How Do Pilots Pass The Time On Long Flights?

For most passengers, long-haul flights are a matter of endurance aided by a few drinks, inflight entertainment, and trying to get some sleep between meal services. It is an entirely different matter for the people flying the plane as there are still plenty of things to do even after takeoff. Let’s look at what’s happening on the flight deck during these longer flights…
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[@Randomness5050]

In the words of a retired station manager at LGA: "They take off, they do their paperwork, they eat, they read the Wall Street Journal, and then they spend the ENTIRE rest of the flight talking about how management is running the airline into the ground."

[@managed9348]

Don’t forget discussing what they will do after the flight😹

[@bahardin3992]

Yes, it's a pity pilots however well paid they are, are not part of top management. The CEO who is not the pilot heads the management together with the Boards who made the management decisions on running the Airline. A real pity really. Edit : Top Management.

[@asarsealex]

@@bahardin3992 They absolutely are part of management. Chief/Deputy Chief pilot, base captains and flight ops are all part of management. In terms of contracts, most civilised airlines in reasonable countries have unions to negotiate on behalf of the pilot body - usually to mixed results.

[@bahardin3992]

@@asarsealex Not TOP or Upper Tier Management - CEO, COO, MD , BoD or even Chairman/ President. They are still considered as employee - salaried worker, paid employee. If they ever make it to top mgm, they will not be flying full time anymore.

[@hydrohomie2671]

@@bahardin3992 hey bahar! Are you Persian?

[@matthewmcclain1316]

The more I learn about the airline industry, the more I'm amazed at what humans are capable of. It's easy to feel down, and feel like we're living in a bad time. In reality, we're better off than we have EVER been. Life is a gift. Just putting so positivity out there. :)

[@RashidAhmed-xc3ko]

You hit home with this one.

[@madmikemackas]

Matthew McClain? Wouldn’t happen to live in Peachtree City Ga would you?

[@matthewmcclain1316]

@@madmikemackas no, Ohio. It's a fairly common name. I know a couple others

[@madmikemackas]

@@matthewmcclain1316 yeah but Matthew W Macclain?!? Weird

[@matthewmcclain1316]

@@madmikemackas no, not W

[@JohnSmith-ck5qk]

Just make sure not to discuss airline pilot scheduling and get so engrossed in the discussion such that you fly past your destination airport

[@benwsibley]

Has that happened lol😂😂

[@popeyes97]

@@benwsibley it does

[@EchoeOne]

Are you speaking from experience?🙃

[@Jimmybobj]

@@benwsibley yes unfortunately. mentour pilot has done a video on it

[@YN-io6kj]

Some crew in the US over their destination and for another hour before they realised and got in contact wuth ATC. The whole time ATC was trying to contact them and nearly scrambled jets to intercept 😂😂

[@theboatcheat1204]

Don’t forget “space invaders” - each pilot picks a radio beacon somewhere on the map display, off the route. Then you take turns entering a radial and range from your chosen beacon… first one to ‘hit’ the aircraft symbol withe the paint of the range and radial wins…

[@pjnugent8198]

Sounds fairly straightforward. Big respect to all airline pilots.

[@MamacitaBonita]

What about the flight dispatchers?

[@pjnugent8198]

@@MamacitaBonita anyone that can keep folks 5klm up in the air in a metal tube & return them saftey to the ground ' not only get my total respect but also my gratitude.

[@vagasint.4345]

@@MamacitaBonitathey also deserve praise

[@U.S.Government]

Airline pilot here. Thank you very much! 😊

[@justing42]

@@MamacitaBonitawhat about them

[@frankpatrick4356]

God bless all the pilots in the world. Please keep up the good work. Thank you.

[@desertornado]

All these complex procedures that has been mentioned take only 5% of the time in cruise. With experience these task can be performed in a very quick manner and the rest of the time it's just about monitoring that the airplane is doing what the pilots intents it to do. For the remaining of the time, while chatting is common, more times than not it's extremely hard to keep a conversation for that long resulting in finding other ways to spend the time. Reading books/newspaper/doing crossworks can be either allowed or not depending on individual company policies. On the other hand, most airlines won't allow the use of personal electronic devices (PEDs) but that does not stop pilots from using them anyways. Watching movies and tv series, listening to music/podcast, playing games on a phone/tablet and sleeping (one at the time) are very common practices (the last one is actually allowed by the airlines with limitations on time and phase of flight but these rules too are often breached in one fashion or the other)

[@bigmungus4864]

Wait since when did they allow smartphone games?

[@desertornado]

@@bigmungus4864 more times than not, they are not. Any personal electronic device is not allowed to be used during flight, for most companies.

[@johannesfabender9]

You seem to be no cockpit crew member.

[@desertornado]

@@johannesfabender9 what I am or am not is not important. This is how it works in most companies

[@budguy21]

They are definetely watching movies and/or sleeping.

[@Jay-hr3rh]

The French Pilots even engages in some physical combat in the cockpit during cruise flight.

[@vianneykr]

😂😂😂😂

[@robertf6344]

Arguing whether putting the engines to idle will correct a wing stall condition as they did on flt 447 that dropped into the Atlantic.

