The decision to become a pilot in corporate aviation would be flying aircraft with companies for the transport of passengers or goods for business purposes, while the aircraft used in corporate aviation are generally not available for public hire. Corporate aviation companies use various types of aircraft which employs the use of company-owned aircraft, air-taxi operations and time-share ownership of aircraft. The aircraft are often equipped with special amenities to meet of business executives. Pilots of corporate aircraft usually have a commercial pilot license with an instrument rating. Robert Mark mentions in an article "A decade ago, a pilot considering a corporate flying job was assumed to be biding his time until that dream airline job came along" he goes on to mention that "Today, thousands of professional pilots have learned that corporate aviation has evolved into a worthy alternative to airline flying. As a career, corporate aviation - also called business aviation - offers aviators a number of opportunities that are not available to airline pilots. Business aviation pilots often fly the newest jets wearing attractive names like Gulfstream, Learjet, Citation, and Global Express. In addition to carrying the most sophisticated on-board avionics and airline-like safety equipment in the cockpit, business airplanes are now capable of traveling internationally. A Bombardier Global Express captured a world record when it easily made the leap from Chicago to Paris nonstop with a half dozen passengers aboard" (Mark, n.d.).
A career goal in the airlines will typically start out with flight instructing until the pilot has enough flight hours to be considered by a regional airline. Flying with a good regional airline, in an Embraer E-175 or E190, may be the extent of their personal pilot career goal and in some cases a regional airline career can be satisfying. However, most pilots would prefer to fly for one of the major airlines as the quality of life has a tendency to be better than in the regional airlines. Pilots who earn a living at the "majors", such as United, American, Delta, and Federal Express, fly large jet equipment such as Boeing's 737, 757, and 777. The average salary for a major airline pilot is in the $100,000 range, with senior captains flying mega-size airplanes (i.e., Boeing 747/400) earning up to $200,00 annually" (AOPA n.d.).
Corporate aviation departments, also called Business Aviation, has been established for a long time and in today's global economy it has become a necessity. The old saying, "time is money" is what companies are interested in, along a better quality of life for their employees. There isn't any logic with increasing an executives time on the road waiting for delayed or cancelled flights with additional costs that goes with commercial air travel, including airfares, overnight expenses, car rentals etc. Its more cost effective to have their employees working and will increase time home with their family. Business aviation has simply become a way of life for the successful, thriving businesses of today," Showalter says, "From the boardroom to the accounting department, it's the most efficient business travel alternative available" (Donnelly, 2012).
Flagship Private Air LLC, established in 2007 and located at Willow Run airport has a fleet of one aircraft, CE-650 III ( Citation III). They have 5 full time pilots with 4 part time pilots and are licensed to fly CA, CB, CN, MX, SA, US, AK, HI. Tim Patton started Flagship Private Air to make the most of his other company's plane, Domino's Farms-based Patton Holdings.
References
AOPA. (n.d.). Let's go flying. Career options. Retrieved from http://www.aopa.org/letsgoflying/dream/whyfly/careers.html
Donnelly, B. (2012, August 6). Forbes. Business aviation: The unfair advantage. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/businessaviation/2012/08/06/business-aviation-the-unfair-advantage/
Mark, R. (n.d.). FAPA.aero. Pilot Education. Becoming a corporate pilot. Retrieved from http://fapa.aero/becoming-a-corporate-pilot.asp
I think one of the more attractive things about flying for corporate aviation is that you can jump right into it after a few years of flight instructing as opposed to years of paying dues at the regional airlines to get to the majors. While most all pilots work for the love of flight first and salary second no one enjoys being paid poverty level wages.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely, lower flight time minimums for entry level in corporate aviation is at the top of my list of reasons to why I'm interested in this industry
DeleteCorporate aviations does seem very attractive, especially because you have the opportunity to jump in without "paying dues" as much. With the right connections and networking, it could be a great way to go.
DeleteIt would be interesting to see the reason why more pilots, specifically regional pilots, don't consider corporate aviation more than the airlines. If anything, I would guess 1) your aspect on how it's very network-driven, so you may have to know people to get into that field, 2) if that particular company-base is even hiring, and 3) pilots would have to be willing to move where the base is because of the short notice times before flight.
ReplyDeleteRecent discussions with seasoned pilots I have found out that corporate aviation is not always a secure position. Im not sure if these are opinions from personal experiences or business aviation industry wide. Maybe the majority of pilots look at the airlines as inclined to have more job security than in the corporate aviation industry
DeleteTim is correct in that many corporate aviation departments are not very stable and are the first thing to go if the company has down times. There is also the problem of corporate pilot salaries top out much lower than that of the airlines but lets be honest both pilots can easily make well into the 6 figures and live very comfortably
DeleteI am finding an increasing amount of blogs stating that business can save money by using their own aviation department. I expect that in the future these pilots jobs will become more lucrative as more businesses demand their own aviation departments.
ReplyDeleteIf a majority of businesses successfully cut cost by developing their own corporate aviation department I would think that charter companies will get more competitive with cost but the time will still be a factor. I agree that businesses will continue to have a demand in this area
DeleteWhat do you think about the type of schedule a corporate pilot would work versus the airlines? I believe that more time at home would be one of the major perks of corporate aviation.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the airlines would have a more predictable schedule as they have more scheduled flights. Corporate aviation schedules would depend on the business or charter company as to how you would be scheduled. I presume some pilot business aviation positions would be more flexible than others.
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