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re: How much do Taylor Swift’s pilot/pilots make ?

Posted on 2/4/24 at 8:56 am to
Posted by baldona
Florida
Member since Feb 2016
20514 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 8:56 am to
quote:

My last company had 2 pilots who were on call 24/7 for the company plane. I think they each pulled a base salary of $350k. Being on call 24/7 and having to leave your fam for weeks on a whim of the CEO seemed pretty miserable.


That’s why the pay is good, the shittier the schedule the better the pay.

A lot of stuff including the pilots time off, is scheduled well ahead of time though. There’s not a lot of ‘last minute’ on call type of stuff in all reality. I’m speaking of my family member’s company with the 2 jets, I mean most of it is for training, business meetings, etc. scheduled maintenance of the planes, pilot training, etc. is all mostly scheduled well out. Look at someone like Taylor swift and her concert schedule for a long time is well known. She probably has one pilot to take her to those and back and a second for when she is home or not at a tour site.
Posted by Mid Iowa Tiger
Undisclosed Secure Location
Member since Feb 2008
18731 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 9:02 am to
There will be at least three pilots on her aircraft from Japan. I haven’t run the numbers, but hours wise it will take 3 if not 4 to rotate during that long of a flight.


They probably make around 150k annually. That’s about the average.
This post was edited on 2/4/24 at 9:03 am
Posted by Cracker
in a box
Member since Nov 2009
17749 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 9:02 am to
she has 2 jets so I am guessing 8 plus
Posted by Buryl
Member since Sep 2016
832 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 9:18 am to
I used to run a small hotel that hosted a decent amount of corporate pilots, from Netjets and Flight options to pilots who flew exclusively for single employers. 20 years ago, I knew a couple of Lehman Brothers pilots who told me that the captain was at around $175k and the co-captain between $130-150. I bet that number is double today. Both were former military. Netjets guys made next to nothing, but got tons of hours.
Posted by TDTOM
Member since Jan 2021
14828 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 9:25 am to
We pay our single engine turboprop guy around $100k.
Posted by FredsGotSlacks
Baton Rouge
Member since Mar 2008
815 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 9:55 am to
quote:

This is the most likely answer. She probably pays contracted pilots per day. I don’t know a whole lot about corporate aviation, but I believe this is a common model. Some of the rarer type ratings can score several thousand a day.

I fly a 7X in Texas and have met her CP on the road before. Her guys are very well paid and have a good QOL as evidenced by the fact there is very little turnover in her flight department. Based on industry pay in that region for her airplane(s) Her director/Chief Pilot should be making somewhere around or over 450K plus benefits and Captains around 350/400 plus benefits. Nashville is an expensive place to live so gotta pay well or they’ll just go to delta/AA and deal with the commute to ATL/CLT
Posted by Darth Vol
Member since Jan 2024
482 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 10:15 am to
quote:

Is that single pilot? Yeah seems kinda crazy to fly international with a single pilot, but maybe that’s a situation where you can have a pilot on staff and then have a second pilot contracted out for the handful of times a year she flies across the ocean?


Neither of her Dassault aircraft are certified for single pilot operation.

Her's probably has a crew of 3 for domestic flights. The 2 pilots and 1 flight attendant. International she probably has 3 pilots and maybe 2 attendants. No, people who own private jets that size do not pour their own coffee.

Posted by Darth Vol
Member since Jan 2024
482 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 10:20 am to
quote:

My last company had 2 pilots who were on call 24/7 for the company plane. I think they each pulled a base salary of $350k.

Being on call 24/7 and having to leave your fam for weeks on a whim of the CEO seemed pretty miserable.

My brother has a son in law who has this same set-up.

That life really sucks. He makes very good money. He had to go to Monaco for last year's F1 race and stay in a first class hotel the whole week. Had to watch the race too.

Tough life.

Posted by FredsGotSlacks
Baton Rouge
Member since Mar 2008
815 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 10:22 am to
quote:

There will be at least three pilots on her aircraft from Japan. I haven’t run the numbers, but hours wise it will take 3 if not 4 to rotate during that long of a flight. They probably make around 150k annually. That’s about the average.