[@sundar999]

Or they are planning for the next time to go on strike

[@justing42]

They are French…at least one of them is running away

[@playthroughcinema]

thats more like what brit pilots would do

[@elliotngosa1539]

Wow this is very informative. Thanks for the video!

[@SimpleFlyingNews]

Thank you for watching, be sure to tune in again! 😊✈️

[@aa777flyer]

Actually anything over 8 hours in the USA is required to have a relief pilot. Over 12 hours two relief pilots.

[@budguy21]

yup, USA rules are much more stringent than European

[@darshanpork728]

Over 15 or 16 hours three relief pilots. Once at SFO several years ago I saw six of them (two capt, two FO, and two SO) on an Air China flight SFO-PEK which was operated by a 748. I think that rule applies even for international carriers flying to/from the USA.

[@AntoninDanek]

That's because you are flying Boeings, you need more pilots and if possible also en engineer and awelder to make it safe.

[@rixxy9204]

I think it depends on the company, but 8h is hard enough, so going beyond that is very difficult. It's easy to just start glazing over and then quickly miss things.

[@udayabhansiram7502]

Wow good information not known earlier. Thanks for the post

[@LMays-cu2hp]

Thank you for sharing.

[@jandoinc]

Thanks for sharing. Very interesting 👍

[@tonytony3895]

Your presentation is highly interesting to watch. Thank you very much and take care.

[@olukayodeokunowo4631]

They do alot of work. God bless them.

[@gerardmoran9560]

Great video! Monitoring fuel burn, keeping up with destination and alternate airport weather are a real concern on some flights. The crew must keep a constant awareness of their nearest divert field in the case of a serious emergency and where they are relative to the equal time points on trans-oceanic flights.

[@PogU]

The equal time point can easily be input into the Flight Management System. You go one way or another depending if you have passed the ETP or not and have hours to prepare your diversion. Monitoring fuel burn is not an intensive task either.

[@thecomedypilot5894]

@@PogU Shut up

[@gerardmoran9560]

@@PogU If it's that simple you're not thinking about it enough. On a transoceanic flight the ETP may be between Gander, Newfoundland and Shannon Ireland, but there's more to it. ETP is mostly about shutting down an engine and deciding to turn around or press on. You should be aware of the time to other divert airports along the way. Greenland, Iceland, the Azores may be the best bet if a sudden life-threatening medical emergency happens, or the duration of flight is threatened by a mechanical failure. If all's good it passes by with little effort; if the divert fields have tough or rapidly changing weather you should keep up with it and know the approach minimums. Our airline also provided us with estimated travel time to the nearest hospital for emergency airfields. What's the point in landing at ABC when the weather is too bad for a helicopter med-evac and it's a 30 minute drive to the hospital when you could land at XYZ 10 minutes later but the hospital is 5 minutes away? You can fly an entire career and never need to do this but being ready is part of the drill.

[@quackgarage9551]

Perfect, especially the last part.

[@justing42]

@@gerardmoran9560it’s called ETOPS

[@YusafBashir]

Just flew from dubai to london Heathrow this morning on a British airways a380. Always wonder what the pilots are doing when we cruising at 39000 feet

[@firewaffle1]

Are BA still sending a380s to DXB?

[@SultanRahman1]

@@firewaffle1 Yup

[@Murdock987]

Playing candy crush

[@elscruffomcscruffy8371]

Sleeping, or practising handstands

[@rameetchadha6861]

Eating and sleeping that’s all they do and cabin crew are the one working so hard always on their feet but still all the money is given to pilots for just sitting

[@timmyboyproductions3947]

On our aircraft we play ping pong across the centre console. Sometimes we play eyespy but it’s more limited at night.

[@jonathanbott87]

Eyespy the Atlantic Ocean... 😂

[@FlyingNL]

Interesting video!

[@kranthig1265]

Good information

[@laurap.5804]

Two more important info: they have topáveis-vos differents meals ( Pilots and Captain) in case one is home bad and, when we have only 2 Pilots and one want to exit for a short time, one of the Cabin free hás to stay in the Cockpit ( this after the pilot locked out the Captain and crushed the plane on a mountain....and now the Health center is also obliged to send to the airline Company the results of the periodically check )Health )

[@David-qp9bq]

Spotting ufos

[@HengillDesigns]

Yes lol

[@heidirabenau511]

Lol

[@deeprules01]

yes.

[@Crosbie85]

Yep

[@jasonjohnson5662]

Great information

[@SimpleFlyingNews]

Thank you for watching! ✈️

[@anderslovgreninsweden115]

Reminds me of the video on youtube ”Robert the flyer” from inside the cockpit. Really cool. Will subscribe

[@coasternut3091]

On short legs, it can actually be quite busy. If it's over 2 hours, Angry Birds is still popular in the airline world

[@coreyjordan2745]

Thank you for posting. I didn't know all the details of what pilot do on long-haul. But, its cool. especially since I am in pursuit of becoming a pilot myself. My goal is to become a C.F.I first with all rating, then if possible become a first officer for an regional airline. That would be very cool. Especially coming from past. I was scared of height as a child. "God, always has a master plan for your life".

