King Air 200/PC12 PIC Day Rate?

The Gardener

Terrafirma Phobic
What would you all think would be a reasonable rate for a King Air captain for a 135/91 on demand charter operation?

No bennies, and it'd be on call with just a day rate.

Annual training has been paid for by the company.

This would be for an area that has higher living costs than most places as well.

Thanks all!
 
Last edited:
Honestly? $300 to $400 per day in an expensive part of the country - $250 to $350 everywhere else. Without any benes or any other stuff I'd be leaning towards the higher end before it'd be worth my while to do it. $300/day means $78,000 year at a "normal job" - 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year. That's how I look into that stuff personally.

At my old job in the PC12 I made about $72,000 per year. Now in the King Air I do about 10k more a year, and I think that's reasonable in this part of the country (but it's expensive here, so it'd be different elsewhere).
 
Short of Alaska or Hawaii it's about as expensive as it gets here, sorry to be vague but if I'd rather not disclose the location. The plane is flying about 10 days/month so I'd have to find some additional work on the side too.
 
Short of Alaska or Hawaii it's about as expensive as it gets here, sorry to be vague but if I'd rather not disclose the location. The plane is flying about 10 days/month so I'd have to find some additional work on the side too.

Yeah, I'd say $300 to $400 per day would be in line with reality.
 
What kind of Kingair? Personally, I would ask for $600/day. Realistically, and since they paid for training, they'll probably offer $300-400/day.
 
Not too long ago, I was doing Part 91 KA200 and 350 contract work in a pretty high cost-of-living area of the USA, and got $400 - $500/day. The vast majority of these trips were quick out and backs where I was typically gone only 4 hours - sometimes, rarely, 6 hours max - and that 4 hours was from "show time" to "back and post-flight done and driving out the gate" time. The flying was easy and short and the pax were nice, and I was ok doing those for $400/day. If most of your flying will be "leave early in the morning and get back at 6 or 7 PM (or later)" - i.e. loooong duty days - then the higher end rate might be more appropriate.
 
We get 315-525 a day depending on a lot of things. Plus Bennies.

For a contract gig like that, I would think 5-600 a day would not be out of line.
 
I picked up a day trip in a King Air 90 on Sunday. I was paid $400 and I live in an area that is known to pay well below average for pilot jobs.
 
Keep in mind, a recurrent on a BE-20 is probably less than 8k. I would probably charge around $400 with the training included, or $500 without.
 
First year captains at my company make $250 a day and 2nd year Capts make $300 a day with benefits, all training paid for, and half/double pay for certain scenarios like flying on a holiday, flights between 0000-0400, full 14 hour duty day, etc
 
We offer pilot services in King Airs, among other things, and charge around $500/day in the DC area. That's negotiable if you have some other deal going with us like training or a/c mngt. Meals and lodging would be on the customer as well at that rate.
By the way, we just added Dornier 328Jet (SIC only) to those "other things" in case anybody has a line on a gig in the dork jet..
;)
 
$500 minimum. Hell, I got $300 for a damn Saratoga back in '86. Any less than $500, and the folks in the back are getting a hella deal. (Unless you're a crummy pilot)
 
$500 minimum. Hell, I got $300 for a damn Saratoga back in '86. Any less than $500, and the folks in the back are getting a hella deal. (Unless you're a crummy pilot)
I think contract rates, and especially in the King Air, vary wildly based on specifics.
I also don't think they vary very much based on how crummy of a pilot you are.
Anything that doesn't require a type rating will attract street hookers, software engineers with a CMEL or retired airline pilots lowering the going rate (bar) on contract pilots.
 
Last edited:
I think contract rates, and especially in the King Air, vary wildly based on specifics.
I also don't think they vary very much based on how crummy of a pilot you are.
Anything that doesn't require a type rating will attract street hookers, software engineers with a CMEL or retired airline pilots lowering the going rate (bar) on contract pilots.
Yup, collect them types. It's amazing what opens up.
 
Back
Top