Helicopter Pilot Jobs in Texas (2026): Who’s Hiring, Pay by Town and Hour Minimums

Who’s hiring helicopter pilots in Texas

We pulled every pilot posting from the job boards of the big air medical operators and kept the full-time helicopter roles located in Texas. Counts are as of Oct 31, 2026 and change daily.

Employer	Texas postings	Towns	Posted base pay	Bonuses
Med-Trans (GMR) (Global Medical Response careers)	12	Fort Stockton, Lubbock, Odessa, Pampa, Pecos, Plainview, Seminole, Childress, Amarillo, Denton (3 float)	$102,072–$137,789	$15K sign-on and $40,000 retention after 3 years on most
Air Evac Lifeteam (GMR) (Global Medical Response careers)	9 full-time, plus 1 part-time	Big Spring, Beaumont, Jasper, Fairfield, Wichita Falls, San Antonio, Abilene, Denison, Mineral Wells (supervisor); part-time Pearsall	$88,759–$126,926	$15K sign-on and $40,000 retention after 3 years on most
PHI Health (PHI Health careers (Workday))	7	Mt. Pleasant (2), Columbus, Richmond, Bay City (2), Burleson (IFR check airman)	Not published	Sign-on up to $50,000 (Mt. Pleasant, Columbus, Burleson) or up to $100,000 (Richmond, Bay City)
Air Methods (Air Methods job postings)	4	El Paso, Lockhart, Snyder, regional relief (Texas Central-time homebase)	$82,900–$93,251 (El Paso, Air Methods posting 10684 (El Paso, TX)); others not listed	Not listed on these postings

Not counted: GMR’s six Texas fixed-wing pilot postings, a GMR SkillBridge internship (active-duty only) and the part-time Pearsall role, which posts $45,710–$50,282 (Global Medical Response careers).

Texas helicopter pilot pay by town

GMR builds a geographic modifier into its posted ranges, so remote bases pay more. Big Spring carries a 30% modifier and Beaumont and Jasper 25%, while San Antonio is 5% and Abilene 3% (Global Medical Response careers). The seven West Texas and Panhandle Med-Trans bases all post $125,260–$137,789, the highest in the state. The lowest full-time range, $88,759–$97,635, is Air Evac in Denison and the Mineral Wells base supervisor role.

PHI Health: big sign-on bonuses, no posted salary

All seven PHI Health Texas postings are 7-on/7-off. The VFR roles fly the Bell 407 with NVGs, but PHI still requires a helicopter instrument rating (PHI posting REQ002060 (Richmond, TX)). Richmond and Bay City list sign-on bonuses up to $100,000; the Bay City travel pilot role adds a $20,000 annual travel stipend and off-duty housing. Mt. Pleasant, Columbus and the Burleson IFR check airman list up to $50,000 (PHI Health careers (Workday)). PHI asks for a 1-year service commitment if you need a transition and 2 years if you use relocation. PHI says it operates 213 aircraft and its pilots average 10 years with the company (PHI home page).

Hour minimums

Employer	Published pilot minimums
PHI Health (PHI posting REQ002060 (Richmond, TX))	Commercial and helicopter instrument ratings; 1st-class medical; 2,000 TT; 1,500 helicopter; 1,000 helicopter PIC; 500 turbine helicopter; 100 unaided night (or 50 unaided plus 100 NVG); 235 lb weight limit
GMR (Med-Trans, Air Evac) (Global Medical Response careers)	Commercial rotorcraft; helicopter instrument rating; 2,000 TT; 1,500 helicopter; 1,000 helicopter PIC; 500 turbine helicopter; night experience. See the HEMS guide for the full list.
CareFlite (CareFlite air ambulance page)	2,500 hours prior flight experience and an ATP certificate
Bristow, Gulf offshore captain (Bristow posting R-0005633-1)	Part 135.243 minimums; 1st-class medical; commercial with helicopter instrument; 1,500 helicopter PIC; 100 helicopter hours in the last 12 months

Under 1,500 hours? Most Texas helicopter pilots build time instructing. See how to become a helicopter pilot and the Texas helicopter schools below.

Helicopter pilot jobs in Dallas–Fort Worth

• CareFlite (Irving) flies two Bell 429s, five Bell 407GXs and a Bell 407GXi from Fort Worth, Dallas, Granbury, Terrell, Gainesville, Whitney and Burnet, and has ten proprietary instrument approaches to DFW hospital helipads (CareFlite air ambulance page). Its job board isn’t visible on its site, so we couldn’t confirm open pilot roles.
• Med-Trans float pilots, Denton: three postings at $102,072–$112,280 (Global Medical Response careers).
• Air Evac Lifeteam: Denison ($88,759–$97,635) and a Mineral Wells base supervisor (Global Medical Response careers).
• PHI Health IFR check airman, Burleson: sign-on up to $50,000; needs 75 hours of instrument time and 2 years as a check airman (PHI Health careers (Workday)).
• Training: Helicopter Institute (Fort Worth) and US Aviation Academy (Denton). See every DFW flight school.

Offshore and government flying

Bristow is headquartered in Houston, but on Oct 31, 2026 its job board had no Texas pilot postings; its Gulf offshore captain role is based in Louisiana and runs 5-on/2-off (Bristow posting R-0005633-1). PHI Aviation also hires offshore captains for the Gulf (PHI Aviation careers (Workday)). CBP Air and Marine Operations flies from El Paso, Laredo, McAllen, Uvalde, Alpine, Corpus Christi and San Angelo (CBP AMO operating locations).

What we couldn’t verify

PHI, CareFlite and Bristow don’t publish pilot base pay. Air Methods didn’t list pay on its Snyder, Lockhart and regional relief postings. Texas tour, utility, news and law-enforcement helicopter operators mostly don’t post jobs publicly, so they aren’t counted here. Know an employer we missed? Tell us.

Next steps

Browse every Texas aviation employer and school, compare all helicopter operators, and see national numbers in HEMS pilot jobs and helicopter pilot salary.