Versatility of Corporate Aviation Crew-members:

There’s been a professional comparison between the airline and corporate aviation crew members, with some misconceptions regarding the scope of work the corporate aviation crew has to do. I’ll be sharing some experiences in this article to broaden this conversation and shed some light to the level of inventiveness required to be a successful corporate aviation professional. The rapid changes in events make it imperative that a corporate aviation crew must be dynamic in nature, a multitasker and a critical thinker. Self discipline is also very important in the corporate aviation environment. Events go sometimes from very slow to super fast, and the onus is on you to be ahead of the curve to keep safe.

In corporate aviation, no department is spared from having to work outside their original work scope for the purpose of achieving a safe and smooth flight operations. The involvement of everyone is paramount to achieve the set goal. From a cockpit crew-member’s perspective, you sometimes work as the cabin attendant, accountant, flight dispatcher, baggage handler, trip coordinator/manager, administrative manager, engineer/technician and the list can go on. In corporate aviation, the company can’t specifically predict all the airports the operations will fly into and it is not realistic to have staffing at all destinations. Sometimes you are able to contract designated companies for support and other times the support is just not available at your destination, in such cases you’ll have to develop a working alternative.

Highlighting on the high level of adaptability required of a corporate aviation crew-member, I’ll sight an example in this paragraph. Crew are expected to acquaint themselves with newer flying environments in the shortest possible time, exposures to different airports, airspaces, regulations isn’t something a scheduled operator/ airlines have to worry about. In 2014 I was worked for a charter company in Lagos Nigeria that operated tow challenger 604 aircraft, I was scheduled to fly to Abuja the Capital city of Nigeria. Upon arriving at the airport for my flight, an operational crew swap became necessary.I ended up operating the other flight, a maintenance flight from Lagos to Atatürk airport in Istanbul. On that trip I reflected deeply on the high level attentiveness required to be a safe corporate pilot.

Another good experience is the one I refer as “stuck in paradise” in January 2024 after the holidays were over, and our return flights in full swing. Flying out of Atlanta,USA to the beautify Island of St. Kitts, we encountered a Left windshield heat snag. After running through the checklist, the Crew Alerting System(CAS) message disappeared, and we completed the flight safely. Upon arrival we secured the aircraft, only to arrive the following day to meet a shattered outer ply of the windshield. What followed was a painstaking process of sourcing for the parts, getting a qualified engineer to the island and meeting all other logistical requirements for customs, transportation of the windshield, high-lift equipment rental and all. 

With limited resources on the island, my colleague and I had to be hands-on and were both technically involved in the replacement of the windshield. Without the benefit of a hangar and full equipment, it would’ve been a grueling task for one engineer outside a well equipped maintenance facility to replace the windshield. It took us two full days to complete the task under the island hot sun. My favorite phrase at the time was “sometimes pilots, other times mechanics”.  The “stuck in paradise” experience, reiterated the importance of teamwork and improvisation as a vital trait in corporate aviation.

In conclusion, in corporate aviation you more often than not have to get involved in getting things done be it your department or not. You most times don’t enjoy the privilege of showing up, getting briefed by dispatch and just fly the airplane. You’ll be involved in the flight planning, training scheduling, hospitality arrangements, maintenance and so on.

Safe skies! Capt. CLC.