Corporate vs. Airline
 

This post is not intended to be a fighting match. Simply put, tell me why i would pick one over the other. Why Corporate vs. Airline? Why is it better? What are the positives and perks of the corporate gig.

And the airline....tell me why the airline is better than corporate? What are the perks and reasons to go to the airlines?

Thanks in advance!!

Generally...

Essentially all corporate gigs have one or more serious drawbacks relative to airlines...

- Arbitrary management (which can change suddenly).
- Low pay, relative to major airlines. Private operators are only willing to pay a pilot so much, but airline unions extract a percentage of the revenue and a widebody can generate a whole lot of revenue.
- Poor work rules. Sometimes on call 24/7 for short notice, ie can't be too far away or drink alcohol... EVER. You may to to make coffee and clean the toilet. You may have to do non-pilot work on non-flying days (some rich guys don't like paying pilots to sit around at home).
- Poor safety standards and/or maintenance. In some cases it's about money, in other cases the boss (typically non-pilot rich guy) is in charge and makes the go/no-go decision. Don't like it? Find a new job.
- Low job security. Economic downturns, business problems, family personality issues, all of these can cause the jet to go away with little or no notice. The jet is always the first thing to go...

Even if you find the perfect (ie ""unicorn") corporate gig, that last issue is always present. If you lose a job, it typically takes a while to find another one, and you're going to have to move (can't commute like airline guys).

There are pros to corporate flying, but they vary with the individual gig. Typically home most nights, much less actual flying, and you get to bank points for things like hotels and rental cars. Overnight accommodations are "usually" going to better than regional airlines.

Bottom line, due to the high demand signal at the majors, increasing pay, and forecast rapid seniority movement many corporate pilots are moving to majors right now.

Now if the question is what's the best stepping stone to the majors, regional or corporate, then the answer is almost certainly regionals. You'll get 121 time, more of it and faster.

It’s a very rare pilot who aspires to be a corporate pilot, we all want(ed) to at an airline, preferably at what is termed “legacy”. Life interferes with those plans—energy crunches, recessions, marriage(s), furloughs, and plain old “I didn’t get an interview or get an offer”. All these outcomes and more have made great pilots wind up in a corporate jet.

It can be a great job, interesting flying, good pay which will lag airlines, challenges and opportunities for leadership. I retired my last job with a pension and healthy (7 figure 401k). It was great fun, loved being chief pilot and line crew dog. I worked with a great group of people, much more personal rewards that being a number on th3 list. Safety isn’t an issue—professionally flown corporate jets, not charter, are as safe as any flying. One advantage, lose your gig, you can start again as a captain with similar compensation often. Not always.

Lastly, for me a tediophobe, the never-ending challenges were worth a lot just for entertainment. But, not many pilots enjoy finding out tomorrow you’re going to South Africa, then Dubai to airline home.

GF

https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-n...-favor-charter

GE reducing it's flight department. 7(?) jets and two helicopters reducing to 1 jet and two helicopters.

Yep, pretty much sums it up when I flew corporate. I absolutely hated not having a schedule, always on call 24/7. We couldn't do anything as a family like road trips, etc because we had to be close to the airport. Once I'm ready to get back onto aviation I definitely want to try the Airlines. At least I'll know my schedule in advance and will be able to plan accordingly.

Most "fractional" or time share operations are run like airlines....
Just with higher $$$ customers in a private plane.
Pure corporate is getting more rare....many are run 135 to allow them to charter the plane to reduce the $$$ and recoup some of the expenses.
Much of the negatives posted are true, but many become a moot point if you fly for a fractional....think of flying for a fractional as flying a jet, but with rental cars, and VIP terminals...trusted customers, so you are not locked in a cockpit for hours.
The name if this site tells you the typical user here....but there is more to aviation than the airlines.
Fractional tends to operate a set schedule...
Many 7/7 or 8/6....
$$$ is pretty good, but the typical quality of life tends to keep most folks in it....some seniority at companies, but progression is often more based on both merit and company need, similar to cargo operations, another option.

My previous comments were regarding 91/135, not in reference to fractionals at all... they are more of an airline/corporate hybrid from the pilot perspective (with a hybrid mix of pros and cons as well).

Pay-wise, after ten years at SKW I made a bit more than equivalent fractional captains, but had less schedule predictability. Probably worked more the last couple years too, as the pilot shortage snowballed into staffing pressure at the regionals. Not sure how often (or if) fractional pilots get worked on their seven days off.

If you're set on fractionals, then 91/135 is probably the way to build experience, fractionals tend to hire more of those people than regional pilots. Corporate aviation in general tends to look down on airline pilots, considering them lazy because they're not used to doing flight plans, servicing galleys, toilets, schoozing pax, etc.

Speaking in comparison with fractional what about befits other than direct pay and schedule? Cheap travel seems to be appealing to a guy with a young family like myself. Commercial seems to be the best choice for those entering the regional in their twenties but what about someone in their mid 30s? Is it worth it to grind through the regionals for a few years and get kicked to the bottom again in your early 40s at an airline? Is there likely a faster route to the top in the fractional world because pilots are getting absorbed into the airlines? Thanks in advance for any insight.