A private jet pilot flies a jet that belongs to one family or to a charter company. Most trips have two pilots up front, a captain and a first officer. Bigger jets also carry cabin crew to look after the passengers in the air.
The captain runs the trip. They plan the route, check fuel and weather, sign off on the paperwork, and set the tone in the cabin.
What does a private jet pilot do?
A private jet captain flies for one principal, a family office, or a charter company. The job has three parts. Flying the jet. Planning every trip. Running the team around it.
Days start early. The captain files the flight plan, briefs the first officer, checks the weather along the route and at the alternates, signs off on fuel, then meets the cabin crew at the FBO before the principal turns up.
It doesn’t stop when you land. There’s customs and immigration paperwork at the FBO. The aircraft gets handed to maintenance if something needs fixing. Then prep starts for the next leg.
Most trips cross borders or run several legs. A typical schedule might be London to Geneva to Saint-Tropez over 36 hours, with the catering swapped at each stop and the whole timing redone if the principal runs late.
The captain also runs the cabin crew. They sign off on what’s loaded at the FBO, keep an eye on service during the flight, and handle the handover between legs, especially on bigger jets with one or two flight attendants on board.
On the ground, the captain is on the phone constantly. The principal’s PA. The chief of staff. The chauffeur at the FBO. The ground handlers in each country.
What aircraft you fly changes the whole shape of the job. Light jets like a Citation CJ4 or Phenom 300 do regional trips. Mid-size jets like a Challenger 350 or Praetor 600 do longer routes. Heavy jets like a Gulfstream G650, Global 7500, or Falcon 8X do long-haul international flights.
How do you become a private jet pilot?
Most private jet pilots come into the job one of two ways. The first is civil aviation, usually years as an airline first officer or captain starting on regional jets. The second is military, leaving an air force or navy flying job and converting to civilian licenses.
The typical civil path:
- Earn a Private Pilot License (PPL), around 40 to 60 flight hours
- Build hours and move to a Commercial Pilot License (CPL), 250 hours minimum
- Add an Instrument Rating (IR) and a multi-engine rating
- Log 1,500 hours and pass the exams for an Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) in the US
- Add a type rating for the specific jet you’re going to fly
First officers usually spend years on regional jets or as co-pilots at a charter operator before they get the captain’s seat on a private jet. Moving from charter to flying for one principal takes some getting used to. Rostered duty days turn into permanent on-call.
What licenses does a private jet pilot need?
Most private jet captains hold an Airline Transport Pilot License, which is the top pilot certification. The PPL, CPL, instrument rating, and the flight hours are all part of getting there.
A private jet captain also needs:
- A type rating for the specific aircraft, like a Gulfstream G650, Bombardier Global, Cessna Citation, or Embraer Praetor
- An Instrument Rating to fly in poor visibility
- A multi-engine rating
- A current Class 1 medical
- For US-based pilots, an FAA First Class Medical, renewed every six months for captains over 40
The Federal Aviation Administration sets the rules in the US. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency does the same in Europe. A lot of international captains hold both, because UHNW principals are in and out of US and European airspace all the time, sometimes inside the same month.
The type rating is aircraft-specific too. A captain rated on a Gulfstream G550 needs a transition course and a check ride before they can fly a G650.
What skills does a private jet pilot need?
Flight hours aren’t enough on their own. A lot of the job is judgment, discretion, and the kind of presence in the cabin you can’t put on a resume.
Discretion comes up every single day. Some principals ban phones on board and even inside the FBO.
Morgan Richez, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet, explains how it works at the top end. “Some clients have a process: you leave your mobile phone at the entrance of the property and take it back when you go on break or finish the day. It’s not common, but when it comes to very expensive properties and VVIP clients, yes. During your job, you don’t need your mobile phone. And when you work at this kind of property, you get a very good salary and very good conditions. So you accept it.”
That rule runs the whole trip, pre-flight to post-flight. Routes, passenger lists, cockpit conversations, everything stays on the aircraft.
Languages help on international trips. A captain who can talk to Geneva ATC in French and answer a UAE principal in Arabic is easier to place, and they get paid more for it.
Morgan from his years as a butler went on private flights with his clients and he remembers the professionalism and discretion of everyone on the plane. Apart from safety and getting to the right destination it was almost as important, almost an unspoken rule.
What are the working conditions like?
Private jet pilots spend more time on standby than in the air. A captain working directly for a UHNW family might fly only 200 to 400 hours a year, and be on call for most of them. In most contracts, the aircraft has to be ready on six to eight hours’ notice.
