Test Your Knowledge: Sharing Flight Expenses with Passengers
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There are many nuances when it comes to sharing flight expenses with friends.
Private and Commercial pilots are permitted to share in the expenses of a flight with passengers. The types of expenses that can be shared are expressly stated in § 61.113(c) which are “fuel, oil, airport expenditures, or rental fees.” If you are to share in these expenses with other passengers, the pilot should not “pay less than the pro rata share of the operating expenses.” The pilot must also have a common purpose with his passengers for traveling to the destination. In other words, the pilot’s motivation cannot simply be flying as a favor or for the purpose of building flight time.
Scenario 1: You work for a real estate development company and are also a Private pilot who owns a Cessna 182 Skylane. Next week, you and a co-worker are traveling to a meeting that will be a two-hour drive. With a nice weather forecast, you decide you are going to fly instead and save a lot of travel time.
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Scenario 2: You own a Cirrus SR-22 and are planning to fly the airplane to a concert with your spouse. You discover that another couple you know are planning to drive to the same concert. Given that you are close friends, you offer to pick them up in your airplane at an airport closer to where your friends live, and then drop them back off after the concert before flying home. Your friends graciously offer to share in the expense of the entire flight.
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While you can be compensated to fly as a Commercial pilot, you can only do so under the common law term, private carriage, which is conducted under Part 91. The opposite of private carriage is common carriage which requires a Part 119 authorzation (Air Carrier Certificate) issued under Part 135 for charter operators or Part 121 for airlines.
An operation becomes a common carrier when it holds itself out (another common law term) to the public to fly any person or cargo who desires the service. Advertising is one of the most obvious forms of holding out to the public which can include social media posts, but the FAA has held that even establishing a reputation as one who provides his pilot services to the public is enough to be considered a common carrier requiring an air carrier certificate.
Scenario 3: You’ve just completed your checkride and earned your Commercial pilot certificate. But your checkride ran long and the DPE has another checkride starting soon at a nearby airport. The DPE offers to pay pay for the fuel if you can fly him to the nearby airport. After all, you have some time and he did just issue you your Commercial pilot certificate.
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Another good refresher quiz, but please clarify scenario #3. It sounds to me that the new commercial pilot would have been acting as a “private carrier” which is permissible. Thank you.
They need to have a common purpose for the flight, which they did not, hence the reason the #3 scenario is common carriage and is not okay.
Question 3, I’m not convinced, the pilot is not just a Private Pilot as stated in the regulation, he is a Commercial Pilot and is privileged by 61.133 (a) 1 (i). As he did not hold himself out for hire, but was solicited he is not bound by Part 119. AC 61-142, states “holding out” is vague, but also suggests that it be entrepreneurial in nature; which in this scenario the pilot is not holding out in an entrepreneurial manner. Now, if the pilot had made the suggestion that would have been a plane of a different color.
Hi: Regarding #1. You can carry a passenger as long as you are not being compensated for that passenger. Now, if the company was paying you extra to take the passenger, then it would be illegal. But carrying a passenger when flying is incidental to employment is not illegal if you are not being compensated for carrying a passenger.
These little quizzes are really valuable in my opinion.
I agree with Sebastian regarding #1- you’re being reimbursed expenses, not compensated, and the coworker has common cause for the trip.
As far as #3 is concerned you didn’t stipulate that the DPE provided the plane for the checkride so if the student provided the plane it’s not common carriage, in addition to not having held out but instead solicited by someone who just happened to know they had a CPL, and the DPE is only paying for fuel and not a rental nor the student’s time.