777 Pilot VLOG Dallas to Buenos Aires, Argentina!

[@lesterleonard8750]

Hi Darren, no problem being long. I enjoy watching your videos because it’s good to see other places. I’m a 28 year veteran that loves flying and I would love being on the plane you are flying. Keep them coming. Again I hope I run into you soon just to say hello. Good job

[@Bernoulliflyer]

Very interesting and entertaining content. Thank you.

[@qf2994]

Another great video Darren! Always look forward to them!

[@jonbradshaw3385]

My wife and I are planning a trip to Buenos Aires and I have never heard about using $100 bills as the best option. Great video!

[@geekontheflightdeck]

Have fun!

[@deepmoyghosh13]

Another great video Darren, always enjoy ur vidoes and ur candid feedback. And that steak

[@geekontheflightdeck]

Thank you. It was amazing!

[@nathanmclain9027]

So fun to virtually hang out with you

[@keithjackson1042]

Your videos are great. Thank you!

[@geekontheflightdeck]

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@tomasmarcataio2066]

Yes!!! I waited so long for this one! I'll watch it in a bit, but I really hope you had a good time here and very smooth flying

[@_ryanlin_]

Another great video Darren! Buenos Aires is such a great city to visit

[@mjj3298]

Man, you're just like me in a lot of ways. I also hate rushing and enjoy being somewhere very early. I similarly dislike using local cash and will take the hit on the exchange rate for the security and simplicity of just using my credit card, and not having any leftover money I can't use. Love your videos man. I'm currently a military pilot but my ideal/dream scenario is to head over to the airlines once I'm done with my commitment. Great to get an insider look on the day-to-day of how it works. Also, I love the 777

[@Adam_Gray]

I really enjoy viewing your travels though pilot eyes and listening to the flight debriefs. I agree, any flights 11+ hours really do have a greater effect on my circadian rhythm, even with shallow naps. Happy Holidays to you and your family. C-yaaa! ✈💙

[@papatango2362]

Yay! I have been waiting for another Darren Byrd trip video. Thanks for sharing!

[@ethanmcleod7059]

Great Video! Always look forward to watching!

[@geekontheflightdeck]

Appreciate the watch!

[@LarryHorse]

Great episode as always!

[@geekontheflightdeck]

Thanks for watching!

[@Simple_man_65]

Great video again, Darren! ✈️

[@PCBill0622]

My last trip to EZE was many years ago on a 747. I noticed how close the Andes were to our altitude. I visited with one of the pilots on break and he explained that if they lost an engine they couldn’t maintain a safe altitude for terrain-so I completely understand the no-fly zone. I also remember all the maneuvering we did around the thunderstorms in the equatorial zone-but quite a light show.

[@connorferguson1482]

Hi Darren, I’m a current intern at Kirkland (lol) your videos have helped cement my desire to pursue a career as a pilot. Waiting to hear back from the cadet program. But all this to say thanks for these videos and the upfront discussion on both your lifestyle and the path you took to get here.

[@geekontheflightdeck]

Glad you enjoyed the video! Best of luck in your career path.

[@cascivic]

Great video as usual .. the seniority sounds like it changed to what we call at my company a "hog board" instead of a wheel board. Basically a wheel the first man in goes into a cue and when it gets around to him in the call block he gets called in seniority order. The hog board senior man can keep taking trips and the junior man sits. Which can make them sit for weeks when it gets slow. (Btw trucking not flying so no guarantee pay😢)

[@GuillermoGomezGG1959]

Lovely BA, La Estancia is an excellent place for bife de chorizo, next time when you pass immigration you must go towards the left that will take you directly to the gate. Great content! Happy Landing’s

[@carlosmontero782]

I enjoy the long videos for my commute!

[@jakechris5759]

great video darren! as a spanish speaker and night owl i'd love to be cabin crew on these south america flights!

[@genericaccount1762]

Hi Darren, loved this video. Hope You liked Argentina and our meat haha! Most of the flights from US and Europe land between 6 and 9 in the morning (Buenos Aires time). Buenos Aires is a good city to visit even with the financial crisis we're going through. In Corrientes Avenue there is a lot of Cambio people, it's quite illegal😅. Best regards from Buenos Aires!

[@geekontheflightdeck]

I suspected it was illegal. I’ve heard of an official rate and street rate. The cambio people were everywhere

[@benjamink1368]

The longer, the better!

[@tomasmarcataio2066]

Awesome video. We hope to see you back here soon! I highly recommend you come here for a vacation trip instead of work, you'll enjoy it a lot more and you'll be able to visit other parts of the country. By the way, you would've been completely fine with just credit cards. I practically never carry cash around (and I live here...). Maybe for like tips and such it makes sense to have some, but practically anywhere you go in BA they'll accept cards.

[@geekontheflightdeck]

I was curious some of the stores and vendors appeared to only take cash.

[@tomasmarcataio2066]

@geekontheflightdeck we have come a long way towards payment digitalization, but there are definitely some laggards. Somewhat understandably, they prefer cash so as to not report sales to the Argentine IRS and therefore pay less in taxes

[@ScottysAir]

You didn’t show me more video of the Pacific Ocean and mountains. Please do that next time. Thanks so much for your time.

[@atcmick]

Having done almost 20yrs of shift work in ATC I can empathise with the look of fatigue on the drive home. Given that the 777 trips will always carry at least one overnight on your trips, do you miss the airbus schedule which I can only assume had you operating far less overnights. When I used to dream of being a commercial pilot, it was the allure of the long haul flying to far flung destinations around the world that excited me, but I find even as a passenger I can't bring myself to take redeye flights anymore.

