Hows Traffic, Flying Much?

[skippy22]

How is the corporate world doing these days? Are you guys packed with jobs and charters or are you also getting slow? Just a little curious, to see whats going on out there.

 

[banned username 2]

My company has been busier than ever... I've been to Europe 7 times and Asia 3 times this year already! We are flying our 900's over 850 hours per year....

 

[TMMT]

Same here, we’ve been flying like mad.

Averaging 75 hrs a month since January and four to eight RONs a month.
Last month was in Malaysia for two weeks. Before that Ireland, Norway and Turkey.

We run about 50/50 company/charter. Although our charter stems mostly out of the company, it’s an odd relationship, the entertainment/motion picture industry.

Got a slew of upcoming trips on the board and at some point I gotta find my way back to Savannah for recurrent.

TMMT

 

[501261]

Same as always for our company. We need the airplane, and the business is extremely stable. Not much has really changed except we can't bring the car to the airplane at SOME airports.

 

[skippy22]

Cool

Thats good to hear that you are all flying. It seems regardless of the economy and world events that the airlines and corporate are both doing well.

 

[707 IP]

Falcon Capt,

Good to hear the great jobs are out there. But are any of these fortune 100 companies hiring? If they are, does a military guy w/out a corporate type rating have a chance? It seems most jobs, just like in the USAF revolve around timing. I've got less than a year left in the military and am very interested in this lifestyle.

707 IP

 

[banned username 2]

Falcon Capt,

Good to hear the great jobs are out there. But are any of these fortune 100 companies hiring? If they are, does a military guy w/out a corporate type rating have a chance? It seems most jobs, just like in the USAF revolve around timing. I've got less than a year left in the military and am very interested in this lifestyle.

707 IP

I'm sure some are hiring as guys retire, the departments expands and so forth... As with all areas of aviation right now, the hiring pace has slowed...

Military guys certainly have a valid chance of getting hired, most times the military guys have a lot of turbo-jet time which is a definate plus....

I personally work with a handful of ex-military guys, our Department Manager was a C-130 A/C Commander, another guy flew A-3's and A-4's, another guy flew Choppers and King Airs for the Army (he had other corporate jobs before this one, in which he gained turbo-jet time...

You might want to look into the National Business Aviation Association, by joining you can get a directory of all member companies which includes contacts, equipment types and such...

Check out www.NBAA.org

Good Luck!

 

[TMMT]

Solid corporate operations have low turnover, less than 10% in some cases, but I think the average is around 20-25%.

Timing is key with a corporation but almost as important is networking, nearly all the guys and gals I know were hired due to an inside track, I have worked corporate all my flying career and every job I have had was due to this very fact.

Working for a Fortune 100 company, getting hired, in a lot of ways is far tougher than hiring on with a major 121 carrier.

The pay here is very good, above industry average. We have company 401k, medical, dental and eye, loss of license as well as unemployment insurance. We start our people out at just over $70,000. Everyone is typed within 90 to 180 days of hiring on, per our SOP. Legs are alternated so you will fly as PIC at least once a trip after your 6 months in the pit with an IOE.

During your IOE expect a lot of short trips and short days, our new guys tend to hang around the office and pull the last minute stuff, but for us a last minute trip may have you wheels up inside of 90 minutes and away from home for 6 days hop scotching around the US, or it may have you running a company shuttle between LAX and SAN 8 time in a day.

Downside… we are 91 and do not double up for long haul trips, duty days of 16 to 18 hours are not uncommon with 12 hours of flying. Otto becomes your best friend; you will hone to a fine art “mini-snoozes” while over the pond, and by default or just through shear survival you’ll learn to speak a foreign language. Ever tried to negotiate with French ATC, or how about asking Bangkok Ground for progressive taxi?

We wear casual dress and have a nice monthly clothing allotment.

The boss likes to run a tight ship and expects a lot out of us but in return we are rewarded with some nice fringe benefits, corporate perks and opportunity to live along side those who can afford this lifestyle.

Two years running I’ve had two weeks company paid in Hawaii was able to bring the wife along on the company jet. The boss holds a corporate retreat and everyone migrates to the islands for some “down time”.

We stay (typically) in the same hotel as our passengers and if the need arises for us to deadhead home via the airlines we go first class, quite nice when returning from Asia or Europe our west coast home.

We operate some nice equipment and have reached a point where upgrade is inevitable.

We purchased a pair of Gulfstream V’s last year, but sold the slots when they announced the V-SP, we have two V-SP slots with our name on them but recently have reevaluated our requirements and see that more will be needed.

Current business plan has us talking to Boeing as well as Airbus looking at the BBJ and the ACJ. The G-V’s will come aboard to replace a pair of aging G-IV’s and we have yet to decide on a replacement for a CL-601 or a pair of DA-50’s that spend most of their time in the NYC area.

So, on our end corporate aviation is alive and well and kicking.

We’ll most likely be hiring within the next 12 months 24 definitely. I have no info on this other than that we will need new blood and that new seats are on the way.

When and if I hear something, it will most likely go the way is has in the past and our management will ask us to put the word out on the street and pull in any recommendations first, before going to a blind resume.

Chief Pilots and D.O.’s that I know like military types, reliable, disciplined and know when to forget what you may or may not have seen or heard on the jet. Confidentiality in the corporate environment is just as cherished as it is in the military.

Your flight training is second to none and chances are if we are going someplace bad… you’ve been someplace worse.

You can and most likely have dealt with impossible people, some of our outside charters are outright pompous a$$holes and they take a bit of perverse pride in projecting that image.

Some of our pax are the world worst, they think they are Gods gift to this planet because their adoring fans treat them this way, therefore they et you to as well.


Sorry for rambling, but I hate to see good pilots overlook the corporate market for the airlines.

Good companies take good care of their pilots and contrary to popular belief good companies are still around and hiring all the time. We just (normally) don’t advertise the fact or more realistically, don’t need to advertise.

Luck in whichever way you go.

TMMT