IamA worker at a place that serves private jets. I provide service to (rich/famous) passengers and pilots. And fuel them, get catering and cars, etc. AMA!

Craziest thing you witnessed?

The craziest thing I tend to see are the people who get off of massive aircraft, all alone except the crew.

Saw what couldn't have been older than a 23 year old kid get off of a Gulfstream 550 the other day. Pretty nuts. Never seen anything too crazy from what I can immediately think of right now. I'll make another post if anything else comes to mind.

Edit: guy a few months ago tore a huge whole in the side of the hangar with the wing of a jet while he was towing it. Took a big clip out of the wing, combined it was at least a few tens of thousands of dollars of damage. That was an employee of course.

Is he still an employee?

He got fired a few months later for some other stuff as well.

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Do I have to dress like a Victorian maid?

How does the whole TSA thing work if you are on a private jet? Do you fill out forms on the plane? Before the plane?
Also if you have a million a year to spend on a private jet, do you think it's worth it? Why or why not?!

There is no TSA for private operations. They're technically in charge of airport badges and stuff but you would never see the stereotypical "blue shirt fake cop" TSA screener here. Only in the passenger terminal for scheduled airline flights. So nope, no forms. One of many of the advantages of private flight.

If you only have a million, that's chump change it this world. You'd be leasing a 4-50 million dollar plane. Only the ultra rich actually own large jets. By a large margin, most people are doing charter flights.

On the other hand, it's certainly traveling in style. Think of every inconvenience you deal with flying commercially and take it out, and you have private jets. And then some!

Thanks for answering. I've loved planes and airports since I was 5. Being middle class me, I just wondered what's the advantage to using a charter airline. I suppose you have a lot more leeway in plane schedules, and no flight grind that I'm used to when I travel. Can you fly basically whenever you want using a charter airline? Supposing they're not booked I suppose. Like could I call up and say 'can you fly me to Cancun tomorrow?' give my CC details and actually make that happen?

Yeah, you could. I'm not super intimate in my knowledge of it but just saying be prepared to have your mouth dropped at the cost, depending on the route and time. The advantage is you can fly into a much smaller, municipal airport instead of having to go to a big city international airport. Also any time of day, whenever you want. Any tons of creature comforts depending on what you take.

I would check out wheels up and jetsuite to start off. Those would be some lower cost ones. Fly the whale if you're in the northeast.

Well JetSuite wants $20,000 for New York to Paris. But the plane holds 7, so thats about $2900 per person, which is comparable to first-class rates on regular carriers.

Much nicer, though. And, you can take your pets along.

I didn't know that! Neat.

Who was the most famous person you ever met on the job?

A professional hockey player. Or one of the Koch brothers. A fortune 50 CEO.

How much do you get payed?

Been paid 9/hr previously at my last place but they were cheap haha. Now I'm getting about 12/hr. Career guys could be making up to 15 or more.

reaganomics in action..?

Eh I guess so. It's a pretty entry level job.

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Huh

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I figured, just not exactly sure why you decided I was mysogonyst.

How much does it traditionally cost the customers?

We charge depending on plane size. So if a midsized private jet lands and stays overnight they usually pay like 300 bucks and then buy maybe $800-1000 of fuel (~250 gal).

Do the rich live in a different world than the rest of us? Do you think that the way they experience life is fundemantally different from our perception?

I'm not the best person to answer this, but I think everyone sees the world in a different perspective based on how they were brought up and where they are now. Being wealthy certainly affects this. In what ways, it depends. Good or bad can come from it.

As much as I love airplanes, sometimes it all feels a bit wasteful. Depending on the operation of course. I know airplanes are often the most efficient way to travel.

Do you ever have to load any pets of these people? What are those like, if so?

Yeah lots of people. Only ever seen dogs. Often times the stereotypical lap dog like some terriers but also big ones. They're my favorite flights.

So you work at an FBO? The FBO at Tweed New Haven airport has some crazy private jets coming through. I've seen quite a few famous people come through. I don't work there, but I fly planes out of there.

Yep, work at an FBO! You're a pilot? You should check out /r/flying!

most outlandish request?

When pilots keep asking to have their plane moved into the wind. Lol I actually haven't really gotten anything that crazy...

Do you get any military aircraft?

I've fueled some military helicopters as well as police ones but that's it.

What city do you do this in?

Medium sized vacation destination on the east coast :P

Most famous person you've dealt with ? And were they nice :)

CEO of a very major car company (post bailout he was hired). Nice guy! Famous hockey player/legend. Also a really salty funny old dude.

Do you meet a lot of rich assholes? What are they like? What are the nice rich people like?