Trips run longer than they do at most other aviation jobs. One tasking can mean 14 hours of duty, several time zones, and two or three nights away from base.
“UHNW families move fast,” Laurine Mallet, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet, says. “If they need to be in Paris tomorrow, they need their staff with them.” That includes the cockpit.
Contracts vary a lot. Permanent roles go on a family payroll or inside a corporate flight department. Fractional operators like NetJets and VistaJet use rotation contracts, where two captains share one seat, usually two or three weeks on then two or three weeks off. Freelance and fixed-term work fills the gaps at charter operators.
Morgan can tell you what the split actually looks like at Morgan & Mallet. “Permanent represents 75% of the work we get. Temporary is the second one. The last one is freelance. Freelance is more for the chef position, pilot structure, that kind of job.” If you want predictable home time, freelance and rotation get you there. If you want one principal, one aircraft, and a real relationship with a family office, permanent does.
Pay isn’t just the salary. Packages usually include health insurance, type rating renewals (which can cost the employer $30,000 every two years), simulator training, hotels on layover, and daily allowances in local currency. International roles often throw in flights home once a year.
How does private jet flying compare to airline or charter work?
A captain working for one principal answers to one family or one family office. There’s no roster. The schedule is whatever the principal’s calendar looks like. The family gets all the flexibility. The pilot gets a lot less predictability.
Pay works differently too. Airline captains build seniority over twenty or thirty years. A Boeing 787 captain at a major US airline might earn $300,000+, but only after 15 years and a long bid process. A private jet captain on a similar heavy aircraft can hit $250,000+ in five to seven years, with big swings depending on how many hours they fly and how generous the principal is.
What you give up is predictability. An airline captain knows their schedule months ahead and is home most weekends. A private jet captain knows where they’re flying when the PA calls. Some pilots love that. Others bid back to the airlines after two years.
Charter sits in the middle of the two. Duty rules are stricter, pay is lower than working private, and the rotation is more set in stone. Most private jet captains do two or three years of charter on the way through.
How much do private jet pilots earn?
Private jet pilots in the US earn anywhere from about $80,000 to $250,000+ a year. Aircraft type, hours flown, and who you fly for all push the number up or down. In Europe, packages usually fall between €80,000 and €150,000+.
The size of the aircraft sets the range. Light jet captains are at the lower end. Mid-size in the middle. Heavy and ultra-long-range captains at the top.
These numbers line up with industry sources like the National Business Aviation Association and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Morgan & Mallet’s 2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report covers butlers, chefs, nannies, and other domestic roles. For pilots, we advise on packages on a per-search basis.
Private jet pilots operate in an environment where perfection is the norm. Working conditions include luxury service for demanding passengers such as HNWIs. Discretion and confidentiality are also important aspects, ensuring an exclusive flight experience.
What does a private jet pilot job description include?
A template employers can adapt before posting a role.
Position: Private Jet Pilot (Captain) Reports to: Principal or director of aviation (family office) Base: [Home airport, e.g., Teterboro, NJ] Aircraft: [e.g., Gulfstream G650ER]
Key responsibilities
- Captain all assigned flights, domestic and international
- Plan routes, file flight plans, manage fuel and weather decisions
- Run pre-flight and post-flight inspections
- Lead the first officer and cabin crew on every leg
- Sort out FBO ground handling, customs, and slot bookings across multiple countries
- Keep pilot logs, training currency, and medical certifications up to date
- Stay in touch with the principal’s PA, chief of staff, and ground handlers
- Hold strict confidentiality on routes, passengers, and conversations
Required qualifications
- ATPL or equivalent
- Current type rating on [aircraft type]
- Minimum 5,000 total flight hours, 1,500 on type
- Class 1 medical certificate
- Clean criminal record and willing to sign an NDA
- Fluent English. A second language is welcome.
Schedule
- On standby, typically 200 to 400 flight hours a year
- 24-hour reachability, rotation possible
- International travel with overnights as required
Compensation
- Flights home once a year for international captains families to travel discreetly and flexibly. It is also a personalized and luxurious travel experience.
- $[lower] to $[upper] a year, based on aircraft type and experience
- Health insurance, recurrent training, hotels on layover, per diems
For employers: hire a private jet pilot
Looking for a captain or first officer? Morgan & Mallet runs targeted searches for privately owned jets, family office aviation departments, and corporate flight teams.
Call us for your free consultation on +1 (646) 965-2308 or get in touch through one of our offices.
For candidates: apply for a private jet pilot role
Morgan & Mallet places pilots across the US, UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia for UHNW principals, family offices, and charter operators.
Apply through our job board to start the vetting process.