Pilots Getting a Tip

[AngelsSang]

Hi, putting this in the general area, instead of under helicopters, hoping more will see it, the helicopter section is very slow.

So hypothetically lets say, your pilot gets a cash tip, or maybe you were flying, and it was you that got a nice cash tip. Do you have any company protocols in place, or how do you handle it? Do you share it with other staff, stick it in your pocket and forget it, or? Any and all input would be appreciated.

[AirFrame]

What tip? I didn't see anyone get a tip...

[Otto Pilot]

We are suppose to give it to the managers and Cp's.
I'm actually surprised they haven't put something to make that happen. But in all seriousness if you were flying put it in your pocket. Divide it up with other crew members if they did not receive anything. That is what I would do.

[TalkingPie]

If, as service director/flight attendant on 705 I received the occasional tip, I would share it among the cabin crew. I admit it didn't even occur to me to include the pilots, nor would I expect them to share any extra money they came into. I would expect them to share it amongst themselves.

The official company line is that we don't accept tips, but usually once a passenger decides to give one it isn't easy to talk them out of it.

[Bede]

Once I took an FA out to dinner with the $50 I got. Good old days.

[P180]

For the wages some companies pay put it in your pocket say thank you and run.

[Inverted2]

Once I took an FA out to dinner with the $50 I got. Good old days.

Did you get something in return?

[shimmydampner]

Jesus christ

[Bede]

Once I took an FA out to dinner with the $50 I got. Good old days.

Did you get something in return?

Lol. No. We're both married.

[AviatorFred]

An acquaintance of mine flying skydivers in Miami said that the jumpers would receive tips and that they would spill it between the jumpers and pilot. Only after he threatened to make it a bumpy ride if they didn't haha I guess that's why there needs to be some kind of protocol in place to avoid situations like that.

[Meatservo]

I am philosophically opposed to tipping in the first place. I think it's a degrading practice. Before anyone says "you must be a fun date" or anything like that, I recognize that in North America the tradition of tipping is so out of control that a great many service people depend on it to make a decent living. Therefore, I tip generously and as a matter of habit. However, I am privately resentful. The world would be a better place if restauranteurs simply paid a fair wage, raised the prices in order to do so, and put an end to this condescending, classist, and demeaning habit. I like it when the price advertised for my dinner is actually the price I'm gonna pay. By and large, this is the way it is in Europe, other than places that are frequented by Americans.

Given that this is my attitude towards tipping in general, you can guess how I feel about tipping pilots. I'm a professional, and I don't work for tips. I never have. I usually tell the person offering a tip that I'm not allowed to take tips. If they persist, I thank them politely and tell them their tip will be shared among the ramp staff.

I can predict some here think my attitude is snobbish or maybe I'm being self-aggrandizing. I can live with that; also I'm sympathetic to the exploitation experienced by entry-level pilots: many of them are not paid fairly, and I think the practice of "tipping" at its best I suppose can offset the equally low-class practice of not paying people fairly.

However, before anyone accuses me of thinking above my station, reflect that there are plenty of service staff in Europe who consider themselves above accepting tips. My self-respect won't allow me to accept tips, either. I have for most of my career been paid a comfortable middle-class wage, and often more. I shouldn't be accepting tips.

Luckily, flying multi-crew aircraft, it doesn't come up much anymore. Maybe for flight attendants it does.

[The Mole]

I got $3000usd cash from a charter once. I gave 1/2 to the ops assistance who helped with the booking. The guys assistance after the trip called to ask if i got tipped enough. Heli ski lodges have some kind of tip structure. But usually the guides gets the most. Sometimes next is pilot and finally the house staff. But every lodged if different and some guide try to keep it all. Any small tips I got from the occasionally heli tour I gave to the ground crew, tours where never primary role at any company.

[schnitzel2k3]

We get one every now and then, typically nothing extensive. We don't expect it, if we do, we say thank you. Our service level doesn't change one way or the other though, as our work ethic isn't based on tips.

What will change the service level is a clients attitude.

[Eric Janson]

So hypothetically lets say, your pilot gets a cash tip, or maybe you were flying, and it was you that got a nice cash tip. Do you have any company protocols in place, or how do you handle it? Do you share it with other staff, stick it in your pocket and forget it, or? Any and all input would be appreciated.

Strictly forbidden at pretty much every company I've worked.

