'It was a joy': Veteran British Airways Boeing 747 pilot on the end of jumbo jets

Yes, that's about right. When you first join British Airways, you cut your teeth on the short-haul network. I loved flying around Europe. It was brilliant fun. I could be doing up to four flights per day. When you move to long haul, you obviously fly a lot fewer flights.

Is flying long-haul the pinnacle of the profession?

It's a good question. Some people are short-haul through and through, but in the main, because it's so competitive, most pilots within BA want to fly long-haul. The two lifestyles are very different. I have three children, and I always assumed that when I had kids, I would go back to short-haul – but, kind of ironically, I feel that I get more and better time at home being a long-haul pilot. These days, the longest trip tends to involve being away for four or five days. But when you come home, you have the same four or five days with your family. Whereas, with the short-haul network, you can do three days away – and then, straight away, do two or three days away again. It's horses for courses.

Is there a huge difference between flying a 747 and a smaller aircraft? Or is it a case that, when you are operating at your level, a plane ultimately a plane?

I've got a big smile on your face as you ask me that. People have sometimes said to me: "Oh, it's just a big Cessna". But that's exactly right. A 747 is just a big Cessna. It's a beautiful aeroplane to fly – the last of its kind. Modern airliners are fly-by-wire [FBW; the computerised system that 21st-century aircraft use]. But the 747 wasn't. It did what the pilot wanted it to do. Obviously, there were differences [with smaller planes]. You're sitting 30ft above the ground for one. But in terms of flying, it was a joy. Pilots have left to go on to newer models, but their hearts tend to stay with the 747. I always say to people that it was the ideal combination of good old-fashioned levers and pulleys, and the modern glass cockpit. It seemed to blend the two, the old and new technologies, perfectly.

How did you feel when you first took control of a 747? Is it nerve-wracking to fly a plane of that size the first time you do it – or is it all in a day's work at that point?

That's a good question. Strangely, I don't remember my first flight for BA, but I vividly remember my first flight in charge of a 747. There's something incredibly special about it in that regard. It was nearly 400 tons of aeroplane, nearly 400 people – and I was sitting on the southern runway at Heathrow, late at night, preparing to go to Hong Kong. I recall going through the briefing process, and getting on board. It felt a bit alien. I'd never gone to work to take off at 10pm before. I'd had the whole day to think about this overnight flight that I was about to do. But as soon as I got into my seat, I was in my comfort zone.

What would have been your longest flight prior to that night?

I didn't go to Moscow on the 737, so it might have been somewhere like Rome. Or Stockholm. Two or three hours. Then suddenly, I'm doing 13 hours to Hong Kong…

Did you have a favourite route with the 747?

Oh, there were so many. The 747 route network had started to contract over the last few years, but Hong Kong was always good fun. I loved going to Singapore. New York had become my bread-and-butter in recent years, but I always loved going there. And Mexico City. That's always interesting as well, because of the elevation. It's something like 7,500ft, so you have different aerodynamic factors in play once you begin the approach.

What about Africa?

Going down to South Africa is incredible. When I first started flying the 747, I thought "brilliant, I'm going to see half the world". And then you realise that, when it's long-haul, much of your flying is done during the night, and you don't really see anything down on the ground. But it's generally a day flight going down across Africa – and it's stunning.

Are night flights dull in comparison?

No. You can be watching a halo moon, or the Northern Lights. Meteor showers, shooting stars. Deciding which planet is there ahead of you. You see amazing things as a pilot. I used to take photos but the camera doesn't do it justice. Now I just sit and enjoy the view.

Do you have much time to – as you say – enjoy the view?

We have what are called our "critical phases" of the flight. Which is basically going up and coming down. And then we have expanses of time in the middle, up in the cruise at 30,000ft – and, at that point, you become more of a systems manager, making sure that everything is functioning OK. So, in the main, we do have time to look out of the window.

Which is your favourite city to land in?

London is wonderful. It's partly about where Heathrow sits in relation to the rest of the city, out to the west. With most of our arrivals, we tend to join the Thames somewhere above the O2 Centre, in Greenwich. And then we follow the river west. Flying that route in the early morning, when you have the tips of the buildings sticking through the mist… You don't want it in your eyes, but if you catch the sun in the right direction, lighting up the cityscape, it's beautiful. I never tire of London. London means that I'm coming home.

And outside the UK?

One particularly beautiful view is the sun setting behind New York when you're lining up to depart. Table Mountain [in Cape Town] is really special. Coming into Chicago, going across Lake Michigan – that's a great landing. And all the way down the east coast of the US is amazing. You follow the Hamptons [on Long Island] when you fly into New York.

Are there any airports that are more of a challenge when you're landing a 747?

Most of the American airfields were built before these huge jetliners. Regular travellers to New York will be aware that, at certain stands, we stop the engine short, and have to be pulled in. In terms of its size and its capacity, JFK can involve some tight manoeuvring.

Did you ever have any really difficult moments when you were flying the 747?

You'll be pleased to know that most problems tend to occur on the ground. It's often a case of "thank goodness we're airborne", because that's when it gets easy. But the east coast of the States is notorious for its winters. I've had many a tricky time there. I had one night where I took off from New York half an hour after I was meant to have landed in London. There was a wind-chill factor of minus-25. Some of the ground equipment had frozen. The staff could only go out onto the ramp in five-minute shifts, it was so cold. It was fine in the end. It's funny. If you're 20 minutes late, people can be grumpy, and get off without making eye contact. But you can be a day late, and people are so appreciative.

When you are flying a plane the size of the 747, are you always conscious of the number of people you are responsible for? Or, again, is that all just part of the job?

Well, a flight is a flight. In terms of the passengers, it doesn't matter whether there are three people or 300 – you always want to do your best for them, however many they are.

When was your final 747 flight? Was that quite recently?

It was. Miami. I checked the date. I went to Miami on March 8, came back on the ninth, and got into London on March 10. I had no idea it would be my last ever flight on a 747.

Presumably you would have flown the 747 for longer without the pandemic…

Yes. The aircraft was due to be retired in 2024. So another four years.

Are you sad to see it go?

I am. I flew it for 18 years. The route structure was nice. I liked the working environment on board. When we were coming back, we had our own little bunk beds on the flight deck, and our own en-suite facilities. Things like that just made it a lovely place to work.

Which aircraft will you move to?

That isn't confirmed yet, but hopefully the Dreamliner, the 787. But there are lots of nice British Airways aeroplanes, and I would happily fly any of them.

Do you think we'll ever see an aircraft of the 747's size again. Or, with the A380 increasingly grounded due to the pandemic, is the future smaller?

The benefit of the smaller aircraft is that they offer more flexibility for airlines. So, say, you might offer one A380 flight a day to a destination – or you could do three Dreamliner flights. With the A380, you either fly it or you don't. Whereas, with the smaller aircraft, you can pull one or two of them off the service, but still fly the route – and that might be the case with the huge economic downturn that we have now. In times like these, in terms of flexibility, smaller aircraft tend to prove their worth. But we'll see. It's obviously an interesting time in our industry. It all depends on how it recovers over the next few years.

The Telegraph, London

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