[@geekontheflightdeck]

It's a double edged sword. Airbus had shorter flights but multiple flights per day. 777 had just one long flight. I'm still adjusting. Even the long flights I'm never in the cockpit for more than 3 hours at a time.

[@SPECTRE_Island]

Interesting comment regarding how you feel after a flight to SA vs Europe or Asia. I would have expected them to be a bit better on the body due to smaller time zone change.

[@geekontheflightdeck]

I’ve heard that before as it’s only a few hours off of my base. The time of day I’m flying has more to do with it for me at least.

[@MBNeal]

I look forward to the content you deliver once you're a line holder. Would you be willing to do another bid video? (Crucial details redacted of course)

[@geekontheflightdeck]

I hope to have a short video this week on line holder/reserve and my January bid

[@AK-ug1md]

Geez that air walk was long lol

[@papatango2362]

3:58 Darren, I think you should collect small denomination currency from every country you visit. It’s a cheap and easy souvenir. Also when you play madden, I challenge you to rebuild the browns! I assume the no fly zone over the Andes is due to contingency for cabin depressurization issues. What about flying in the US? Over the Rockies, the OROCAs can be 16000ft or higher. I’m sure the minimum IFR altitudes are even higher. What do you do for a decompression over mountains where it is unsafe to descent to 10000ft or less.

[@geekontheflightdeck]

Correct depressurization. Over the Rockies isn’t an issue as we have enough oxygen to escape the area and descend

[@TheGeorgiaCop]

Hi Darren, thanks for the video. I’m sure you’ve explained it before, but why do you always fly reserve? Is line holder status reserved for more senior colleagues? Could you elaborate a little more on the line holder aspect of things?

[@geekontheflightdeck]

It’s all seniority. In my current status I could just now this month hold a line. I am penciling in a video this week about it how it relates to January bidding.

[@adamsteel4106]

I went to Argentina in December and was at a casino. They wouldn’t let us switch the winnings back to USD anywhere and ended up just buying a bunch of random presents.

[@Angelus01]

They didn’t want to exchange them because last December they were on the brink of Hyperinflation, they previous goverment printed a lot of money.

[@normanlowe6006]

Some of the best beef I’ve ever had was in South America. Both Brazil and Argentina.

[@ultramet]

You have to be careful with the ATMs in Buenos Aires as even they can have counterfeit money. I just use a Wise Card these days.

[@CristianoLambertucci]

Hey Darren, why did you have to ask for “relief” on departure in dfw?

[@geekontheflightdeck]

We were unable to climb fast enough to meet the 4000,6000 and 7000 foot crossing restrictions

[@gasrag777]

I went to BA out of DFW quite a few times, what I don’t understand is why sometimes we went thru South America ( Colombia, Amazonas, Bolivia ) and other times flying over the Pacific shore like you did. Thanks.

[@geekontheflightdeck]

Weather and wind affect the routing greatly

[@GustavoRodrigues]

Darren, you should have bought alfajores for the girls at home. you probably missed the best dessert ever.

[@geekontheflightdeck]

Maybe next time

[@ibiro868]

Do you think the career FO decision makes sense?

[@geekontheflightdeck]

It can for many. How much money do you really need? I don’t plan on being a career FO but if there QOL makes sense I’ll stay.

[@ultramet]

You have to very careful with the ATMs in Buenos Aires . Even the ATMs can have counterfeit money. I just use my Wise Card. Exchange is great with minimal fees.

[@expatchris]

I miss the DFW-EZE on the 787-9. The 777-200 was a downgrade :/

[@geekontheflightdeck]

777 can hold far more cargo.

[@expatchris]

@ interesting! I noticed that AA is using the 77W on the MIA & JFK routes between EZE, and just one 787 flight. Lots of AA 777s in EZE this year!

[@ritchieb1612]

Are all South America flights overnight? Have you ever nodded off? Always great content!!

[@geekontheflightdeck]

Most are overnight flights. Never nodded off that I know of. I’m pretty good at keeping myself active

[@SirAranLuis]

I'm sure that jetbridge is D30😅

[@flyairch]

can I ask how old are you ? 50s? so if I am 50 you still have 15 years left fly the aicraft ?

[@geekontheflightdeck]

I’m 47. You can still do it at 50. Might not retire a 777 Captain but you can still retire flying one.

[@f3nd13y]

If they start moving RAPs around brace for impact. A trip is coming..

[@IAD_Flyer]

I have some family in BA so visit from time to time, exchanging hundred-dollar bills is really your best option like your union said. For whatever reason they also care about the year on the hundred dollar bill, it should be recent. Basically you're profiting from locals who are consistently trying to hold US dollars.

[@Tyleraviator99]

Why would you have flown over South America? Like over Colombia and Brazil

[@geekontheflightdeck]

Weather, wind and diversion options

[@marlonslazo]

Is what it is

[@f-18driver67]

Are most airline pilots ex military pilots?

[@geekontheflightdeck]

Not any more....it used to be that way. I would say it is 30% Military and 70% civilian for the newer Airline Pilots.

[@AK-ug1md]

The best steak ever ???????damn

[@lefthegelian]

glad you liked Buenos Aires. Yes, Argentines have an idiosyncratic approach to rules and regulations 😀😇

[@AK-ug1md]

I’m not really a bike rider not for 4 miles

[@kmac2555]

Get a Wise travel card