G450/550 Type and Pay
 

For those experienced corporate guys out there, I have the opportunity to fly a G450 or G550 as a Captain overseas but the pay seems like it's on the low side possibly due to the fact that the company will pay to type me.

Question 1 - What is a G450/550 type rating cost/worth?

Question 2 - What is a typical salary for a G450/G550 Captain?

Question 3 - How marketable would I be in the U.S. later with the rating and time in type and how much time would I need? I have plenty of PIC experience but it's all airline to date.

Sounds like an odd deal...do they require some kind of long contract? are you on the line for the cost of training if they disappear in 2 months? There are always a million things wrong with these quirky overseas deals...be careful!

What is the type rating worth? I never found any type ratings to be worth a whole lot really...its all good experience and will build connections, friends....but the value upon return and looking for work? Places that strictly care about the type rating and time in type usually suck to work for. Being rated and having strong Intl corp experience will certainly help, just not as much as one thinks. Your real connections and friends will help FAR more - and not people on the pilot internet web boards. Most of the job info taken from these is usually pretty inaccurate, save your $10 a year.

Salary? - huge range. I know G450 pilots who make 85K, I know ones that make 250K. Most G5/Global/etc type pilots around me are in the 150K range, give or take bonuses..

How marketable would you be? I guess that all depends on the market! Right now - not very marketable..there is a real odd perception out there that type ratings make you marketable. Its just not true for the most part.

IMHO there has never really been a shortage of "typed/current" pilots in any aircraft (except for the lowest of jobs)...what there is ALWAYS a shortage of is stable/local/experienced/qualified/highly recommended pilots. This I have seen first hand over the last few years. I have seen equally qualified Gulf/Glex pilots laid off from the same job...one gets a great job 24hrs later, the other 12+months later and cant get anything but overseas part-time contracts...so again, dont think any rating makes you marketable.

Good Luck with the gig!

The G550 type is on average about 50k. When you say overseas is it a rotational deal ie 6 weeks on 6 weeks off or are you relocating over there. If you are moving you need to take into consideration that you are not paying us taxes which is huge obviously. Is there other compensation you are being offered like housing, car, travel back home. All things considered and no type rating or time in type I would imagine starting between 110 and 120 is reasonable to start but an experienced GV guy (500-1000 hours in type) should be approaching 150. Contract GV captains in the US go for around $1500 a day if you come back and can't find a full time gig.

Give CAE Simuflight a call, they recently quoted me a 550 type for 39k.
For a guy with no experience in type 110 -120 is very reasonable, when times where good that was closer to 130-140 but the downturn in the economy lowered that.
Good Luck

Wow 39k? Its come down quite a bit I guess. They must be struggling to fill those slots down there. Personally I think thats still a lot for a type in any a/c but its better than 50-55.

The fact that the company is willing to pay for the type suggests they are a cut above many, if not most. As others have noted, the type is not cheap. So the real questions then become pay and the working conditions (location, hours, etc)

Thanks for the replies so far gentleman (or ladies).

The job is in Asia. I'd have to live there but I already do flying for a Chinese airline so that's not an issue.

I'd be on the hook for the type pro-rated if I left w/in 24 months.

The company seems reputable. They've been around for awhile, are growing and I have a friend flying the G150 for them as an FO.

I'd love to get out of the airline business. The pay is less than I'm making now...it's around 125K plus perdiems, but I'm trying to decide if the 30K pay cut would be worth it in the long run. Decisions, decisions.....

Any more thoughts?

Here's my advice:

Get the G450/550 type rating. Get 2 years of experience with this operator flying throughout Asia. Return to the US (after some networking) and find a quality Part 91 G450/550 job with the great international experience you have accrued on the aircraft. Simple as that.

If it were only "simple" to find a quality 91 job in the US with only two years of overseas corporate experience and little/no networking...

No kidding!

There's a great shortage of type rated Gulfstream guys with a few years of Intl experience....

;)

All your replies are much appreciated. I know it wouldn't be simple breaking into corporate aviation when I returned which is why I'm debating back and forth so much. I have a good job now which is better than a lot of pilots can say right now. Sometimes I think I'm selfish for trying to better myself and get what I want. Is that strange???

Options
 

My best recommendation is stay where you are at if you're pulling down 150K or even near it and it's a fair job or better. I know more GV/GIV rated folks with great experience that are out of work than I know that have jobs.

As for international experience ... GIV/GV rating = international experience. I don't know a single guy/gal with significant time in these types that don't have lots of international time and are not completely capable of going anywhere in the world on a moment's notice.

With only an airline background, if you spend a couple of years in Asia on a GIV/GV/G450/G550 and return to the U.S. you will still be significantly "out classed" by bunches of folks I know who are out of work, highly qualified and hungry.

Now if you have an "in" that's another thing ... but absent that ... stay put.

TransMach

If I had the opportunity that you do I would jump on it in a second. You will most likely cut your flying time in half for a small pay cut which means more time for yourself. Plus you'll probably eat better :) I think everyone on here can agree that time off is invaluable. As for being marketable I think you would have a pretty good chance of finding a job in a few years if you wanted to leave the Asia gig. Gulfstream has been spitting these planes out at a rate of 60-70 planes a year for quite some time so the planes are out there once you start to network.

If thats selfish then we are all guilty. At the end of the day the only person who is really going to watch out for you and your ultimate best interests....is you. I think it would be unwise to let this opportunity pass and you if dont take it the next guy will.

Back in January NJI furloughed 30 G-V type rated guys, some of those guys came from UA, AA, CO, Polar Air cargo, etc. They already had lots of international experience prior to NJI.. .. most of those guys are still looking, times have changed my friend... I'm not saying it can't be done, but I'd certainly come up with a plan B...

But I do see your point, the G450/550 type is in mine opinion the best type-rating in the industry.... I'd get the type and wait for the market to recover

as far as G-V captain pay I remember reading average pay is around a buck forty, maybe $145K... high pay can probably as high as $160K, maybe?

Hey Oceanicpilot is it this company???

Photos: Gulfstream Aerospace G-V-SP Gulfstream G550 Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net

if you don't wanna tell me just ignore my post, no worries man

I agree with your plan b. However having recently interviewed pilots for a G450 position I can say that there aren't alot of current and qualified guys on this type. GIV guys are a dime a dozen but the 450/550 guys are much harder to find. I agree times have changed but times are changing. Every day I hear of new deliveries of aircraft most of what I am hearing are G450 spots in vny/lgb/sna/bur area.

Is it safe to say that pay for a Global Express captain is pretty close to that of a GV/ G550?

For the most part, but again that mostly depends on the company as well as bonuses. I know for a fact the company I used to work for, the GV guys made less than the GLEX crew.

Depends....I know Midwest based G550 fortune 500 experienced "Senior International Captains" who make 110-130k but are all giddy because, well, it's a G550!

Most flex guys I know are 150-160k.

In reality I would say it's department specific, but those gulfy gurus will do anything to fly their beloved grummans.

UCLA....Nope, but nice picture. :)

Any recent info on what price might be, seems like all of the training places are very busy with Gulfstream training for G3 all the way up.

JG

Hard to ballpark because basically every rate is negotiable.

Yea, I hear ya! Thanks for the reply.

JG

I was in Dallas recently for G4 recurrent at Simuflite and the place was absolutely packed.