Free Lance VIP Pilots
Can a Pilot fly as freelance on Private Jets? Certainly!
As per free lance VIP Flight Attendants, a free lance pilot is not limited to one operator only.
He/she will be in control of the calendar and can give the availability whenever is more convenient.
How does it work?
When a Flight Attendants can fly on all aircrafts without any particular limitation, for Pilots the opportunities are restricted according to how many and which type rating they hold on their licence, if the type rating is current and the type of licence itself (FAA, GCAA, EASA….).
The best way to do propose yourself as free lance pilot is to enrol into a Business Aviation Employment Agency.
They work as meeting point between the operators and the pilots.
After giving the availability, the agency will contact you whenever there’s flight in need of a pilot on an aircraft where you are legal to fly on.
What about the compensation?
Compensation for freelance Pilots depends on the type of aircraft (the heavier the tonnage, the higher the compensation) and the role (captain or first officer).
The remuneration will be a daily rate plus per-diem. Usually, if the rotation is rather long (10 + days), the Operator offers a sort of “forfait all-in” compensation.
Hotel, positioning, taxi and other extras are usually covered by the company.
The compensation may differ from Operator to Operator, and also the current situation of Covid 19 has an influence on the fees.
The free lancing job for a Pilot is much more unstable than a Flight Attendant, because the requirements are very tight.
Free Lance Pilots are pretty rare. When they are on the market, usually it’s for a limited period of time.
This often happen when they are transitioning from one operator to another.
Highly unusual are pilots who manage to fly freelance for a long period of time.
Oftentimes they manage to fly free lance once or twice for the same owner or operator, and then they convert the free lance collaboration in a stable employment contract.
It requires a lot of flexibility and communication skills to be successful as freelance, in any field.
Have you ever tried to fly as free lance pilot?
Would you like to share you experience?