Career Overview: What I Do As an Airline Pilot
We have gone from the advances in aviation technology and test flights of the last century, which made air travel a routine and safe part of life, but pilots retain a certain mystery. We still feel like Chuck Yeager might be ahead, adjusting his glasses as he climbs into the clouds.
The responsibilities of an airline pilot, of course, are far from the experimental space-age craft; Transporting millions of travelers across the sky requires strict standards, which make air travel by far the safest form of transport. The tedious and invisible job of maintaining these standards is a large part of the airline pilot’s job, as we learned from an experienced captain who has served in the air for over 35 years. And in his spare time, he is also a cartoonist and professor.
Tell us a little about yourself and your experience.
I’m Chris Manno, American Airlines pilot since 1985 and captain since 1991. Prior to that, I was a pilot and an officer in the United States Air Force for seven years. I also have a PhD in English and am teaching as an adjunct professor at a local college. And then there are airline cartoons that you can find on Amazon and @Chris_Manno on Twitter. Plus my blog about the airline .
What prompted you to choose your career path?
My parents claim that at the age of three I announced that I would become a pilot. I can’t remember ever growing up when that wasn’t my only goal in life.
How did you get a job? What kind of education and experience did you need?
I aspired to go to college and get a degree that would allow me to go to the US Air Force flight school. Two hundred qualified candidates competed in my college, four of us went to the US Air Force flight school. One washed up, one died in a plane crash; another guy and I became Air Force pilots, fulfilled our military commitments, and then got hired by major airlines. He lost his medical record a few years ago, so I’m the only one who still flies on jets, or, as we call it, “pushing the metal.”
Do you need any licenses or certificates?
Many. My 2,000 US Air Force flight hours were accepted by the FAA for evaluating multi-engine jet engines. I then took civilian courses to earn my FAA certification as a commercial and aviation pilot. When I was hired by American Airlines, they took me to flight engineer courses on the B-727 and DC-10. I got both ratings and flew as a flight engineer (or, as we call him, “plumber”) for two years. I then promoted to MD-80 copilot, DC-10 copilot, then MD-80 captain, all in my first six years as an airline pilot. I also added a Fokker-100 captain rating and flew that plane for two years before returning to the MD-80 captain’s seat. Since 2011, I have been the captain of the Boeing 737-800.
What are you doing besides what the average person sees?
Much of what the airline captain is doing cannot be seen in the flight control department, in the closed area of the airport, or behind the locked cockpit door. Much of this has to do with flight planning in terms of aircraft performance, which includes technical issues of weight, speed and power, and route considerations that include altitude and routes. Of course, everything related to the aircraft, including maintenance, configuration and status, is at the heart of everything else we plan. In the cockpit, it basically provides accurate execution of all the many complex control and navigation procedures.
What do you actually spend most of your time on?
I would say planning that doesn’t end when you leave the ground. My job includes backup plans for backup plans for fuel, duration, route, and even destination. I am always three steps ahead of the plane and the flight. In flight, this includes navigation, weather and traffic avoidance, fuel management and of course maneuvers such as takeoff, climb, descent, approach and landing. With weather, short runways, crowded airspace and difficult approaches down to 50 feet minimum, there are many challenges.
“50 feet minimum”?
This means we can fly up to fifty feet before deciding if there is enough visibility to land.
What misconceptions do people often have about your job?
People think it’s simple, glamorous, fun. It’s fun – otherwise I wouldn’t do it. It is a satisfying task to fly over 160 people several thousand miles at Mach 0.78 and 40,000 feet. But the days are long – often 12 or more hours – but, nevertheless, everything must be done perfectly every time. And there are endless exams, checks, quizzes, workouts, physicals, and assessments on a regular basis. That’s a good thing, and in many ways, that’s why the US air transportation system has such an excellent safety record. But endless demands are always troublesome. And hotels plus time away from home is just hard work.
What’s your average uptime?
I am at the top of the pilot world after nearly thirty years with my airline, so I fly in circles – that is, I go to the airport, fly from DFW to Seattle and back (or Boston, New York, Miami. LAX, SFO) and go home. Since it is now time to change direction, I can fly my monthly hours in 11-12 days. It also allows me to teach in college two days a week. A pilot from the middle of the flock flies for 14-16 days with an overnight stay in any city other than the base one.
