Portal North. ISSUE 2 - Magazine - Page 40
Which new destinations has Jet2 added for 2026?
We’ve added three new destinations for 2026 –
Palermo (Sicily), Samos (Greece) and La Palma (the
Canary Islands).
Do pilots get to choose which routes they 昀氀y?
I 昀氀y out of Liverpool Airport as that’s my home base,
but we might operate out of any of Jet2’s 14 airport
bases across the country if required. The routes
are assigned to us and there’s a lot of excitement
on roster publication day. We’re always eager to see
where we’ll be 昀氀ying happy holidaymakers to.
Who else is in the cockpit during the 昀氀ight?
There’s always a 昀椀rst o昀케cer in the cockpit operating
alongside me and we share the duties of each 昀氀ight.
First o昀케cers are just as quali昀椀ed as captains to 昀氀y,
although don’t yet have the 昀氀ying experience to be in
full command.
The cabin crew are the faces we see – do captains have
their own crew or does it vary each 昀氀ight?
It varies with every single 昀氀ight but we do see our
cabin crew colleagues quite often and we work as
one team to look after our customers.
How many hours do you spend in the air each month?
Palermo
WHEN WE LAUNCHED
IN 2003, WE HAD TWO
AIRCRAFT FLYING TO EIGHT
DESTINATIONS. NOW WE
HAVE A FLEET OF 139 FLYING
TO 80 DESTINATIONS
Our hours in the air are referred to as pilot block
hours and measure the time from when an aircraft
昀椀rst moves for take-off until it stops at the
destination gate. There are strict limits to what
pilots can 昀氀y and a commercial pilot might 昀氀y
something in the region of 60 to 80 hours per month,
but there is variation.
Do you get to see the destinations you 昀氀y to or just
the airports?
As we spend around an hour on the ground at the
destination airports before returning to the UK, we
see the airport up close. However, we also get to see
some incredible views of our destinations from the
air. This is a wonderful part of the job and very much
a highlight of mine.
La Palma
40 PORTAL NORTH ISSUE 2
