Corporate pilot or Commerical pilot?????

Question

I am 19 and I have ALWAYS wanted to be a pilot. The more I thought about it, my real dream, as crazy as it sounds, is to be a corporate pilot, NOT a commerical pilot. I just wanted to see others opinions on corporate pilot verses a commerical pilot. Thanks for the advice!

Answer 1

Andrew G



Dude, my best buddy, Naval Aviator, furloughed from American Airlines, is now corporate pilot and turned down the first recall from American.

Corporate is the way to go.

Malibu... doesn't know what he/she's talking about.  I am a Major Airline Captain on the Boeing 737, former Air Force Pilot, it's only going to get worse.  Stay corporate.  I am bracing for bankruptcy and losing my house.  Good luck with any dream of flying the big jets that I fly.

Answer 2

Ir's a very common misunderstanding.

Commercial Pilot is a legal status, whereas Corporate Pilot and Airline Pilot are titles of employment.

A Commercial Pilot is a person who holds the Commercial Airman Certificate issued by the aviation authority in the country where the person lives.  It simply means the person is qualified to offer piloting services for hire.

An Airline Pilot is a Commercial Pilot who is employed as a pilot by a scheduled airline.

A Corporate Pilot is a Commercial Pilot who is employed as a pilot by a corporate aviation operation.

If you are not married to the idea of eventually working on a more or less fixed schedule, being a Corporate Pilot can be a very rewarding career.

Any of these jobs will be hard to get in the foreseeable economy; things will get better over the next 3-5 years, though.  If you are talented and dedicated, you can make it.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Corporate pilot, or airline pilot?

Corporate pilots are commercial pilots.

Answer 4

im a corporate pilot, and i dont regret not being a commercial airline pilot. Commercial pilots get lousy pay to start and you get to fly to alot of crappy destinations. Corporate jobs each are different. Some suck, and some are really good.  You may need to get some commercial experience first to then get a good corporate job. Most people i know who work for airlines think of it as a job and some are miserable.

Answer 5

I have know a lot of pilots that have done both and if you are most interested in the corporate route, you should do that.

Commercial aviation is all screwed up and will get a lot worse before it gets any better so you might have much better luck with the corporate stuff. Good luck.

Answer 6

I'm an Airline Transport Pilot in multi-engine airplanes,including certain jets, and a Commercial Pilot in single engine airplanes.

Got my Commercial Single Engine - Instrument at age 18. I have flown Part 91 and Part 135. I prefer Part 91, which includes corporate aviation. I have never flown 121, although I did fly scheduled 135 many years ago. By the way, why do you qualify your aspiration to be a corporate pilot by saying "as crazy as it sounds"? I have an ATP with two jet type ratings, undergraduate and graduate degrees and, for the most part, I'd take a good corporate job over a typical airline gig (with very few exceptions). In my opinion what is "crazy" is how narrow a view of aviation most YA posters have, seemingly thinking that the "airlines" are the only significant segment of the aviation industry. I'd take a plush private jet FBO to a sprawling, crowded, TSA-laden, and riff raff-laden airline terminal anytime.

Answer 7

It's actually Corporate pilot vs. Airline pilot....not commercial pilot.  Every professional pilot needs to have, at minimum, their 'commercial' certificate (or license).  There are perks and negatives to both aspects of aviation.  Airline pilots deal with a very unstable industry at almost all times.  You can get furloughed at almost any time it seems (at least in the last 20 years) leaving you without a paycheck.  Perks are:  travel benefits, potential for very good pay (although that is decreasing at a rapid rate), and being somewhat anonymous if working for a larger airline.  Corporate pilots seldom deal with furloughs, however, if a company starts losing money often times the flight department is often the first to be downsized or eliminated.  Also, depending on the corporate department, you can either be treated like dirt or like royalty.  Often times corporate jobs are more about who you know vs. what you know... and airlines are the opposite (altough internal recs to the better airlines help tremendously).  There is no right or wrong way to do this... it's all about personal fit.  Me, personally, I fly freight.  Freight seldom gets furloughed, has some of the best starting pay, and seems to be the most stable.  A lot of people would hate what I do... but a lot of those same people are without jobs at the moment.