Can a commercial pilot rent an airplane and use it for hire? Can the holder of a commercial pilot certificate rent an airplane (with a recent 100-hour inspection) from a fixed-base operator and use it to carry passengers for hire?
I believe the answer this is a &quot;NO&quot; since this pilot would be holding out by providing the airplane to the passenger, thus, this pilot would illegally be acting as a commercial operator / air carrier. Basically, the pilot and the airplane would be coming from the same source, even though the pilot doesn't actually own the plane and is renting it from somewhere else.
EDIT: Sorry, yes, I'm asking in regards to US regulations (FAA).
It doesn’t matter whether the pilot rents, leases or owns the plane; if they are offering “aviation services” to the “general public”, then they are “holding out” and would need an Air Operator Certificate.