ACMI line Captain

How did you get into flying?

I decided to become a pilot when I was six, telling my parents: “I want to drive the big iron birds into the blue skies”. Back then, flying wasn’t easy if you didn’t have an aviation background or relatives in the industry, so I ended up studying Computer Science instead.

However, my passion for aviation remained, and one day, I went to the USA for flight training.

Tell us about your job?

I’m Chief of Flight Instructors and Examiners at Avion Express, which is based in Lithuania. We’re an ACMI company, providing other airlines with aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance. As an ACMI line captain, you have bases worldwide.

Apart from flying the Airbus A320/321, my time is divided between office duties, simulators, ground training, and meetings with the company’s instructors and examiners.

Very few jobs allow you to move in three dimensions, travel at 900km/h, 39,000ft above planet Earth, and on top of that, have a nice cup of coffee in the cockpit! Even if you fly the same route every day, it’s never the same.

There’s always something to break the monotony, and sometimes your adrenaline levels get high. Therefore, important pilot qualities include situational awareness, the ability to remain calm under pressure, self-confidence, a willingness to learn new things, and good communication skills.

Announcing to my family that I’d decided to become a professional pilot, was the biggest decision of my life. However, I’ve never regretted it. Now, 32 years later, I’m still in love with my job and feel the same excitement as I did on day one: someone’s paying me to do my hobby!

What training did you have?

In 1990, I obtained my PPL in New York City, followed by my Instrument Rating, Multi-Engine Rating, and Commercial Pilot Certificate. I then became a Certified Flight Instructor and spent a few years teaching and accumulating flight hours.

With 1,500 hours, I went for my ATPL, combined with a jet type rating in a Citation I. Having obtained my ATPL, I felt like Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic: King of the world!

Back in Europe, converting the FAA licences to National ICAO Greek ones wasn’t easy, and it took almost a year! Eventually I ended up with both FAA and ICAO ATP licences for single and multi-engine aeroplanes with Instrument Rating.

I accumulated flight hours in small aeroclubs until I got a job as FO in a Short SD-360 turboprop. Then I flew ATR 72s for a small Greek airline. In 1999, I joined Aegean Airlines, flying the BAe AVRO RJ-100 and later the Boeing 737, A320 and A321, and becoming Type Rating Instructor and in 2004 Type Rating Examiner. In 2009, I joined Air Arabia, and in 2017, I joined Avion Express and moved back to Europe.

“Important pilot qualities include situational awareness, remain calm under pressure, a willingness to learn new things, and good comms skills”

What’s been your favourite flight?

My first flight as captain to my hometown airport of Corfu was one of the most emotional moments of my career. I left Corfu when I finished high school and returned 16 years later as a captain of a major Greek airline.

Some school friends were waiting at the terminal, and we had a little celebration party. I still remember all my friends were cheering with a glass of Champagne, but I had cola, since I had to fly back to Athens.

And your favourite airfield?

Corfu Airport, Greece, with its unique runway built inside the lagoon. I was born and raised in Corfu, with our family home based on a hill, which gave me a view of the entire airport from my balcony.

As a young boy, I was always hanging around at Corfu Airport, visiting the Control Tower and announcing to all the employees that one day, I’d become a pilot.

Do you get to fly much outside of work?

I don’t have much free time, but in summer I love to fly single-engine aeroplanes over the Greek islands. Mykonos, Santorini, Kefalonia, Corfu, Rhodes, and Crete are my favourites.

What is your most valuable career advice?

“When you think everything is alright in the cockpit, something has slipped from your attention”. Captain John Bosko, my PPL examiner, told me this and I’ve always remembered his advice.