Corporate Aviation

Corporate/business aviation in the US is what most people would think of when musicians reference private jets in their songs. The accepted mantra is that being able to pay for one of these aircraft is the pinnacle of wealth and status in society. Not to say that this isn't true for some users of private jets but in recent years companies operating their own fleets of business jets (or turboprops) has become--for lack of a better word--more businesslike. Many companies are vary frugal about how they use their aircraft and will use them solely to generate business for their company. Corporate aviation has emerged as an alternate career path to pilots who do not for one reason or another want to fly for the airlines or the military.

There are many differences between business aviation and the airlines, which could make either one more or less attractive to perspective pilots (Career Options). To me the biggest difference is that in any airline you really are a part of a massive system with all the support & bureaucracy that that entails. In the airlines you are an interchangeable part as a pilot. You can call in sick and your pilot number is taken off the board and replaced with another number. Even the aircraft & maintenance can be swapped out. You can edit your flight schedule to get the days you want or don't want. You are a cog in a giant transportation machine that has union set salaries & customer set destinations. Depending on your personality that stability can either be a balancing force or dull monotony. In the cooperate world things are always dynamic. You are generally on call (though some trips are regularly scheduled) and are at some times conjoined at the hip to the executives. There are no dispatchers or flight attendants to do work for you. You are generally responsible for your sleek, fast aircraft in most ways except advanced maintenance. You and your aircraft could be going anywhere in the world, any day of the week, and to any airport, The pay is also higher at the front end and lower at the back end compared to the airlines so in the grand scheme of thins you pull in roughly the same but likely a bit less than airline pilots.

Corporate aviation to a major hit in recent years when General Motors executives committed a PR faux pas when they flew to Washington D.C. to ask for a government bailout. There are many who think that private jets are only used to flaunt wealth and speed travel to monocle wearing VIP's who don't want to be near commoners on the ground. This perception is generally untrue. Corporate jets are used to make money not to spend it. Its certainly bad business for a company to spend money for the sake of it. Large multinational corporations have many partners or potential partners all over the world that they need to reach with something more than a phone call. Operating an aircraft that costs a few million dollars is validated when the CEO can be in France before dinner to help close a billion dollar deal. Thus almost all fortune 500 companies operate business jets. And even if a medium-large company can not afford to operate the plane on their own there are now many companies that offer fractional ownership that splits the aircraft and its costs (Fractional Aircraft) between many parties.

One company that operates on fractional ownership is Corporate Eagle. Based in Pontiac at the Oakland County International Airport (KPTK). Their fleet consists of 3 King Air B200's, 3 Hawker 700's, 4 800XP's, and 3 Falcon 2000's. The company generally shuttles executives from local companies such as Art Van to locations all over the U.S. and even internationally. According to a job posting on Western Michigan University's website (Warner S.) the minimum requirements for a new first officer among other things includes 1200 hours of total time, 500 of cross country, and 50 hours of actual instrument time. The starting pay is roughly from 45k to 68k depending on the qualifications of the applicant. Flying these smaller jets in such a fluid environment clearly is an attractive option for some pilots.

Corporate Eagle Aircraft

References

Career options. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://www.aopa.org/letsgoflying/dream/whyfly/careers.html

Fractional Aircraft Ownership - FAQ. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://www.nbaa.org/admin/options/fractional/faq/

Warner, S. (2014, September 15). Job Post: Corporate Eagle - First Officer/Second-In-Command. Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://aviation.wmich.edu/jobs-scholarships-and-internship-postings/bid/355164/Job-Post-Corporate-Eagle-First-Officer-Second-In-Command