Actually the majority of people are fine. It's a little different than say, being a cashier because there's this sort of filter on the people you meet in that almost everyone is very successful. Passengers who are rude usually only are in the sense that they are kind of dismissive, like they ignore you.

Nice people tip nicely. And acknowledge you. Say hi or something. As in treat you like you exist.

On the other hand, the people we mainly deal with are the crews (pilots and on occasion, flight attendants). They're more used to dealing with FBOs and are often under pressure from their companies so it gets passed down to us. Or they're just assholes, haha. One guy is extremely particular about how his aircraft is treated, where he parks, what kind of rental car he wants, etc. Just overall very tiring.

What is the best part of your job?

I love aviation. While I'm not flying, it's nice to be able to still be around planes. I try not to get jaded and just think of it as any other job.

Just my imagination, but are there often hookers or 'escorts' with these rich and famous ppl?

Hahaha not that I know of.

What's the deal with airline food?

Yes.

You don't work at a Million Air do you?

Negative

it feels as though people who pilot their own private jets tend to crash more often than in commercial jets -- have you witnessed this phenomenon?

People who aren't professional pilots are by far generally more dangerous simply because of the lack of experience, training, and currency. But that doesn't mean it's always unsafe to fly with a private pilot. Be careful of someone however who gets rich, and buys way more plane than they can handle with that money.

Most pilots we get are professionals.

do you think it would be consistently cheaper to charter a jet as a group than fly first class commercial?

No.

Haha I know that seems curt but the answer is almost certainly no. You do it for convenience and comfort, not savings.

If you bought your own small plane and learned to fly you might be able to though. Large companies are able to save some money by owning a fleet for executive transport.

Meanest customer you've ever had?

Honestly, hard to say. I've never had someone be outright mean to me really. Probably just haven't worked long enough yet.

Do you get to go park nice cars ? If so wich one was the best and was it hard not "playing" with it for a couple of minutes ?

Yep! We had an Aston Martin get dropped off here but I never got to drive it, bummer. Drove an s5 the other day which was a personal favorite. Also an AMG, escalade, stuff like that.

Sometimes I wish we did get to take them for a spin... alas it's usually only for a few yards.

By s5 you mean the audi s5 ? Great car !!

I know!

These are my questions:

1. Do you get a lot of pauses?
2. For how long have you been working there?
3. Is it a cool job?
4. What is the most fun thing to do?
5. What is the biggest tip you have gotten?

1. Yeah, lots of down time punctuated by periods of extreme busyness it seems like. That's why I did this AMA, bored on a rainy day haha.

2. A few months. It's a summer job for me but I've done it for 3 years at various airports.

3. Yes! It's really cool especially if you like airplanes.

4. Just pretty much talking to the pilots and hanging out when we can. We get extra food from planes that people don't eat which can on occasion be really good. Booze, sandwiches, pastries, stuff like that. I also like towing planes... makes me feel powerful to have 50 million dollars under my control!

5. 60 bucks for some baggage!

Seems like a cool summer job, how old are you and where can I apply?

20, but got my first job when I was 18. With almost no experience! Just a bit of office work and I was flight training which helped.

Google FBOs at nearby locations. Don't think you know all the airports around you, either. There's a lot of tiny or midsized airports you may have never heard of just down the street from you!

How are the guys who work in tower? With what you do how closely do you work with them? Im leaving for training in ATC soon so im kinda curious about the day to day on the more private airports.

We don't have any interactions with them really. An FBO ramp is a non movement area meaning it's not under ATC authority. Good luck in your training!

Are they generally rude and demanding or nice and easy-going?

The passengers are usually pretty nice, the pilots can be a bit demanding ("we need to be on line now! Why the fuck is the fueler taking so long? Why did you park us there?")

"I fly a $175,000 Cirrus! I need free coffee, food, premium parking, a dedicated attendant, computer and wifi access, and papers in the morning! Don't you dare look at my baby the wrong way. You want to tow it? You don't have the experience or equipment to do it right, where do you want it? I'll taxi it."

"Huh, what? Yeah, I fly the G5. Yes, brakes are off. Okay, see you tomorrow. Thanks for the help."

Pretty much sums up my experience :) (Stereotyped of course, not everyone is like that)

The Cirrus driver bought his ride with his own blood and sweat. Gulfstream pilot's job is a paid gig with someone's else's iron.

Yeah but one of them is a professional ;)

Yeah, sometimes it seems like that!

What are the requirements you needed to get your job?

Nothing really. Some experience helps depending on who's hiring. They train you. Clean pee.

Do you work for a national chain on a local FBO?

Chain. There's only five or six of them though. It's a pretty upscale one.

Can you do the world a favor and blow up the jets with the rich people in the them?

Not a question just a hopeful aspiration

What the fuck....