Private Jet Pilot Salary - What Do We Make?

How much do private jet pilots get paid? In this video I break down my pay schedule over the course of my career thus far and dive into the ProPilot Salary Study to show how much private jet pilots get paid across the industry.

#privatejet #pilot #salary

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[rickyism]

23 I was beer bonging 4 loco's in the Marines... Your making the correct choices in life my friend.

[Johnny-Michael]

You are a prime example of network=net worth. Good on you for getting out there and taking risks.

[thepilotist]

You’ve definitely hit the gold mine man! I’m 24 and an airline pilot so I can speak to the other side of the industry. I’ll say this…quality of life and opportunity definitely favor the charter flying. However, I did speak to a FedEx captain who showed me a paystub for $54k in one month. Granted, it is all about seniority but the money is in cargo! Not uncommon for senior cargo captains to make $500k plus. Add in some other responsibilities like sim instructor, etc…$750k+ 🤷🏼‍♂️

[nunziobusiness]

1099 recipients actually pay 7.5% MORE than W-2 employees. However, being self-employed you can deduct all kinds of expenses.

[zondap]

Love the transparency. I was in a very similar situation than you 10 years ago. I flew a Lear 55 and a Lear 60 part 91 making 90k. Had the same mentality of wanting my skills and personality to show my worth over others (I am very competitive). As soon as I hit 23 I went to a regional which didn’t pay a quarter of what they pay now and took a huge pay cut. The money is made in the airlines. The stability is in the airlines. You don’t want to be 50 years old and have 23 year old Ryan that smiles better, and is more hungry and will do the job at half your salary taking your position. That’s what the years of seniority in an airline gets you. I agree it’s unfortunate that you’re just a number but trust me in the long run that’s a good thing. Big airlines want 121 time. In part 91 you don’t know when or where you’re going on most cases, think about calling sick or if something happens what happens.

Trust me jump over young and don’t wait around too much. It’s worth it. An idea I am a first officer at a major U.S. airline and I make 200k. I call sick and no one bats an eye, I have travel benefits and many other benefits corporate doesn’t have. A sacrifice at 23 isn’t the same as a sacrifice at 40. The first year will be bad although with how airlines are it won’t be that hard as it was for me but I guarantee you it’s worth it for a career. I have a friend that works at frontier that was flying G650s. He doesn’t regret it one bit and only regrets not doing it sooner.

Regardless best of luck to you. You seem like a go getter. I just left those same questioned they left me when I was young and that I answered myself and made the move.

[Jpifr]

I love your English, it's very understandable I havent not even noticed I've switched language

[Thursday_The_th]

Wow! Very successful. Especially at the age of 23.

[ChrisBordonaro-hr]

Hey Ryan, been watching your videos for a while now, ever since your ATP days, and man you are one driven individual. I'm a little older than you (25) and decided to switch into the aviation industry (just wrapping up my private), but I like how you show your multiple streams of income. I think it's great to show the reality that pilots should have a plan b. Much respect and keep the vids coming!

[tomarmstrong]

I was a free lance flight examiner for a while for CAE MESA on their European program. They are a European based company who paid decent wages with benefits to their CFI''s. The company's ethos was not to screw their CFI's. An attitude which was reflected in the quality of the instruction given to the students.

[kronosblade]

I see a lot of young folks here commenting. For you youngies. Understand that this guy is super lucky. This guy hit the lottery. No joke! Understand that his path is not normal but extremely lucky. Please don't think this happens to everyone. The standard is that you do not fly an airplane like that until your 40ish or even 50ish years old. Some people may never ever fly a G650 or Global because they never got that type rating offered to them for free. Again, I see to many yuenglings commenting that don't get it. If your looking for money. The airlines will be the best option on AVERAGE! If your looking to live the dream then corporate is the way, but put money second. This review is not the norm. You probably have a 1 to 2 percent chance of this happening to you.

[jeeberlewis]

Just turned 21, headed to ATP at the end of this month with credit Private. Wish I had started as early as you did, mad respect. Thanks for the great video! Excited for the journey.

[Drillz]

as a student currently that is still looking for a direction this was a fantastic video really pulls the curtains back and shows off the info with some well placed wisdom

helped me alot

[purpleirklegrovestreet]

Im 18, just started college. I already work on cars and get paid to do so, I race and get paid to do so and paid to win, and I have a pretty big following and quite a bit of connections in the automotive scene. My real passion is aeronautics and my plan is to go to the navy after college to become a pilot. I am already saving all of the money I have made now, I plan to live far below my means while in the navy and save money while also getting my wings. Then I plan to fly privately after the navy and start an airline or private jet service with the money I have saved. I also plan to open a shop for big power cars as well. You have been a huge inspiration to me and I plan to be as far ahead of my peers as humanly possible.

