Flight Training - March 2019 - 47

350 pilot may earn as much as $176,000
a year, and a third-year aircraft commander in a Gulfstream G650 might earn
$205,000 annually.
The 2018 NBAA Compensation
Survey claims that a senior captain in
the business is earning about $164,000.
That is an increase of 12 percent from the
previous year's number.
Although business aviation does
acknowledge the need for a ready reserve
of flying talent, unique challenges make
it difficult to get there. The first of these
is image.
Despite the dream of flying a gleaming Global Express or Gulfstream G-IV,
the path to that big iron could be through
a King Air, a Piper Navajo, or a Beechcraft Baron. With the airlines, chances
are the first airplane a newly minted
airline transport pilot will fly would be an
ERJ, CRJ, or that spiffy new Airbus 220.
There is also the security of a decent-size
company and a schedule that is fairly predictable. The image of demanding clients
creating havoc with a pilot's personal life
and schedule is one that persists for anyone looking to fly corporate or charter.
Another obstacle is the job hunt itself.
Business aviation thrives on networking.
Relationship building takes time. Applying to multiple corporate operators by
flooding them with résumés can be a
painstaking process when there might be
only one or two flying positions open, if
any, with an individual employer. With
one application to a regional airline, there
is consideration for hundreds of openings.
Airlines have made a concerted outreach to aviation colleges, universities,
and academies. Has business aviation
made that effort? Granted, some operators do provide internships but there
is no grand-scale program offered by
business aviation employers.
Despite the downsides-as thousands
flying in business aviation have done-
they can be overcome and managed.
For anyone who bristles at the notion
of the monotony of an airline lifestyle,
shepherding some big shots to a business
outing in Aspen in a Falcon 2000 is worth
some initial grief early on.
So, for those who aim for the sky as a
means to support one's lifestyle, this all
just proves there's more than one way to
get there.
WAYNE PHILLIPS manages the Airline Training

Orientation Program.
WWW.AOPA.ORG/FT 47

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Flight Training - March 2019

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