I Flew My Parents for the First Time (Airline Pilot Day in the Life)

Ladies and gentlemen welcome back to another video and as always I hope you're all doing well. So today is a really cool and special day for me. I thought I'd bring you guys along with me. After flight school I got my first airline job in about October of 2022 and despite it being a few years since then I've never actually had the opportunity to fly my parents on one of my flights. However today that is all changing and it's a really exciting day for me. They are currently in Palma de Mallorca having a lovely holiday and this afternoon I'm getting the opportunity to fly them back which is really exciting. At the moment it's looking like a really standard day for me. Check-in is about two hours from now so after I record this I'm going to finish up getting ready but at the moment it looks really all nice and straightforward. Whilst at home here it is blue skies and lovely weather there is reported to be a few thunderstorms in the area so maybe a bit of weather avoiding on the departure. However once we get down to Palma the weather is gorgeous. Cabo Cay day, light winds so I'm really excited for that. As many of you may or may not know Gatwick actually has two runways however it only uses one at a time. There is a longer main runway which is used throughout the day however at 10pm tonight they're actually closing that runway and switching to the smaller shorter runway so that they can do works on the southern larger runway during the night. Now if we're landing on time we should have no problem and should be on the larger longer runway however at the moment the aircraft is actually currently delayed due to a slot it had this morning. So fingers crossed we don't get caught in that runway changes we get a little bit of delay and it's always a pain landing on that shorter runway just because it's not as well lit and the touchdown zones are a bit smaller. That being said it's still a good size runway lots of room to land so still I'll do my best to do a good landing for my parents but fingers crossed we can get that larger runway that way I can just hold the landing off for a little bit longer and try create one of those greases that we're waiting for. But that's it from me for now if you do enjoy these videos please remember to like and subscribe I'm going to go finish getting ready head to the airport so that I can fly down to Parma to pick up my parents. So guys all changed and ready to head to the airport but as I do before every flight just doing a bit of pre-flight preparation here at home so when I do arrive at the airport and get to the crew room I'm ready to breathe I'm ready to get started with the day. I've spoken a bit more about what I do in this pre-flight preparation in a bit more detail in previous videos but just so you guys get a rough idea main things I'm checking whilst here at home is firstly the weather the aircraft as well making sure there's no defects or things we need to consider for our performance the no time throughout the day and also threats and how we're planning on mitigating those throughout the day. So guys starting with the weather at Gatwick at the moment generally throughout the day it's looking really really nice so a good day for flying my parents. It does mention some gusty winds but that's just a prob 30 so quite a low chance of that happening but just an idea that there might be some gusty weather within the vicinity of the airport so we may encounter that but shouldn't be too problematic it's just sort of a weather cell passing through the airport but it's definitely good to be aware that it might be in the area. And then the weather in Parma is absolutely gorgeous as I mentioned earlier 35 degrees at the moment so I'm sure my parents are having an absolutely lovely time but it looks great in Parma. But as well as those two airports we also look at alternate airports so today our designated alternate airport is Ibiza very similar to Parma the weather's looking really nice there so that should be a really suitable alternate should we need it. Also check a few airports on our flight route just in case we shouldn't need to divert of course the chances of that happening are really slim and we probably won't need to do it however it's always good to check the weather and plan for a worst case scenario even if it's unlikely to happen. And as well as the weather checking the NOTAMs for all those airports including Gatwick, Parma, Ibiza and all those other ones on route just to make sure if there's any notices or things like work in progress or runway closures just to see if there's any restrictions for us. A good example of a NOTAM today would be the runway closure later tonight in Gatwick so we might know that the runway will be closed for about 10 minutes whilst they're switching over to the shorter northerly runway so we might need to take that into consideration for our fuel decision a little bit later on but that's sort of the idea of the things we're looking at with NOTAMs. And then also checking our aircraft as well checking to see if there's any mail items or anything performance limiting that I need to be worried about or any other operational procedures we might have to do if there's anything wrong with the aircraft but today aircraft looking really good so nothing really to note down. But that's it for my flight preparation at home everything's looking really good so it should be a really exciting day. Time to head to the airport now really can't wait to fly my parents so it should be a really fun day. So guys just arrived at the car park about a five minute walk to security now then to the crew room to meet the rest of the crew then time to fly to Parma to pick up my parents. So after meeting the crew we arrived at the gate just as our aircraft was being pulled onto stand. As I was pilot monitoring for the first flight I started by doing my initial pre-flight checks and then heading down airside to do my walk around just as all the bags were being loaded catering was being swapped over. As I was doing my walk around I also got to see the brand new A321XLR taking off for one of the first times out of Gatwick. That's a little while ago now as to when this video is being released but when this video was initially filmed it was one of the first times it was taking off. With the aircraft set up and all of our checks completed it was time to close up the doors push back and start our engines. That's how we started our day out here at Gatwick and once we had finished the pushback with both engines nearly finished starting up the tug detached and we prepared ourselves for taxi. Started by setting the flaps and also a flight control check so if you're ever a passenger and can see that happening outside the window with things moving on the wing that's exactly what we're doing here. Then it was time for our taxi, a very familiar taxi here at Gatwick of course, just a short taxi as well. As we approached the holding point we stopped and it was waiting for our turn to be called. It was a little bit busy this early afternoon in Gatwick so just had to wait for about five minutes just as other aircraft were taking off and landing. Often at times in peak season it can get very congested as you can imagine in London airspace. Although whilst sitting at the holding point it was a little bit different to normal because I knew I was going to pick up my parents all I could do is imagine them just going to the airport right now so definitely an exciting day for flying. Once it was our turn we were cleared for takeoff so lining up on the runway. The captain pilot flying of course so he set the thrust once we started rolling making sure all the parameters of the engines are correct. Once we