[SxeRy]

Can you do a video on the lifestyle differences between commercial, corporate, charter, etc? Like what does their weekly, monthly, and yearly work routines look like for the salaries they make?

[wgeffon]

Congrats on getting the G650 job at a young age. My experience was similar. I got a G-IV job with no jet time and being relatively young.
You’re correct about the airline pay structure. Years with the company equates to the compensation.
However, I have been flying for a Fortune 50 Company for the last 20 years and our salaries are based on years with the company. The longer you’ve been here, the more you make.
We top out in our salary range at year 20. I think you’ll find that most good corporate jobs compensate the same way.
When we interview to hire pilots, we are assuming that if you’re resume is good enough to get the interview, you’re qualified and are probably a good pilot. So, being a good pilot and doing a great job while important, doesn’t factor in to your compensation.
Another factor is we hire Captains.
We also have a self sign up policy for crewing trips. Basically I pick my schedule. We have some guys who work less than I do and some that may work more. It doesn’t effect compensation.
We are unique with the self sign up but for the guys I know at other good corporate jobs, their compensation is years of service based within the given salary range their company has in place.

[BucketWheat]

I am just getting to know a Lady that is a "Private Jet" Pilot. We have not talked about incomes, yet... but as our relationship gets stronger, this will certainly become 'relevant' ... So this is Great information for me to know a 'range' of where our combined income will fall... as well as something of an idea what her spending habits look like. Not that I would make such a decision based on incomes... but it IS a part of blending our futures together.

[johnm.]

As a 1099 (independent contractor) you're liable for paying self employment taxes. From practicality viewpoint, you're paying both the employee and employer employment taxes which come to 15.3% of AGI vs. 7.65%. And not getting any company health benefits means you're not getting the employer subsidy which is probably worth at least another $4-5k per year. At that income level you're not eligible for any ACA subsidies. Plus, there's no tax withholding so you have to come up with all the taxes you owe all at once when you file. Unless you know how to manage being self employed, it is NOT an advantage taxwise.

[esselfly]

Flying private jets isn’t for everyone. Especially if you come from airline experience. They’re two completely different worlds of flying. Private jet flying is definitely more relaxed than airline, I guess that’s why there’s so many old guys doing it. However the schedules can be pretty bad with 8 to 14 days on the road. Also I kind of missed seeing people when I flew a Gulfstream for a few years. It wasn’t very glamorous sneaking around FBOs compared to the event that is being inside an airline terminal. That’s just me though, some guys could care less about flying boxes or one guy across the world. Overall, the airlines offer more stability and better schedules, however day to day, flying private jets was better.

[mannygathers]

Great insight. Looking forward to completing my training in an accelerated academy soon. Probably moving to Vegas to network into a right seat after completion. See ya in the air soon🦾

[thecampbells]

Meh. It's kinda accurate. But I have a feeling you don't know know what an airline job is like. For one, you get amazing medical benefits, 16% 401k match (like 16% even if you don't add a dime of your earnings 😳). Then there's profit sharing bonuses, not to mention flying anywhere worldwide for free. Yes free. Or riding other airlines for the price of tax only. If you like to travel, that's pretty awesome. The best part is, there's unions that take care of you. So you never have to worry about your job going away (or working half the year). Granted, we aren't usually chillin' wherever that was you were at. Now, , , we usually have about 15 days off/month. So 3-4 days per week. I'm never gone from my family more than a few days. Guessing you don't have a family yet. But when you do, , , being gone a lot won't be cool. Now, , , , some airlines are also paying up to $100, 000 cash signing bonus. Think about that. 100k cash just to walk in the door. Of course the job itself is different. At the airlines we don't have a few fancy people on board. We have hundreds of lives we're responsible for. Kinda different. A private jet goes down, , , meh. An airliner goes down, , , , people's families were on board - it makes the news. Seniority? Yeah, , it does matter. That's more of a problem with young people like yourself though. No one is willing to put in their time. Instant gratification is the new game. It may take some time to gain seniority, , , but then it means more. Anything quickly gained can be quickly taken. Seniority cannot. I think it's apples to oranges. Really two totally different jobs. Unless you've been at the airlines, I don't think you should make comparisons. Just talk about what you know. Personally, , , I'm jealous. I would have loved to fly some cool stuff like the Gulfstream, but I went from a Duchess straight in to a CL65. I'd say that I'll see ya around in my right seat, , , but I'll be at a major before you could get through training at a regional. Good luck with corporate man. Just don't glorify it. Unless you're at a Fortune 500 company, , , , airlines are the way to go. 😉 - Josh