What Kind of Airline Pilot?

By Captain Nathan E. Maki

You have decided that you want to become an airline pilot. Have you considered what other exciting roles airline pilots play within an airline? I have been traveling the country with AviNation Magazine for over a year now, talking with young leaders interested in or actively involved with aviation, just like you. There is so much more I would like to share. When you think about airline pilots, you probably imagine them navigating large jets through the sky, like the beautiful Boeing 777 or a sleek, brand-new Airbus 321Neo with winglets. But did you know that there are other exciting jobs for pilots within the airline that require much more than just flying skills?

Flight-qualified airline pilots hold important jobs within an airline, each with specific responsibilities that ensure the safety, efficiency, and success of every flight. Not to mention, pilots help run the 16 WHAT KIND OF AIRLINE PILOT? organization while recognizing that it is a business that needs to be managed. Let us dive into a few different jobs and roles that you can choose if you decide that you want to become an airline pilot.

I will start with a few responsibilities I have today. First, I am a captain on the Airbus A320 family. This past month, however, I worked in our Denver training center for the flight standards department, ensuring that the manuals our pilots reference every day are concise and accurate. For a full month, I did not “fly the line,” as we say. I was asked to join this special project. In addition to this, my company hired me to be an airline pilot interviewer. I spend one full week a month interviewing our newest pilot candidates. It is an enormous job; this year alone, my company plans to hire another 1,600 pilots! That is something to celebrate. I love interacting with potential new hire pilots representing all backgrounds, such as military, commercial, corporate, and other airline pilots looking for an exciting future.

My other key role is as a Line Check Pilot (LCP). Being an LCP has many responsibilities, which include checking, training, and mentoring new captains and first officers at the airline in actual line operations. Once a captain or first officer new to the airplane has completed a rigorous training program at our training center in Denver, they finally have their first day of work actually flying the jet with passengers. The first day on the job is stressful enough. Now, imagine you are an airline pilot!

For instance, let us say that you live in Tallahassee, FL, but your first flight departs from Chicago. Do not worry, I will be there to show you how to do it. Do what, you might ask? I will show you everything, including but not limited to traveling to your new base, setting up a hotel, and simply creating a meeting spot where we can meet for a few hours prior to the first flight or even the night before. These new pilots must fly the line with an LCP like me for a month. When I train a new captain, I act as their copilot, and when training a copilot, I act as the captain. Therefore, I am dual qualified, meaning I can check, train, and fly either seat in the A320.

Pilots have special meeting rooms located in different airports around the globe where they first meet and begin their trip. We call them operations, flight planning areas, or “ops.” The LCP has to show the new pilot where and when to find the flight planning areas. In general, the role of the line check pilot is to make the transition from training to flying the line a smooth one. We have fun too. There are still more exciting things I do for my company in addition to flying, but I will name a few others that you can start to think about for yourself.

Within my airline, some pilots become simulator instructors, training new pilots. Others might become involved in flight operations management, helping to develop flight schedules, improve operations efficiency, or implement safety programs. Others become test pilots who work closely with maintenance, engineering, and aircraft procurement. Still, others choose to go on to work full- or part-time for our pilot union, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). ALPA is also the largest safety organization in the world. The roles pilots can fill in this space are almost unlimited, such as aeromedical, legal, crew scheduling, and even a hotel committee. Hotel committee pilots fly around the world and find the best hotels for our pilots to stay at while getting paid to stay in these hotels.

In summary, being an airline pilot is a dynamic and multifaceted career that goes far beyond just flying planes. Because of the need for pilots to fill these exciting roles, I recommend you do not skip college. A degree can only increase your chances of being hired by an airline, and a college degree will open up more opportunities within the airline for you as well. Pilots are strategists, leaders, learners, teachers, and safety experts. They play a critical role in the air and on the ground at every level of the organization. For those who dream of taking to the skies, understanding the full scope of a pilot’s responsibilities reveals a challenging yet rewarding career path. Whether you aspire to be at the controls or take on additional roles within an airline, the life of a pilot offers a diverse and exciting range of opportunities.