pick up enough speed as well then it's time to rotate the aircraft once there's enough air going over the wings to produce enough lift to get us into the air. Once there is the captain eases back on the side stick bringing the aircraft smoothly into the air for a beautiful takeoff and with the positive rate of climb we brought the gear up and we continued on our way. It was a really nice clear day all over Europe today so we got really lucky had some awesome views all the way down and even on the way back but on the way down here some beautiful views of the south coast of England as we made our way down to Parma and really lucky day for flying it was just perfect day. The cruise was fairly standard both myself and the captain had been to Parma multiple times knew the islands the approach very well so there wasn't too much to brief however of course we do a little brief making sure that nothing's changed checking the NOTAMs the weather again we'll also brief the approach how I'm going to fly it as well but we checked the weather we checked everything at the airport and there was nothing out of the ordinary it was looking to be a really simple and straightforward approach into Parma. As we reached overhead Barcelona it was just about time to start our descent into Parma de Mallorca now at my current airline we do something what's called a monitored approach that's where the pilot flying actually becomes pilot monitoring for the for the descent and that's to maximize the situational awareness for the whole flight and then just as we approach the ground we would switch over controls and the pilot flying for the majority of flight would also do the landing we've just switched roles just for that descent part so as I was doing the approach I had all whilst the captain had the radios beginning our descent into Parma again a really nice clear day and with not a lot of traffic around we pretty much knew exactly what air traffic was going to do to us it was quite a direct routing which made descent planning really easy we then became established on the ILS or the instrument landing system which is commonly the most often used approach especially in Europe once established and about a thousand feet overhead the airfield we switch back over so I'm pilot monitoring got the radios for our landing as our captain does an absolutely awesome job a really good landing applying reverses the spoilers and auto brake arm as well a really smooth rollout taking the most expeditious taxi routing just to minimize our time on the runway the parking stand we were allocated was the complete other side of the airport so a little bit of a longer taxi as we taxied all the way around to pick up my parents finally parked on stand and I even got to wave to my parents out the window as they looked in super excited knowing I was flying them home I managed to greet them at the door which was really nice they even bought some chocolates for the crew which was a lovely touch however with them on board the actual procedures for myself of course do not change so like normal set up the aircraft with the aid of the captain and the crew and it was time to go home firstly just like in Gatwick we got the tug attached and started our pushback my parents managed to get a couple videos nothing special but I'll chuck them over the top for your entertainment as well and you can actually see the overlay of the flight simulator plus the videos that are happening in real life starting both engines straight away as we knew with the long taxi coming into stand it was going to be a relatively short taxi going out often when there's a bit of a longer taxi on the way out or if it's just a little bit busy and we know we're going to be a while we can actually start one engine on pushback which of course is better for the environment but also saves the company money however not today a bit of a short taxi and quite empty so two engines on pushback as it was such a long taxi in it was actually quite a short taxi out after pushback got some cool clips here from my parents as we taxied down and made our way to the holding point for takeoff once we arrived at the holding point we were pretty much cleared for takeoff straight away so for the first time taking off with my parents on board applied thrust just as my captain did back in Gatwick here in Parma a beautiful evening for it so nothing too difficult easy to keep it the center line and after we reached our rotate speed just like last time ease back on the controls for a nice smooth rotation to take us into the air a quick climb eventually we got into the cruise with a little bit of time and a very familiar Gatwick with not too much weather around I had a little break I managed to pop out into the cabin to say hello to my parents make sure they were getting treated amazing which of course they were by our brilliant cabin crew I also managed to enjoy some dinner with some beautiful views here again of the Spanish coast a really clear nice sky the sort of orange lit in the distance it was absolutely beautiful however being a relatively short-ish flight not too long after dinner after a little chat with my parents it was time to descend back into Gatwick just like on the way down a monitored approach so my captain did all the flying for our descent from top of descent to about a thousand feet again using that instrument landing system to become established that's the most common way once we were stable and at a thousand feet I took back over control heart rate a little bit higher than normal I think that's pretty fair to say of course with the parents on board you always want to do that good landing I spoke about at the beginning of the video of course prioritizing safety always however if I can make it a little bit smoother for them then why not so here it comes the big moment weather conditions were pretty good a little bit of a crosswind to deal with but generally really nice weather so I can't complain too much flew it down try to disconnect the autopilot as early as possible so I got to hand fly the aircraft for as long as I could with my parents on board and then finally the touchdown what I thought was a pretty good landing my parents also agreed with me although I think it's fair to say they are probably a little bit biased but a really nice landing and a big feeling of relief as that landing occurred because it's always a little bit nervous when you've got someone you know on board definitely want to do a good landing for them so really glad I did and then that taxi back in just felt so much more comfortable and then finally pulled up onto stand parking on stand before disembarking saying goodbye to my parents although I did meet them straight after security as I was giving them a lift home so guys just returned home after what has been such an incredible and memorable day out for me super easy flight home captain and crew were all really nice even had a little bit of time in the cruise to head into the cabin and say hi to my parents and to top it off the weather in Gatwick tonight was absolutely perfect cab okay with a very slight headwind which was perfect conditions for a nice smooth landing and luckily I managed to do a really good one so I was really happy with that got some cute pictures with my parents in the cockpit after the flight as well which was really sweet however now I have to go to bed because I'm flying to Tenerife tomorrow so yeah gotta go get some sleep so you guys all ready for bed and I'm gonna go head to sleep as always if you did enjoy today's video please remember to like and subscribe it really does help out the channel and YouTube recommend you're going to like this video here so why not give that a watch next but guys thank you and I will see you in the next video