Corporate Aviation or Airline Aviation

[they call me sam]

Hi all :)

Just like a few of my other threads, this is on behalf of a mate. He is at the stage of figuring out what tree of aviation to go down and he has narrowed it down to either Corporate e.g. business jets, company jets...... or Airline Pilot, starting out getting hours, if he is lucky cadet ship and what not.

So my question, what are the real perks and down sides to being a Corporate Pilot and an Airline Pilot, preferably people that actually know what they are talking about!

Regards
Sam and Tim (Sam's Mate)

P.S Can we make this a nice, happy thread, without anyone being mean of having to be offensive or having a go at anyone, thankyou in advance :)

[Di_Vosh]

There are plenty of threads covering the pros and cons of being a corporate pilot.

DIVOSH!

[BlatantLiar]

The boys at RVAC making a troll account again?

[Clare Prop]

Tell your mate that figuring out how to use the internet would be a good start. :E

[Mach E Avelli]

Corporate pilot perks: nice kit ( it really is a shiny jet), you rarely go to work. Downside: always on call so no real days off, you are the one who has to shine the jet, you do all your own planning and catering, if you piss off the boss or shag his wife/girlfriend/fantasy you get fired, you get to clean the toilet after flight, and despite cleaning it, when the shareholders revolt you still get fired.

Airline pilot perks: guaranteed time off, as long as you don't crash you are unlikely to be fired, others do planning/scheduling/catering/cleaning, the biggest decision you make in flight is the chicken or beef, when you complete the shut down checklist you are done for the day, it really is money for nothing chicks for free. Downside: none that I ever noticed.

Does your hypothetical mate really have the luxury of such a choice?
Or pilot dreaming?

[Doodlebug]

'Downside: always on call so no real days off, you are the one who has to shine the jet, you do all your own planning and catering, if you piss off the boss or shag his wife/girlfriend/fantasy you get fired, you get to clean the toilet after flight, and despite cleaning it, when the shareholders revolt you still get fired.'

:rolleyes:

On our gig we have a fixed roster (2 weeks on, 2 weeks off), and we certainly are off on our off-days. It gets better: it regularly happens that the boss decides that he doesn't need the jet for a couple of days, and sends the crew home. In other words you could be on-duty at home for a week and then run into your regular 2 off-weeks and end up with 3 weeks at home, for example.

We do not 'shine the jet'. We'd need specialized equipment as well as a day or two, the machine measuring approximately 30 metres by 30 metres.

We do not do our own flight-planning, the operations-department does that, after confirming fuel-required and any other questions with us pilots.

We do not take care of the catering, the stewardesses do.

We do not clean the toilets, the honeysucker does so on our request.

Also, when departing from the home-base the aircraft will have been removed from the hangar and will have the APU running when we board.
Which is not to say that I haven't done any/all of the above in an earlier lifetime, but have a care with generalizing, the good gigs in private GA may come as a bit of a surprise to some.

One truth was in there, though: piss off Le Grande Frommage and you'll be fired without a split-second's hesitation, that much is true. Better to not piss him off then.

[they call me sam]

Thanks Sam,

[chimbu warrior]

but have a care with generalizing, the good gigs in private GA may come as a bit of a surprise to some.

It cuts both ways : there are airline jobs out there where pilots do all their own planning and lots of support tasks too.

There are also some airlines where a roster is meaningless due to constant changes.

[VH-FTS]

I've got an idea for you - take whatever opportunities are given to you. There are so many ups and downs, so many twists and turns, it is very difficult to plan for the exact aviation career you want.