and practical requirements have been completed, you can apply to the CAA for your Part-66 licence, currently charged at £455 per category.
After becoming licensed, you will normally complete a type rating for the aircraft operated by your employer.
This final stage, which is usually employer-funded, provides the specific approval needed to certify maintenance on that aircraft type.
Where Can Your Licence Take You?
Career progression does not end once you achieve your first B1 or B2 licence.
A typical pathway can involve gaining additional aircraft type ratings, followed by adding a second licence category so that a B1 engineer also becomes B2 licensed, or vice versa.
More experienced engineers may progress towards Category C, allowing them to take on broader base-maintenance certification responsibilities.
Further career progression can include roles such as:
- Maintenance Manager
- Quality Manager
- Base Maintenance Manager
These positions generally carry greater responsibility and higher earning potential than line engineering roles.
FAQS
Your Licensed Aircraft Engineer Questions Answered
Can I become a licensed aircraft engineer without an apprenticeship?
Yes. It is possible to study independently and self-fund the required training.
However, most engineers enter through an employer-supported apprenticeship or cadetship because of both the training costs and the amount of logged practical aircraft experience required to obtain the licence.
Which pays more, B1 or B2?
Neither B1 nor B2 consistently pays more on its own.
Salary is influenced more strongly by factors such as aircraft type, employer and whether the engineer holds both B1 and B2 categories.
Dual-licensed engineers generally command a premium over those holding only one category.
Is a Part-66 licence valid for life?
No. A UK Part-66 licence must be kept current through ongoing type-specific experience and periodic renewal requirements.
If licence privileges lapse, additional steps may be required before those privileges can be reactivated.
Do I need a degree to become a Licensed Aircraft Engineer?
No. The Part-66 route is primarily vocational and apprenticeship-led, so a university degree is not required.
Some engineers choose to undertake further academic study later in their careers when progressing towards management or other senior positions.
Explore Aerospace & Aviation Jobs
Salary figures are drawn from live vacancies advertised via Find a Job (DWP) and specialist aviation recruiters. Licence fee figures are taken from the UK Civil Aviation Authority's Scheme of Charges (Personnel Licensing), effective from April 2025, the most recent version published at the time of writing. All details correct as of October 2026.
For up to date salary and job information, speak to Mane Contract Services directly.