A year ago, coffee was being served to me by a beautiful young flight attendant at 5:30 in the morning while I sat in the left-hand seat of an Airbus A320, preparing to fly off to some exciting destination. Now I’m the one serving coffee to people early in the morning and, unfortunately for them, I’m neither young nor beautiful.  

Covid has hit the world hard and taken a heavy toll on many people’s lives. I can’t speak for everyone, but I can speak for the airline industry and in particular, what it’s been like for SAA’s pilots and crew.

Living the dream

Fourteen months ago I was pretty much at the top of the food chain as far as pilots go. Not right at the top, but close enough. As a foreign-passport-holding Airbus A320 Captain for SAA, the world was my oyster.

When the Business Rescue Team was established in late 2019, we all started looking around for other work − just in case. Jobs were available all over the world, with a seemingly insatiable demand for pilots.

The Covid crash

Fast-forward five months and the story changed. The same recruitment agency that had been begging me to take up positions in exotic countries now had more applications than they knew what to do with.

Airlines all over the world started feeling the impact of Covid-19. Pilots and crew found themselves out of work. Previously well-paid professionals in a highly respected industry found themselves unemployed with no immediate or even medium-term prospects.

Across the globe, the industry went from feast to famine in a flash and, for those of us at SAA, it literally happened overnight.  

Temporary optimism

Pilots are trained not to panic in high-stress environments, so we didn’t. When things get crazy and the shit starts hitting the fan, we’re schooled to keep a cool head and work the problem, leaving others to freak out. Initially, most of us thought it would all be over in a couple of months and then things would start getting back to normal. How wrong we were.

It’s been a year since the majority of us SAA and ex-SAA pilots have touched an airliner, and there’s no telling when we might get into one again. Some never will.  

Creative reinvention

Once the writing was on the wall, it didn’t take the guys and gals long to get their side hustles on! My mate Robbie Schofield took all of five minutes to kick off his construction company, DR Construction. Others went back to giving instruction, testing and charter. With hundreds of highly qualified pilots all looking for flying work in a suppressed industry, very few have landed on their feet with flying jobs.

Reinvention and creativity have become the order of the day. Fortunately pilots are mostly Type-A personalities, who are capable, resourceful and resilient people.

Having my job and a large part of my identity ripped away so suddenly and unceremoniously was hard to swallow! However, my self-pitying phase was very short lived and the assessment of my new circumstances took place pretty smartly. Pilots don’t always like the positions and situations they find themselves in, but one thing they know how to do is deal with them! Quickly and effectively! And this situation was no different, albeit not in the air or in an airplane.

Perspective

Flying for SAA wasn’t just a job. Being part of SAA was being part of a great institution and community! I owe pretty much all I have to SAA. My father was a pilot for SAA, so it’s as though I was born into the company, and I’ve been attached to the company in one shape or form for 47 years.

The pilots and crew will be okay. They will all land on their feet somehow and somewhere, whether it be in aviation or not. SAA, however, is a different story. Can it be returned to its former glory? I think not. There’s too much water under that bridge!

I was lucky enough to have flown for SAA for 21 years. Twenty-one fantastic years and I loved every minute. We flew great aeroplanes, worked with terrific people and enjoyed the spirit and the environment in which we worked. There were times in my career when, sitting in a cockpit, I’d actually pinch myself! I couldn’t believe that a grown man could have so much fun at work.  

My hope for those who become airline pilots in the future is that they too can fly for an airline that gives them the joy and satisfaction I experienced flying for SAA.