I’m a private jet pilot…people are always fascinated by my famous passengers and how much I get paid, so I’m telling all
A PRIVATE jet pilot has revealed all the juiciest secrets on board with A-lister celebs – what happens after the seatbelts signs go off may shock you.
The flight deck member of 15 years decided to tell-all, from the craziest trip to the Mile-High Club.
Talking on Reddit, under handle Legacy5000Driver, the pilot shared information about his most famous clients and even potential UFOs.
‘CRAZIEST FLIGHT’
An answer everyone was dying to know was the most shocking thing to happen with clients chartering a private jet.
“A lot of people assume the back of a private jet is a place of debauchery,” said the pilot.
“Honestly, 99.9 per cent of the time it is boring.
“The occasional person will try to light a cig, and I have found a small vial of what I assume was cocaine, or an A-list athlete will party too hard in Vegas and throw up.”
MILE-HIGH CLUB
The notorious Mile-High Club has sparked rumours about celebrities for decades and seen a fair few passengers kicked off-board.
But has this private jet pilot ever seen a couple try to become members?
He answered: “Yes.
“I can only recall once that I know of, and they were very subtle about it, but I happened to turn around and she was sitting on his lap and I quickly turned around.”
EARNINGS
The high profile nature of private jet clients begged the question, how much are the aviators paid, and do they get hefty tips.
This flight deck crew member described one of his favourite passengers: “Charter pilots can usually expect some tips.
“One of my fave passengers when I flew charters was a well-known football player for the Chicago Bears, who has since retired.
“I used to fly him to Vegas and he would tip $1,000 [£800] without fail.”
Another benefit of the job was being able to collect hotel reward points, according to this pilot.
“I stay at Marriott properties and built up enough status and points that all of my personal vacations are free,” he added.
“Not to mention when a passenger goes to a cool destination, I am there enjoying it as we typically stay nearby in case they want to go home early.
“So if they are in Iceland for a week, so am I, and they are paying for everything.”
When it came to yearly salary, Legacy5000Driver claimed to make anywhere from an eye-watering £200,000 to £240,000.
A-LIST CLIENTS
While the jet pilot could not reveal actual names, he did give away some key details so people could connect the dots.
Among the celebrities was a former president and an actor who played Batman.
There was also an A-list couple with several children – who have since split.
A country band who have recently gone separate ways, as well as multiple Oscar winners and nominees.
MYSTERIES
Flying at 30,000 feet can offer a pilot a different view of what is going on in the world below them.
It also leads to some mysterious sightings from the cockpit.
One intrigued Reddit user wanted to know if there was anything Legacy5000Driver had seen that couldn’t be explained.
“Yes. Most things end up having an explanation, such as we realize it’s a weather balloon as we get closer,” they explained.
“Once I saw something metallic that I can’t really explain, but it also didn’t do anything particularly crazy such as change directions quickly that made me jump to the UAP [unidentified aerial phenomena] assumption.”
Some people even asked questions about whether the Earth is round or flat, to which the pilot answered: “Most definitely round…at 51,000ft [private jets fly higher than commercial airliners] you can see the subtle curve of the Earth.”
STRANGEST CLIENT REQUESTS
People also wanted to know about some of the most difficult or demanding passengers this pilot had encountered.
They replied: “I once was flying someone from Seattle to NY and as we got close to Chicago he remembered his favourite steak house was there and asked if we could stop.
“Otherwise, we change destinations mid-flight based upon weather at the destination most often.”
The aviator also shared a funny tip on how he manages to get a rowdy client to settle down.
If the passenger is “maybe too hungover, or drinking a little too much on the flight, create a little artificial turbulence such that the drink would spill and they’ll stop.”
When asked for advice on getting over a fear of turbulence, the pilot replied: “Know that turbulence while uncomfortable and can cause injury when not in a seat belt has rarely ever been the cause of an airplane crash.
“As in so extremely rare I can’t think of an actual crash caused by turbulence off the top of my head.”
They also explained turbulence tends to be less severe while travelling on a private jet due to flying higher up and less weather reaching their air space.
CHEAPEST WAY TO FLY PRIVATE
For all those wondering if they could hop on board a private flight, travel in style and save the tediously long airport queues, Legacy5000Driver had some tips.
“The jet is sold by the hour, not by the seat, so if you find a cheaper single-engine turboprop or a light jet and find enough friends to fill each seat and split the costs then you’re going to be at about as low cost as you can get.
“Something like Phoenix to Vegas in a seven-seat jet for a night and back may cost $7,500. Split that seven ways.
“Some companies will also try and sell empty legs at a discount. Say they have a jet in LA that has to get to Vegas for its next flight, they may try and sell that flight dirt cheap as they have to move it regardless.”