Hi everyone, I am looking at possibly proceeding in the direction of corporate flying as opposed to Airline pilot. I have investigated all the aspects of the commercial airline industry and have decided that is not a direction that would be smart for me to go. Mainly because of the low pay at first, job security, exhausting travel schedules, and bad management. Several pilots I have talked to tell me that if I truly have a love for flying(which I do), that I should consider the corporate route. The company I work for has a fleet of Citation Encores, many of which I have traveled on several times. I believe that a corporate route is something I would enjoy, not as much as commercial airlines but still....it's flying.

I would like to get tips from some of the regulars to this forum. That being said.....some things I will state that I am already aware of: corporate jobs are hard to land, and it's about who you know & being in the right place at the right time, often times at first the pay is still low, and the job security is can be bad, in several cases you have to start out with a company flying a prop, and then transition into turbine, your a slave to the pager, and you also don't fly nearly as much because the job duties are much move involved that just showing up and flying, you also have more responsibility & oversight of the companies plane(s).

Currently I'm in I.T., good pay, good company, good job security, but I dislike it very much. My passion has always been for the sky, ever since I took that first baby step as a passenger on an Eastern Airlines DC-9 at MCI airport....I was hooked!! Any ideas my good fellows? I am up for it!

 

Regardless of what you hear both are difficult roads. Your 1st airline gig will almost certainly be at a regional and yes pay & work rules suck. I'm not trying to compare JetBlue to WN or FDX but comparing my QOL, pay, work rules etc. to my previous life (large regional) is a NIGHT & DAY difference. I worked WAY less at the bottom of the reserve list here than in my best month at my regional. Bottom line, life at a regional IS NOT the end all there's much better out there. Obviously you'd have to put your time in to make it to a major where life is decidedly much better. In some ways (judging by what my corp buddies say) the corporate route is much the same. Unless you land your 1st job at say "premier corporate job company" flying a Citation X you're going to have to scratch your way in somewhere at the bottom and network your way up. Even the best corp flight departments get shut down and your on the street. From friends' of mine experiences, you'll have to do quite a bit of job hopping/networking on the corp route. I dare say much more than if you went the airline route. As you said, many corp jobs involve much more than just flying and some involve (read bottom-end jobs) you sitting pretty in the right seat punching numbers for the CA doing very little actual flying. Or updating the bosses Jepps, etc, etc...but some I'm sure are great gigs, no commuting, home every night sort of deals. For me the airline route is the only way to go...show up, fly, go home end of story. But to each his own, good luck, either way its a long row to hoe!

 

Another route that would probably appeal to you is the fractional world. You don't have to do the non-flying duties that you would at a regular corporate job (such as office stuff), but you also don't have the mundane day to day same airport world of the airlines. I have done the large regional and now the large fractional and I have to say that I love the fractional world. some people will say that you have to kiss some rich persons butt in the back but I haven't seen that. I am polite to them and 99% are polite back. After the leave, I straighten the cabin and pick up the trash. Of course, I also did this at the regional to help out the FA's.

What you haven't said yet is how far along you are in your flying career. If you are just starting out I think you will be in a good place. By the time you get your ratings and the necessary hours, most of the industry should be on a rebound with many of them hiring.

Good luck on whatever you decide.

 

I forgot to mention fractionals, the things about fractionals is that I am not rich. Nor am I a gambler, how does one invest multi-hundred thousand dollars into a percentage of an aircraft and see fruition?

Currently I am at 0 hours, and I believe that if I were to finish up training, get my ratings, go onto instructing for a while....hopefully the economy, including the pilot sector will be much more secure and on a total rebound, but who's to say.

Since you're into fractions....how do you land those gigs? What is the best way for getting into the corporate routes? Obviously it's not as easy as it is going to a regional with 1000 TT, with the regionals, you walk in, hop on the flight simulator and do a Cat2 approach, and if you pass or do better than the other pilot that's applying.......done, and you get the job. Corporate world???? I don't know.....is it really more "hey, my companies looking for a pilot or two, why don't you give my chief a call?"

 

don't get me wrong, I'm an airline junkie, but when you take into account QOL, no social life, weekends, holidays from home....virtually 1/2 your life on the road, even more than that if your reserve, having to commute or relocate to a hub in order to not have to commute, then you add in low pay, constant fear of furlough, hoping and praying for the day you build enough senority to upgrade to CAP, only do that long enough to go onto a major and go through the same process all over again. Only difference, at the major, you're flying medium body carriers, and the FO pay is much better. It's not glamorous at all, and it seems like you really do have to be willing to sign your life away for a large fraction of your life.

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but since your just starting out what you describe is the life of a pilot...airline or not. In 8 years of being a professional pilot I've never missed a Thanksgiving or Christmas...lets hope my luck continues! At most fractionals you are on duty 7 days then off 7 days so you've got to hit it just right to be off for every holiday.

 

Apparently I have been talking to the bitter regional pilots, because some of those guys are nothing but doom and gloom about the regionals. I can live with a few years of low pay as a F/O, but my impression was that until you build senority at an airline, you have to work a butt-load of weekends and holidays. True or not true? I've heard of FO's at Eagle that have been in the right seat for over five years and are still waiting to upgrade to Captain. Perhaps it's just an industry where you have some that have a bad run and some that don't.

Who do you work for cgtpilot? How did you get to where you're at?

 

I believe this industry is all about timing. If you get your ratings and experience at the right time you could be on the front of a hiring boom, but if you are off then you will be on the end of that boom and could possibly be on reserve for many years waiting for an upgrade.

As far as getting on at the fractionals it is very similar to the majors. I personally did 9 looonnnggg years at Comair. Then I went to NJA. I have taken a definate step up. Minimums are 2500 hours. When I got hired it was higher than that to be competitive, but that all goes back to your timing and where we are on the cycle that this industry is in. Again, good luck. Everyone has a different idea of what is good for them.

 

As a rule of thumb, if you're junior expect to work weekends/holidays. If your airline has trip a trade/drop setup it can be done though. Never missed a holiday....yet. At Eagle try more like 10 years...been there and done that.

My route was CFI, Part 135 charter, regional, and finally landed at the big Blue (the one with TVs in the seats) which will be the last stop on my train. 11 years to get to where I'm at and that was during a mostly positive hiring scenario except for 9/11 of course. It can probably be done in less but not much less unless you're very, very lucky. A good friend of mine is at NetJets and he would give you the same story. NetJets would be a great goal but it won't happen overnight if you're into the fractional thing. Best advice, start networking, get your CFI and be very, very patient. And DO NOT leave a good paying job until you've got all your ducks in a row with a BIG savings account!

 

there are MAJOR FO's who have been in the right seat going on 20 years at companies like AA and USAir. Not to mention how deep some of the current furloughs go at UAL, AA and others. Being a corporate pilot will certainly NOT insure you are home for holidays... and other special days. Certainly the life of an Airline pilot, Fractional Pilot, and pure corporate pilot are different.... but in many ways they are same.