Cash tips
 

For those of you flying business jets when you land away from base which staff do you tip and how much?

Tips
 

We operate several large cabin business jets and when we land we normally tip the main handler greeting the aircraft $50 US. If the passengers have excessive baggage we may tip the baggage handlers an additional $50. On departure (not on the same day) the main handler escorting us and the pax will get $50 as well.

g450cpt

The guy with the biggest gun gets the biggest tip.

The girl with the shortest dress gets the biggest tip :E

I normally hope I get tipped...but alas...few and far between.

Our passengers can tip the ground staff. The crew are the worker bees, just like the ground staff.

Same here. Our company does not provide us with cash to hand out tips nor can we reclaim them with our other expenses because there is no receipt... I never got the impression that anybody is expecting tips from the crew, but this may be different outside Europe.

blimey g450, you are taking P2F to a whole new level by tipping your pax......

...we sometimes get tipped - from 100 to 500€....

Thanks guys, I appreciate the comedy. I was referring to tips that you give the handlers, ground staff, fuelers, etc., not the tips you get from the pax.

Does anyone else flying the larger cabin jets tip the ground staffers?

We have money we carry for tips and incidentals so I'm curious if those of you that tip notice any better or quicker service the next time you operate in to that airport or for your departure.

Nope.

We dont get given money for tipping. If we want to tip it would be from our own pockets. Drivers that drive us (the crew), are the only other participants I will tip.

Anyone else, no. The ground staff, like us, are just cogs of the wheel.

As crew we don't tip as we don't have company funds to do so. Any tips that we may give will be to bus drivers etc as this is a personal service for us and not the aircraft.

Oceanic815pilot, out of curiosity, how much do you tip inside and outside the USA?

Some of our passengers have "people", who might be designated to tip various people along the way.

Mutt

We can write off tips to handlers and helpers provided they are itemized by destination, sum, number of people tipped.

This corresponds to a wish of the passenger, and I always make sure to hand over the tip saying "The boss says thank you", so that they know where it comes from...

We usually tip baggage handlers and similar 10-20$ each depending on the country, trusted handling supervisors who make the effort to turn up for every one of our arrivals and departures get more...

Hotel staff, cleaning ladies, etc... get tipped at the crew's expense: they provide good service for MY benefit, and I consider it a mark of politeness to express my appreciation.

And no, we never get tips from anybody any more... c'est la vie...

In Africa on a Falcon I usually tip a bottle of water or a Coke if they are really lucky. Scottish? yes I am. I have tipped $20 sometimes and find the service does not change and they just expect me to pay again on every subsequent visit.

If someone cleans the plane or goes the extra mile, then I tip, that is what tipping is for outside the USA.

Cash tips
 

Thanks everyone for your replies. Does anyone else wish to share their personal tipping philosophies?

Mutt,
That's what I'm trying to figure out. I started in aviation working the ramp and always appreciated the extra dollars, snacks and cokes!

Our department designates one Captain each trip to handle paperwork and money issues so I'm finding there are many different approaches among the pilots. One pilot I fly with routinely tips drivers who help with bags $50 (we have many bags) and handlers more.

Personally, I think our international handlers deserve at least $50-$100, drivers and ramp guys who help with the baggage should get a couple dollars a bag, and anyone else who facilitates a smooth arrival and/or departure should be recognized as well.

I have always thought that tips are for service above and beyond, regular cash hand-outs make a rod for everyone's back.

But isn't that why we are paying extortionate handing rates in the first place?

Mutt

The individuals making that happen aren't getting the high fees, the company who employs them are. If I tip one guy I don't think the same guy expects it from the next Falcon, Gulfstream, Global, etc driver who pulls up next to us.

Cash tips
 

Don't forget the engineers that you keep you flying :)

Flight crew tipping people for doing their god damn jobs. Is this a joke? - that's my opinion. Good luck with getting the "right" answers.

Almost as crazy as passengers tipping crews for doing their jobs :):)

Mutt