Do you tip jet charter pilots?

[triflowm5+m3]

good rule of the thumb... smaller the airplane...tips are GREATLY appreciated. larger airplanes....dont need it but enjoy it. Here is another question...do those of you that charter tip your professional driver? if so, why not the pilots?

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[messbah]

As a corporate pilot, I will tell you the right answer. To those of you who think we are paid a kings ransom, think again. Some do, most don't. On average, we make enough to get by. Barely. If you knew how much some pilots made, especially at the regional level, you would never fly. Some of Those guys are making less than 20K/yr.

If the pilot is flying for the owner of the airplane, his paycheck is a lot greater than those of us flying as limo drivers. The reality is that the company who is managing the owners airplane and puting it out for charter, may be telling the owner that they are paying the pilots $X when they are really only paying the pilots $x. So for those of you w/airplanes on a charter cert., make sure you know where your money is going.

Now back to the question. YES!! Tip your flight crew! No... it is not required and no, most don't. But those that do are usually great passengers and we go out of our way for them and the next time we fly them we remember them and give them the best service possible. We always do anyway, but even better. I flew a trip on a Gulfstream for some Asian businessmen and they tipped me, the other pilot, and the flight attendant (very well) when they first boarded the plane! Talk about ensuring your comfort and service. We found them the fastest smoothest ride we could.

Nothing makes me more upset than when us pilots bust our humps handling the passenger luggage in and out of the airplane (and depending on the plane may be no easy feat!) and then see a line service person take the bag from me, walk it two steps to the car, limo, van, etc..., and then the passenger hands them a twenty! No, a twenty will not insult me. We work very hard up front for you and appreciate it when you acknowledge our effort. We do alot that you don't even have a clue about. We ensure you have food, beverages, transportation coordination, a clean cabin, a safe and smooth ride. Plus a lot more. We don't just hop in like a limo driver, turn the key and go.

One other thing that makes us happy is when the passengers are polite, respectful, and friendly. When you treat us like the stuff you just stepped on an tracked into my clean airplane, your safety of flite just went down a notch because I'm up front fuming about how rude you were to my fellow pilot instead of focusing on flying. It is in your best interest to take good care of your pilots and they will take good care of you. We have a lot of stress to deal with. You shouldn't be the cause of the majority of it.

One last tip. Don't rush your flight crew. There are those pilots (I've been guilty) who fall victim to passengers who are in a rush. Trust me, you don't want to rush us! If we miss an item on our check list, it could be fatal. Let us do our job at our pace. If you are in a hurry, book your transportation earlier.

Whew... glad to get that off my chest!

[triflowm5+m3]

amen to that!

[messbah]

New you'd appreciate that!!

[TXGold]

I bailed on the whole industry recently. 33 yo and a G550 GIV CE680 International Captain, and realized I can make more money for a quarter of the bull**** the aviation industry dishes out. Godspeed to my former brothers!

[Afroman]

damn id charter you guys in my cessna for so much less no tipping? maybe you could hook me up with a 996tt if i take you cross country

[bradb1us]

Do people really treat pilots that poorly?

I've chartered a lot lately and each time the pilots have been AWESOME to deal with. Really friendly and nice guys (and woman on one leg), so we're friendly back. It's like they're on the trip with us! haha

We almost feel obligated to tip because they're so over-the-top great to deal with. Perhaps if they had a bad attitude the entire time we wouldn't tip--but I haven't found that to be case with most pilots so far.

[MoeMonney]

I have always been very kind to the pilots and treated them with respect. Never tipped, did´nt even think about it because I considered them to have a job with sufficient status to consider tips to be offensive.