Commuter Airline Pilot
For many airline pilots, the journey to and from work is as complex as the flights they captain. In fact according to Pilot Rise Flight School, unlike typical office jobs where commutes might involve a simple drive to a nearby city, airline pilots often face a logistical puzzle—balancing home life in one city with work responsibilities potentially hundreds of miles away.
John Chesire, former Airline Pilot, recalls on Quora;
‘I was what is known in the industry as an airline pilot “commuter.” This is someone who does not live in the same city or anywhere near the airport where they worked and were based. At my airline perhaps half of our pilots lived far away from their base or domicile and had to fly there to start their trip. A very few even commuted from foreign countries on very long flights to go to work.
‘Prior to every multi-day trip I had scheduled, I had to take a much earlier hour flight on any available airline to arrive at the airport where I was based to begin my trip (This could often be stressful to just get there or to get there on time before my required check-in).
The routine
‘Below was my routine:
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- The first and also one of the most important things I did immediately was to check in with our pilot scheduling department to let them know I was there and ready for my flight. Otherwise, if I did not check in, they would call out a reserve pilot to fly my trip while wondering what happened to me.
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- If I had the time before departure, I would eat a light lunch or a snack at one of the airport food vendors. (Our inflight crew meals were not always very good.)
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- I would check in our pilots’ lounge for anything in my mailbox there and also check a binder of important new airline and pilot important information. I would also pick up my flight bag, my uniform hat and jacket.
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- I would then check the weather both at my first destination and the enroute weather.
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- Then I would pick up my “flight release” that contained everything needed to conduct my flight. I would review it and discuss it with my dispatcher if we needed to adjust the flight plan or any other number of things.
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- Well before passenger boarding, I would meet and introduce myself to my flight attendants and my first officer. I might also meet certain law enforcement passengers, jump seat riders, FAA check airmen, and others.
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- I would perform both exterior and cockpit preflight checks.
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- Then close the door and prepare for taxi.
Photo by B737-800 by Andrés Nieto Porras from Palma de Mallorca, España via Wikipedia