13 hour flight only requires 3 crewmembers. Her flight department is part 91 I believe which means she does not have as stringent duty/flight time limitations as 121/135.

King air pilots make more than 150K nowadays. Average salary for a large cabin international pilot (globals, gulfstreams, falcons) is somewhere between 250 on the low end and above 400 depending on how good the flight department is and location (Cali, NY)
This post was edited on 2/4/24 at 10:24 am
Posted by cattus
Member since Jan 2009
13465 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 10:27 am to
A friend of mine that piloted for a wealthy European family via Clay Lacy showed me a paycheck for a weekend's work and it was 24K.
Posted by Fletch1985
Member since Jun 2020
281 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 10:39 am to
This is how it works for most owners that don’t out charter their planes. It’s cheaper to pay the pilots travel expenses than pay for fuel to go home and back to pick up the passengers. It’s also for availability. If owners want to leave early the plane and pilots are there.

Some owners out charter through a management company to offset operating expenses. In that case the pilots will fly others around and go back and pick up the owner.

Netjets type operators are moving planes as much as possible. Much like a commercial airline so those pilots are flying all the time, unless a charter party pays for them to stick around.
Posted by LSU fan 246
Member since Oct 2005
90567 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 10:53 am to
They don't make enough I could guess.

I know some guys who are on call for billionaire yachts. The pat is not worth it to get a call on a Friday night to leave for 3 weeks on a whim
Posted by baldona
Florida
Member since Feb 2016
20514 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 11:03 am to
quote:

They don't make enough I could guess. I know some guys who are on call for billionaire yachts. The pat is not worth it to get a call on a Friday night to leave for 3 weeks on a whim


That’s the job of a pilot? Either do this or you fly for an airline in which you can be gone for days at a time with a shite schedule until you get priority. If pilots had a 9-5 there’s a good chance their pay would be drastically reduced, and the jobs that have a better schedule that pay is usually reflected.
Posted by LSU fan 246
Member since Oct 2005
90567 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 11:07 am to
I'm talking about being on call and leaving for an unknown amount of time. The schedule for the other people is known and you can work around it with your life.

Do the private type pilots make more than the top big airline pilots?
Posted by baldona
Florida
Member since Feb 2016
20514 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 11:14 am to
quote:

It’s cheaper to pay the pilots travel expenses than pay for fuel to go home and back to pick up the passengers


No kidding what’s it cost $50,000 or more in fuel each way across the pond either direction? More than that?
Posted by Fletch1985
Member since Jun 2020
281 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 11:39 am to
I haven’t followed Jet A prices at the FBO (private terminals) lately, so will defer to the pilots on here. It’s regional just like gasoline at the pump and depends on the plane, but a big one like Taylors is definitely in the tens of thousands to cross the pacific.
Posted by Fletch1985
Member since Jun 2020
281 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 12:27 pm to
I’m bored so back of the envelope:

Jet A at FBO Las Vegas is $8.15 a gallon

Falcon 7x roughly 350 gallons an hour

Roughly 14 hour flight

$40,000

For context, Jet A at Houston is $7 and New York Teterboro is $9.
Posted by Mid Iowa Tiger
Undisclosed Secure Location
Member since Feb 2008
18731 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 1:55 pm to
quote:

King air pilots make more than 150K nowadays. Average salary for a large cabin international pilot (globals, gulfstreams, falcons) is somewhere between 250 on the low end and above 400 depending on how good the flight department is and location (Cali, NY)


Jesus. That has gone up a lot in the last 5-10 years. Like more than 100%.
Posted by Volvagia
Fort Worth
Member since Mar 2006
51915 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 1:58 pm to
quote:

The 7X is huge.


As I understand it, it has a fricking shower option.
Posted by LSUA 75
Colfax,La.
Member since Jan 2019
3708 posts
Posted on 2/4/24 at 2:12 pm to
Interesting stuff,I really had no clue that’s why I asked.
The circles I’m in don’t have private jets.

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