By – Captain Alejandro Merediz (A350)

Years ago I was at a wedding.

We were assigned a table with people we didn’t know.

All of a sudden, a guy started a conversation:

“So what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a pilot.”

“Are you a pilot, or a copilot?”

After clarifying the roles of captains and first officers, I said: “I am a first officer”.

“Your only task is to make coffee for the captain.” He laughed.

“What do you do?” I asked.

He had a good job: he was the sub-secretary in some government dependency. I suddenly felt like a hyena when she spots a wounded gazelle.

“You must make very good coffee for the Secretary.”

He got as offended with my answer as I was with his. Our conversation was over.

Why am I telling you this story? Because I feel offended by your question.

This time, however, I’ll be nice… and respectful.


I am a lazy guy.

If there’s an easy way, I’ll find it. I’m really good at avoiding chores. I’m on a constant lookout for shortcuts. I procrastinate.

Except when doing my job. Then, I become hard-working. There’s simply no other way.

  • I am awake while everybody else is sleeping.
  • I work more hours than others.
  • My job carries high levels of stress and responsibility.
  • I cannot afford to screw up too much.

I fly a highly automated airplane and, yes: I fly on autopilot most of the time. But this doesn’t mean I sit around doing nothing.

Flying manually or under autopilot is the same. You seem to be missing some important points of my job:

  • We are constantly planning what to do if things go wrong.
  • Conditions change, forecasts sometimes are wrong.
  • Weather gets nasty.
  • Aircraft systems fail.
  • There are a lot of procedures to follow.
  • The rules of the air are complicated, with subtle variations from country to country. We have to comply.
  • Passengers get sick, babies are born on board.
  • Airports get closed.
  • We fly with a certain amount of fuel. You cannot create more.
  • We cannot stop for troubleshooting.
  • We fly, navigate and communicate regardless of what’s happening.
  • We have to react calmly under extreme situations.

Most importantly, pilots are constantly making decisions. The right ones.

  • Making the wrong decision can cost me my job or my license, or even worse.
  • Making a good but inefficient decision can cost the company more money than they have paid me in 14 years.

They pay me to be safe and efficient.

Categorized in:

Flight Deck,

Last Update: September 28, 2024