[WestTexasDeathPencil]

My employer services a few Northern fishing camps whose clientele are primarily wealthy Americans. They usually tip us quite well, and usually in USD. It's not expected of them, but they do anyway. As far as I'm aware we have no policy that forbids this. Even if there was, I doubt it would prevent it.

[TalkingPie]

I am philosophically opposed to tipping in the first place. I think it's a degrading practice. Before anyone says "you must be a fun date" or anything like that, I recognize that in North America the tradition of tipping is so out of control that a great many service people depend on it to make a decent living. Therefore, I tip generously and as a matter of habit. However, I am privately resentful. The world would be a better place if restauranteurs simply paid a fair wage, raised the prices in order to do so, and put an end to this condescending, classist, and demeaning habit. I like it when the price advertised for my dinner is actually the price I'm gonna pay. By and large, this is the way it is in Europe, other than places that are frequented by Americans.

Given that this is my attitude towards tipping in general, you can guess how I feel about tipping pilots. I'm a professional, and I don't work for tips. I never have. I usually tell the person offering a tip that I'm not allowed to take tips. If they persist, I thank them politely and tell them their tip will be shared among the ramp staff.

I can predict some here think my attitude is snobbish or maybe I'm being self-aggrandizing. I can live with that; also I'm sympathetic to the exploitation experienced by entry-level pilots: many of them are not paid fairly, and I think the practice of "tipping" at its best I suppose can offset the equally low-class practice of not paying people fairly.

However, before anyone accuses me of thinking above my station, reflect that there are plenty of service staff in Europe who consider themselves above accepting tips. My self-respect won't allow me to accept tips, either. I have for most of my career been paid a comfortable middle-class wage, and often more. I shouldn't be accepting tips.

Luckily, flying multi-crew aircraft, it doesn't come up much anymore. Maybe for flight attendants it does.

I agree with you completely. I accept that in certain industries it's just the way how business is done, but I don't like it. I will actually give a small tip to a guy who does a good job pumping my septic tank or pulls my car out of a ditch without damaging it. I resent this much less than giving 20% to the person who poured my beer.

As cabin crew on a major airline it's extremely rare that a tip is offered, and that's fine by me.

[AngelsSang]

Thank you everyone who has chimed in. An occasional tip a pilot may get, has never before been an issue. Last month that all changed, and there was an angry employee, so angry, that despite my sitting him down twice to talk about it, he couldn't let it go, and I ended up terminating his employment. The pilot in this situation did nothing wrong, and broke no rules, of which I had none. In the future I will be adding some new policies, and one will be about those who receive a tip. Again, thank you for the input everyone.

[2R]

Best tip story I ever heard was by a DC3 guy who used to fly the Dancers from New Orleans to the oil patches of East Texas .
They all got fired when the very silly prudish boss heard what happened. No money was exchanged only body fluids

[flaps78]

I appreciate everybody's view point but ....... I had 2 tips in my first 31 years of flying in Canada. The first was when I was 20 and I was flying as a Captain on a 402. Paid 250/month, cleared 222 and bank loan was 200/m. Unfortunately I was never paid. The breakfast the client purchased for me will never ne forgotten. The second case was the purchase of dinner.After several jobs and layoffs we moved to the ME where I worked for just under 15 years as a corporate VVIP pilot. Overall the wages were good when you received them. Some countries citizens (KSA) were very generous regarding tips. Others not so much so. The general rule of thumb was that the client would give the tip to the Captain and the Captain would distribute the tip amongst the crew as he saw fit. We always split the tip equally.. Please remember that the Cabin Crew frequently required tips as their salary was not that good. We carrierd white (tip) envelopes on every aircraft that I flew in the ME.


One GM (Ozzie) heard about the tips and demanded that all tips were given to him. Darn but next trip we received a tip and had a new CA on board. The pilots did not know how to react and we didn't trust the GM. Solution: give the money to PAWS and submit the receipt to the GM. Next week, same trip, same client, same crew. Result: the crew decided that they didn't want any fat dogs at PAWS.

In another case we had an American CC who kept he tips to herself. Warned once then fired never to work in the Gulf again!

Tips varied from 300 USD to 5,000 USD +. Remember that we worked in war zone areas with no flight time restrictions, Secondly you must be aware of local culture. It is an insult to your client if you decline the tip.