The boy has the aviation bug. He has already begun chasing planes around. I’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember. Specifically, it may have started when I was in single digits, sitting in my father’s office, watching people fly RC airplanes in a field across the street. The obsession culminated during many summers at Space Camp, not learning about poison ivy like most kids.
It’s a common question in the cockpit during a round of self-loathing: “Are you going to encourage your kids to work for the airlines?”
There is a lot of complaining in the cockpit and galley. I’m sure all industries have their issues, but I can’t imagine their workers complain as much as we do. Maybe it’s because we have so much downtime in the cockpit to “Monday morning quarterback” company decisions and stir up plans on how we’d make things better if we ran the place. “All hotels would have free breakfast… and good shower pressure.”
I knew a guy once who had his non-aviation dad up in the cockpit for a flight. He told him to act like a pilot in front of the passengers so they would think he was just a jumpseater. The story goes that when he boarded the plane, he said to the flight attendant, “Yep, scheduling F’ed me over again!”
That’s all he knew about airline life.
Would I want my son to work for the airlines? Of course. If he wanted to.
I will do what my father did for me: encourage him to pursue his dreams. I love being a pilot. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. It’s all that I’ve ever wanted to do for a living and honestly, all I know how to do. Although there are many ups and downs (stupid pun), I love it. It’s more than a job; it’s a lifestyle. A wiser man than me once said, “It’s not work if you enjoy what you do.” He then added something about things in Vegas staying in Vegas, but that’s not the point… I think?
As a kid, I would always look at planes flying overhead and wonder where the pilots are going. Now I know. The same place they’ve been a thousand times!
But maybe at least their airline puts them up in hotels that have free breakfast.