Do people aspire to be corporate pilots?

[jpilot77]

Corporate is not a single type of flying, you always hear about the guys who only fly a couple times a month and log 200 - 250 hours a year. I did 700 hours last year and our schedule is two weeks on a week off. I average 10 - 14 days flying per two week rotation. And this is on a private corporate aircraft. So not every corporate job is the same.

[goingnowherefast]

I never really aspired to be a corporate pilot, just sorta happened. Right place, right time (or was it wrong place wrong time). Some of the experiences on here are vastly different than mine. Aircraft mis-management is a better term for my experience in the corporate world. I could write a novel about all the disasters between the customer and the management company. Somehow I ended up the liaison for many aspects, which sucked because the mentality was often "shoot the messenger". Maybe I'm just no good at bullshitting, detecting loaded questions and playing politics. I just tried to be honest and provide good customer service. Pay wasn't bad, schedule was alright, but the work environment was about as toxic as Reactor 4 at Chernobyl.

I did apply for a few Citation/King Air jobs at different management companies, but no luck. I'm back in the 703 world now and loving it, doing mostly charters for government workers. Not really sure what the career goals are yet. I haven't given up on corporate, and I haven't ruled out airlines. I'm happy doing what I'm doing for now and we will see who offers a good schedule, salary and working environment in the future.

[NovaBoy]

I figure I'll throw my 2 cents in here. I came up through the Lab Air, Air Nova, Jazz, then Westjet. I was pretty fortunate in my career to get upgraded fast, and hold on to my left seat. If I had stayed at Jazz I'd have in 18 years, Westjet 11 years. So I would have been sitting pretty regardless of my decision to leave the airline world. However after 9/11 the airline industry went downhill in a big way.

I'm not sure if I became bored with the airlines, or I longed for the old Air Nova days. Doesn't matter either way.

The right opportunity came along in 2005, and I left Westjet for the corporate world and haven't looked back. I was lucky and ended up with one of the oldest flight departments in Canada, great bunch of guys and great equipment. I fly about 250-300hrs a year, and every year the sked, keeps getting better and better.

It is not for everyone, We've gone through our fair share of pilots, they look at what we fly and the salary, but then realize that the lifestyle is not for everyone. There's no dispatch, so anything from 1 day trips to 2 week trips we have to deal with, flt planning, customs, rental cars, hotels, pax transport, catering etc is up to us. Oh and once you have all that set up, they go and change the sked. It's a pain in the arse sometimes, however we have ultimate control on what hotels we stay in and what we drive for a rental car. Can you say Marriott and Hertz points.

If your the type of person that likes to disappear on your down days, it will probably not work. I have a lot of days off, I just don't know it until the day is over. Which, for me is fine, I still go out and do things I want to do, I just don't venture too far from home. I do get a one week off a month and 6 weeks vacation.

For example in January I worked 4 days (not that anyone wants all that time off in January), this month I was gone for 12 days straight. My wife says I can be home for 3 weeks straight, but the one day she needs me home, I'm at work.

What I like best is the diversity of flying, one day I can be at an airstrip in woods, next week Europe, or LAX.

I've seen parts of the world I'd never have seen with Westjet or Jazz. Europe, the Caribbean, oddball places in Canada and the US. You get more freebies in the corporate world too, I've been to hockey, baseball, NASCAR, numerous free dinners by aircraft sales reps, FlightSafety reps, etc. 7 day layovers in FLL, 4 day layovers in SJU.

I've also spent hours, and hours sitting around airport FBO's and terminals in some god forsaken places. 45mins of flying and a 14hr duty day. I always say I get paid to wait and the flying is a bonus. As long as the pluses outnumber the minus's it's all good.

If you are thinking of going the corporate route, now is the time. Most of the good flight departments in Canada have guys in their late 50's and 60's, and the retirements are starting now. McCain's chief pilot is retiring in August, so if you want a good job in Florenceville, NB, dust off the resume.

That's my story, to sum it up, if you can roll with the punches, think on your feet, and get along well with others, corporate is great gig.

Plus corporate jets are way cooler than airliners. Better avionics and they perform better too.

[tenaciousleigh]

Corporate aviation isn't for everyone. I will say, I wouldn't want to do anything else.

I had left flying corporate to fly some big iron and left to return to corporate flying. Way more diversity in my destinations, great hotels, don't have to eat at Burger King because the per diems suck.

The schedule can be all over the place, but I am home more than I am working.

All in all, I don't see why anyone wouldn't want to fly corporate.

Oh and for those folks that ask how big the plane you fly is? Best thing to say is "I fly a private jet".