AirWillie

Is high pay with easy flying a myth or is it true when it comes to corp pilots? Do you have to have gray hair with decades of flying experience or is this type of flying achievable by say someone in the 30s. What are some good websites for corp/charter jobs?

FlyerJosh

Network network network. Unless you're one of the very few that just kind of lands into a job by being in the right place at the right time, you absolutely HAVE to know the right folks.

Don't know what you consider high pay or easy flying... I'm certainly not the highest paid corporate pilot... I figure that my annual salary (2nd year with this company) + bonuses and other benefits is equal to that of about a 5th year CRJ captain at a regional airline these days... (based on APC info and an 85 hr credit month).

But when you work out my salary based on hours flown and QOL if tops the charts. The highest current hourly pay rate I could find was $199/hr for a 12th year AA 777 Captain. Based on the numbers of hours flown last year and my straight salary, I was paid just over $250 per flight hour.

Looking back at the logbook and calendar, and accounting for office and airport days where I didn't fly, I worked 1 day for every two that I had off or sat at home on "reserve".

I'd call that high pay with easy flying for the type of work that I'm doing and QOL... I could go somewhere else (like NetJets) and probably double my salary in just a few years, but I'd much rather live a more modest life and have time to do the things I want to with my family.

aero550

Corporate flying cannot be labeled in any particular way. It just depends on the place you manage to end up. The possible combinations are: high pay/easy flying, low pay/easy flying, high pay/difficult flying, low pay/difficult flying. On top of that, everyone's definition of the terms are totally subjective - one person's "difficult" is another person's "challenging or enriching". For instance - I personally would not like extensive international flying. I consider it difficult and worrisome and have tried to direct my career to avoid it, even though that is generally where the biggest money is. However, some people love that kind of flying.

You really just have to research the market, determine where you believe would be a good fit for you, and then apply. And apply, and apply, and apply, and apply, and apply. Apply until they get tired of answering the security buzzer and hire you just to shut you up. It takes the persistance of a door to door salesman.

As to age, you're going to start at an entry level, time-building position like anybody else, such as night freight in a Baron or co-pilot on a King Air 90 at a charter company. Nobody is going to hire you right into a GV fresh out of flight school and instantly pay you the big money.

However, if you manage to get on with a corporate operator at a relatively young age, and show a great aptitude for all aspects of the job (and there are a TON of aspects to this job), you will move up, regardless of age. By the same token, if you manage to get the same job and have difficulty "getting it", you're going to stay in the right seat, or worse, for a long time.

bluebravo

I'm going to have to x2 everything these gentlemen have said. NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK.....Get a job pumping fuel at an FBO or something like that, collect cards and names, and keep pulling hours, one day all the really crappy work will pay off, but these days, there is no such thing as easy flying/big money.

FlyerJosh

One thing to make note of is that it can be extremely difficult to make the jump from an airline job to corporate or charter flying, particularly into a job that has good pay and QOL.

It's my experience that many departments tend to shy away from airline applicants due the attitude that seems all to common among these pilots of, "That's not my job."

In the corporate world, your job description often goes beyond simply flying the plane... Immediately behind safety comes customer service and efficiency. And I'm not talking about the customer service that is common to the airlines. I'm talking about the customer service that is expected when your passenger is the CEO or President of a multi-billion dollar international corporation. Private jets aren't cheap. They do afford a level of service and convenience to their owners/passengers that most folks can't even imagine.

As a result, the daily jobs of a corporate pilot differ (sometimes greatly) from that of an airline pilot. In addition to being paid to figure out solutions to problems and offer alternatives (such as "The weather at XYZ airport is bad... we can't go there, but we can get you to ABC which is an hour away... is this acceptable?"), we are also jacks of all trades.

In corporate you may be expected load luggage, carry catering, do paperwork, clean the plane, make coffee, get ice, park vehicles, whatever. Of course there are hopefully some limits (although for the right price even I might be inclined to pick up the dry cleaning or mow the boss' yard...)

Keep an open mind, be willing to make an "entry level" move to corporate or cargo that might open other doors, and remember to keep in touch with people that offer advice or assistance along the way! The very well might be able to land you a lead or a job.

AirWillie

FlyerJosh, you say you don't fly as much and get to spend time with family etc, but aren't you basically on call with the company 24/7?

FlyerJosh

Yes and no. In the time that I've been employed with the company, I've had only short call out (IE how soon can you get here?). That was due to an emergency situation that needed response as quickly as possible.

I've also had one departure from home bumped up 12 hours (from an early morning to the evening prior) due to forecast bad weather (snow) that was supposed to move it. I found out about that with about 4 hours of notice, but it had been discussed even prior to that.

Otherwise, the number of "pop-up" trips has been nil. For the record, I'm "on duty" and expected to be legal to fly with relatively short callout Monday-Friday from 7am till 5pm. There's no "callout" time per se, however I am required to live within about 45 miles of the airport (I live about 6 miles away), and if I get the call, I'll do my best to make it there in a reasonable amount of time (1 hr is my goal, but I don't hang around home all day like I'm on reserve).

We typically know about our schedules well in advance though (at least a week, but I already know dates for far away as Oct 2007). Weekends are considered "off" unless trips are previously arranged, and the number of weekend trips is very low... Last 12 months I've flown a total of 4 days, and had three more where I was gone for training events, for 7 total weekend days or (minor) holidays worked.

Overall though, I'd say that my job and the QOL that comes with it is probably not the norm... It's nice to have executives that need to have the plane, but don't like to travel a lot or spend many nights on the road...

aero550

My job is very similar to Josh's, except that I fly more like 350 hours per year, on average. I fly very few weekends and absolutely no holiday flying where I'm at. The key is to get with a company that only uses the airplane for business. Strictly business operations tend to not fly holidays. I also know my schedule generally one to two weeks out and can only recall 2 short notice pop-up trips in 9 years. These were also emergencies, and I was glad to help out. One was a company emergency and the other was an employee's family member medical emergency. They treat me very well, and I'm quite willing to help out where I can. Yes, I'm technically "on call", but my company doesn't abuse that fact in the least.

There are a lot of operations out there that are owner centric or family owned situations and that is a whole different animal. They do lots of holiday and weekend flying, and a lot of short notice "on a whim" type trips, but the upside to this is they are more likely to go to resort destinations and maybe allow you to bring your significant other along with you if space is available. Depends on what type of person you are as to how you cope with certain operations.

And as Josh alluded to, there are many other responsibilities that come with these jobs. Where I am, these responsibilities are strictly aircraft related, but can eat up a lot of ground time just the same. It's managable, though, and is actually good experience that can lead to things down the road. I am basically managing the aircraft and this entails needing to be knowledgeable about a lot of aspects. It's very satisfying to have this much control over the operation, though.