61.113 and expense reimbursements

On 2007-11-19 10:38:57 -0800, Ron Garret said:

I'm a private pilot. If I fly myself to a business meeting for a
company that I work for and they reimburse me for the cost of the
flight, have I violated FAR 61.113?

rg

Probably not if you are flying by yourself. Questionable if you are
carrying passengers or property on behalf of the company.

Contrary to what others have said, the FAA has been fairly consistent
in their opinions. There is no reason a company cannot reimburse you
for incidental personal transportation expenses. However, carrying
passengers or property for hire must be as a commercial pilot. This is
why companies hire commercial pilots to fly their corporate aircraft.
So carrying passengers or property would probably be considered a
violation.

There are liability issues as well. If there were an accident and you
were carrying these passengers and receiving more than your pro-rata
reimbursement for them, then an insurance company or a tort lawyer
would certainly argue that you were conducting a commercial operation.

Finally, of course, there are Federal Income Tax questions. There may
be some limits there for how much the company can reimburse you.
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor