Australians are no strangers to flying, with more than 1,600 domestic flights being scheduled every day.
This being said, few know what is really going on behind the scenes to get them to their destination.
So to offer some insight, Skyscanner Australia recently interviewed an anonymous female airline pilot who has been flying the skies on domestic flights and international flights for nine years.
Skyscanner Australia has interviewed an anonymous female airline pilot who has been flying the skies on domestic flights and internationally flights for nine years (stock image )
When it comes to emergencies, not all flight problems are shared with passengers when they happen.
‘It depends what the problem is. We don’t want to scare people. You can’t hide it if you have an engine fire, but that’s a very rare occurrence,’ the pilot explained.
‘We are trained to deal with all sorts of situations, so we try to keep people calm. We once had a huge bird strike and there was blood all over the wings but nobody seemed to notice. We didn’t tell them.
‘We don’t want to get people upset. A slight sense that something’s wrong can send people into hyper-drive.’
The pilot shared with the website that not all flight problems are shared with passengers when they happen
Becoming a pilot is no easy process, with the woman explaining that there are typically two routes you can follow – military style training or private training.
The minimum requirement of hours for people to complete is 1,000, with 500 hours of that as pilot in command in a multi-engine plane.
Although the shift work can be difficult, pilots get staff travel rates or industry rates on flights, hotels, car hire and at some theme parks too.
The minimum requirement of hours for people to complete is 1,000, with 500 hours of that as pilot in command in a multi-engine plane
When flying she said that there needs to be a minimum of two pilots on the flight deck: the captain and the first officer.
One will take charge of controlling and maintaining the flight while the other does radio calls and paperwork.
The woman also revealed that pilots aren’t flying the plane the entire time that they’re in the air.
‘It depends on the flying conditions, how rough the weather is, or how tired you are, but typically we fly it for three or four minutes from take off to 5,000 or 10,000 feet and then we engage the autopilot,’ she said.
When it comes to meals pilots don’t always eat the same as the passengers on board as they often get special crew meals
When it comes to meals pilots don’t always eat the same as the passengers on board as they often get special crew meals but on long haul flights they may be given similar food to the people on board.
Additionally, both pilots always eat different meals to reduce the risk of food poisoning and many of them bring their own meals from home.
‘Airline food can be monotonous – you can get the same meals every day for one or two months,’ she said.