Sharing costs with another pilot

Yes, you can share costs with a passenger who is also a pilot, and it's simpler than with a non-pilot because you don't need their signed declaration if they hold or have held a pilot's licence. Everything else stays the same: they pay no more than an equal share of the direct costs, and on any one flight only one of you is the pilot in command whose costs are being shared.

The legislation and CAA guidance cited here cover cost sharing and passenger records. They don't cover how two pilots log time or divide crew roles, so this guide doesn't either. It deals with the money and the paperwork.

The declaration exemption

The law requires a record "for each passenger" (NCO.GEN.102(g); ANO 2016 art. 13(2)(g) for non-Part-21 aircraft). The CAA's acceptable means of compliance creates an exception. AMC1 NCO.GEN.102(g)(b) says:

Recording and acceptance of safety standards is not required for passengers who hold or have held a pilot's licence proved to the satisfaction of the pilot-in-command of the cost sharing flight.

CAP 1590 (guidance), para 20, says the same: a Passenger Declaration Form "is not required to be completed and retained for passengers who hold or have held a pilot's licence provided the Pilot in Command has been satisfied of the evidence of such a licence."

What that means in practice:

• Current and former licence holders both qualify. The wording is "hold or have held", so a lapsed licence counts.
• You have to be satisfied. The licence has to be "proved to the satisfaction of the pilot-in-command". Ask to see the licence, or other evidence you're comfortable with, before the flight.
• It's a licence, not training. The exemption refers to a pilot's licence. A student pilot who hasn't yet been issued a licence doesn't fall within that wording, so get a declaration from them.

The exemption is in guidance, not the regulation

The legislative text of NCO.GEN.102(g) and ANO art. 13(2)(g) doesn't contain the exemption. It comes from the AMC and CAP 1590. Relying on it is the CAA's accepted approach, but if you want to be fully covered, getting a declaration anyway costs nothing. It's also worth noting for yourself which pilot passengers you relied on the exemption for, and what evidence you saw. The law doesn't require that note, but it shows your working if anyone asks.

The advice still applies

The AMC exempts the "recording and acceptance" of safety standards. It doesn't touch NCO.GEN.102(f): "Passengers undertaking the flight must be clearly advised that the flight does not meet the same safety standards as a Commercial Air Transport (CAT) flight." A pilot passenger probably knows that already, but say it anyway.

The equal-share cap still applies

Being a pilot doesn't change what a passenger can pay. NCO.GEN.102(c) caps each passenger's contribution at "an amount not more than the total direct costs divided equally by the number of persons carried (including the pilot)". ANO art. 13(2)(c) has the same wording.

With two people on board, the most the pilot passenger can pay is half the direct costs. With three, a third each, and so on. You can pay more than your share, never less: CAP 1590, para 27, says the pilot's contribution "must not be less than the total direct cost divided equally by the number of people on board. Pilots may however choose to pay more than the proportional costs."

The costs you can share are the same four as on any cost-shared flight: "(a) fuel; (b) oil; (c) airfield charges; and (d) aircraft rental fees at current market rate" (UK Reg (EU) 965/2012 Art. 2(12)). If you're both in the same group or club, the same caps on group hourly rates and hire charges apply. See cost sharing in a group-owned aircraft and who pays what.

The cost sharing calculator works out the split.

One pilot in command per flight

The cost-sharing derogation is built around a single pilot in command. Art. 6(4a)(a) allows the passengers' contribution "towards the direct costs of the flight which would otherwise be payable by the pilot in command", and the contribution is one given "to the pilot by the passengers". The derogation is framed around the pilot in command, so the cautious reading is to treat the other pilot as a passenger: they pay no more than an equal share and either sign a declaration or fall within the licence-holder exemption.

That matters when two pilots share a trip and take turns:

• Work out each flight separately. On each flight, the pilot in command pays at least an equal share and the other pilot pays no more than an equal share.
• Evening it up across a trip needs care. With two people, an equal share is exactly half, so a straight 50/50 split on each flight works. Where the numbers differ, for example one flight with three people on board, don't let a passenger's share on any flight go over the equal share to balance something else.
• No pilot can be paid to fly. NCO.GEN.102(e) says "No person acting as a pilot is employed as a pilot or acting under a contract for the provision of services as a pilot for the flight." If you agree that the other pilot flies a leg for you in return for something more than their share of costs, that is getting close to paying them to fly. Keep the arrangement to sharing the direct costs.

Safety pilots and P2

Pilots sometimes fly together as a safety pilot, or with one acting as P2. The legislation and CAA guidance cited here don't cover crew roles, logging or what each role permits, so we can't say how they fit together with cost sharing. On the money and the record, the cautious reading above still applies: treat the pilot who isn't pilot in command as a passenger, who pays no more than an equal share and either signs a declaration or falls within the licence-holder exemption.

Recency with a pilot passenger

CAP 1590 (guidance), para 15, says "To carry passengers, a pilot must have completed, in the relevant class or type rating, three take-offs, approaches and landings in the preceding 90 days", with one at night for night flights unless you hold an instrument rating. FCL.060(b) has the Part-FCL version.

For UK national licences, ANO 2016 Sch. 8 has a "recent experience exception" for aeroplane and helicopter private pilot's licences: the flight "will carry a single passenger who is also qualified to act as pilot in command on that flight" and the licence holder "has informed the intended passenger that the holder does not meet the recent experience condition." There's no equivalent in the FCL.060 text in our sources. Check which rule applies to your licence before relying on it. See cost sharing by licence.

The briefing still applies

A pilot passenger still gets a briefing. NCO.OP.130 and ANO art. 73 require one on emergency equipment and procedures for passengers, and the CAA's Safety Sense Leaflet 02 notes that "the legal requirement for a passenger safety briefing always applies." See giving a passenger briefing.

Before you fly

• Decide who is pilot in command for each flight.
• See evidence of the other pilot's licence, or get a declaration from them.
• Tell them the flight doesn't meet CAT safety standards.
• Split only direct costs, with no passenger paying more than an equal share.
• If anyone else on board isn't a pilot, get their declaration before the flight. Split My Flight collects declarations online and keeps them with a compliance document for each flight.