Looking back I probably always wanted to be a pilot. Aircraft fascinated me when I was growing up. Clearing out my loft recently I found an old school project book from when I was nine years old. You could choose your own topics and I'd picked birds and aeroplanes.
I'm just over the 10,000 hours mark and have been flying for 21 years. Logbooks are a legal requirement and pilots always know how many hours they've flown. My most memorable flight was flying the England football team to Liege in Belgium during Euro 2000 — I'm a big football fan. David Beckham, Michael Owen and, the manager at the time, Kevin Keegan were all there.
Fear of flying is more common than you might think. One in four people are apprehensive about it and one in ten have serious difficulties. I run courses which help people deal with this fear. Over the years we've seen all types of people and almost everyone goes on to enjoy air travel to the full.
People who come across me at parties would see a very different person. When I'm in the flight deck, I'm more serious and composed. That said, I'm keen to make passengers feel valued and do a few little things like leaving the flight deck to say goodbye.
Seeing the Northern Lights from the cockpit is quite spectacular. On flights to places like San Francisco, when you go right up over Greenland, you can see it's like a green curtain sweeping across the sky — it's a very surreal experience.
If I had to choose a different career I would be a GP, because I think I'm approachable and able to help people. It would definitely be something which involves face-to-face contact as I enjoy interacting with people.
For details on the Fear of Flying Courses, visit flyingwithconfidence.com. Interview: Ianthe Butt.
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