What personal tips and shortcuts have made your job easier?
This is ironic: the point is that there are never shortcuts in the flying business. And they don’t have any shortcuts to get into this field: it takes years and thousands of flight hours to get a decent job as a pilot in a major airline.
What’s the worst part of a job and how do you deal with it?
Definitely constant monitoring, testing, evaluation and retraining, which is repeated over and over again throughout the airline pilot’s career. But this is what makes our profession safe and excellent; from day one as a pilot, you work hard, constantly learn, know your business and use your head.
Which airport do you least like to land at? Is there a favorite?
Unloved? Mexico City: Generally poor visibility, congested, often bad weather, poor infrastructure, 7,000 feet and high temperatures, which are at the limit of a jet’s power. Favorite: I don’t really have one, except maybe DFW, because that means I’m at home.
I know that many pilots call DCA, SNA, LGA, and San Diego their least favorite because in urban legends these airports have a reputation for being “dangerous.” I have no problem with any of these places; I just do the job exactly the way it should be done, and it’s safe and acceptable to me.
How much money can you expect at your job?
The starting salary varies, but in a large airline, you can earn between $ 70,000 and $ 90,000 in five years. Senior officers with long-term work experience can exceed $ 100,000, and new captains – about $ 150,000. Senior captains cost about $ 200,000, depending on what they fly and how long they fly. Again, just general numbers.
How are you progressing in your field?
Pilots live and die by seniority because that’s how you advance. I was lucky to be hired at a time when there was a significant retirement in the ranks of the pilots, so I became a captain in just six years. Today, it is more typical to have worked as a co-pilot for more than 20 years before he can qualify for the position of captain.
What do your passengers value more / less?
I find that passengers underestimate the rigorous standards and constant testing. Most only see the results, and often they don’t like it: you are late, you are distracted, whatever. But these results are the result of strict adherence to standards and procedures – no one wants to return home more than we do, but my job is to make sure it is done correctly, safely and exactly according to instructions. In most cases, flights are going according to plan. But when they don’t, rest assured that you are getting exactly what you paid for: safe flight right on schedule.
Have you ever experienced real fear while flying?
Not really. I have to say that after 35 years of flying airplanes, they just don’t scare me. There are problems, stress and solutions, but I’m just not afraid – I just work on problems.
Do you have time on a long flight to play iPad games, browse the web, and more?
Absolutely not. Wi-Fi access and use is prohibited by FAA regulation, and no half-brain pilot is going to give it up: after any aviation accident, recording this aircraft’s Wi-Fi will result in dismissal and license revocation. Thus, there is never any network access or Wi-Fi in the cockpit.
For flights longer than nine hours, a reinforced crew is required, that is, three pilots instead of two; each pilot is given a break in the cockpit for several hours during the flight. On ultra-long flights (18 hours) there are usually four pilots.
What is the most enjoyable part of the job?
For me, just a good old stick and rudder flying with my hands. Bad weather? Be that as it may – the more difficult the task, the more useful it is. And it’s always good to see 160 passengers safely leave the plane without knowing how much work it took to achieve that result. This is as it should be, and my payoff, besides my salary, is to fly a jet plane, put it all together and make it possible. Never gets old.
What advice would you give to those who want to become your profession?
Honestly? I would say no. It’s a brutal rollercoaster business that rules the aviation industry. Even as a senior pilot, I have experienced cut wages, cut retirements, airline bankruptcies, and economic downturns. The junior pilots eventually got back their positions and thus earnings, and thousands were eventually fired, that is, on the street for two to ten years. This is hell for the family, as well as career stagnation for those who don’t get vacations.
So honestly, my answer is to find a career area where you can achieve financial security and be at home with your family, and that’s exactly what I told my own son. However, he is a captain in the United States Air Force, an instructor pilot and recruits the necessary hours to get a job with a major airline. So, WTFDIK?
After all, if flying is in your blood – and my son is a third-generation pilot – you will do what you have to in order to fly. Otherwise, I would recommend a dental school, orthodontic practice; midday wednesday, friday closed, every evening at home. Then you can buy a decent plane if you like.