Do airlines count banner towing hours as flight hours?
When doing banner towing, you are pilot in command of an airplane for which you are rated, so it is clearly FAA-legal time. Our airline counts all legal time, and I am unaware of airlines that deny any legal time, but neither have I done in depth research on the topic. Having done banner towing, I consider it very valuable time because it requires a high degree of airmanship to pick up the banner, fly in appropriate airspace at appropriate altitudes in slow flight, avoid traffic, communicate with ATC when near busy airports, and accurately drop the banner at the completion of the flight… I think I earned every dime I made when I was doing it…