[@PedroThePortuguesePilot]

Good luck my guy! Work hard for it and get going!!!

[@coreyjordan2745]

@@PedroThePortuguesePilot thank you!!!

[@Sexperience]

I never forget how excited I was just looking people flying from Istanbul to London. While I was flying from Istanbul to Kosova without visa.

[@user975bg]

Thanks for this. I always wondered about it. I imagined they have secret bunk beds where they can have a nap mid-flight, but apparently that is not that common. It is a difficult job with long hours, weird times, I wonder if pilots are generally stressed or happy…

[@jjlasne]

The bunk beds are not secret; they are just not accessible to passengers. Pretty much the same difference with long-haul trucking. I wonder if it is the case with long-haul trains. I mean trucks and trains can or must stop along the way to rest, relief and restore. Aircraft, not so much unless a stop is required or forced.

[@roccogordon69]

It is very hard to become a pilot. Pretty much everyone who becomes one does it out of passion, and is most likely happy with their job.

[@andrewsamuelson3275]

Bunks are almost always present on widebody aircraft. Be kind to the cabin crew, and they may let you see it after landing if you’re nice and visit with them during the flight.

[@RobertsonDCCD]

Naps in the crew bunk are absolutely common on long haul flights over 8 hours. The airline will schedule 1 or 2 extra pilots on the flight just for that purpose. Being able to sleep when your nap time (typically 3 hours) comes is important to enjoying international flying. Getting good sleep at the layover hotel, even when jet-lagged, is also crucial. Pilots that struggle with sleeping, either on the plane or at the hotel, will often bid short haul flying just to avoid it.

[@justing42]

@@roccogordon69they are happy with their pay checks

[@nurrizadjatmiko20]

Very interesting🤔 and i like it

[@SimplySaamPilot]

I always wondered what pilots do during cruise 👌🏼

[@user-tq9lc8et4j]

Thanks

[@lascellescrew2261]

I often wondered what pilots do after they " level off " and cruising. It seems, however, that most have more time at hand than work to be done. I do not intend to take away anything from their job and always respect a pilot for their skills and competences.

[@justing42]

They are there for when the lights and bells go off. They hit the autopilot about 1 min after gear up.

[@pagrant]

One of the pilots on one of the flights we were on, they were going to have a quick game of Twister

[@wesmcgee1648]

The best way to pass the time is to concentrate on staying ahead of the aircraft.

[@justing42]

The computers do all of that

[@m1co294]

Staying ahead of the aircraft is something usually said for when the plane is below 10,000 feet

[@criessmiles3620]

Thank you for the information. I always leave the plane ✈️ with “ great job” to the pilots Pay forward From west Africa 🦅

[@justing42]

Chances are the plane landed itself

[@jamesstuart3346]

"Making sure that you are on course so that you don't get shot down by the Russians" is popular with Korean Air

[@stephenebert6820]

Or, popular with Aeroflot is doing the same with Ukrainians who downed a civilian Russian airliner over the Black Sea in early 2000s, denied it for a year backed by their good friends the US, finally, they admitted it, and their president said, “hey, mistakes happen, get over it”…or the US doing the same with the Iranian airliner…

[@kentd4762]

Ouch.

[@nobleman-swerve]

@@stephenebert6820 What are you even on about? It was Russia that was insistent that flight 1812 was brought down by a terrorist attack while the U.S was one of the first parties to raise concerns that it was shot down by a Ukrainian S-200 during a joint Russian-Ukrainian missile exercise. There's mountains of quotes even from Putin himself disparaging the notion of a shoot down from the time period too.

[@tedlahm5740]

007

[@rixxy9204]

@@stephenebert6820 Aeroflot crashes anyway, they don't need outside help. Do the research.

[@suratunbegum7506]

Good video.

[@SimpleFlyingNews]

Thank you for watching! ✈️

[@TheLikeys]

The funniest or weirdest thing I Image a pilot could do, is playing flight simulator games mid air xD

[@missyanderson5433]

Interesting!

[@takamadson]

Newspapers have pretty much gone by the wayside. Hope the plane has a good Wi-Fi signal 🤣🤣

[@arrownet2368]

It is not just the flight time makes their be more than one pilot it is also the time of day the the flight is taking place

[@irishriot_m20j]

Between mid air refueling, tracking our oceanic progress, and our flight engineer moving fuel if need be, lots of Monopoly Deal on the center console! I’m usually pretty ruthless at that game.

[@tusharsaikhedkar9808]

Boeign 787 is such a beauty.

[@chel3SEY]

Informative. Pity about the very annoying quick cuts.

[@aporajitodatta1644]

Great

[@pipipip815]

I’m particularly impressed by the quality of check marks shown at 2:18. I’m quite easily pleased.

[@raheemrichards1973]

Yes

[@CEEKAYDA]

I’ve always wondered

[@paulgithae5713]

May Almighty God 🙏🙏🙏🙏💖💖💖💖 bless pilots for the good 😊😊 work they do AMEN AND AMEN AND AMEN

[@lazarouschewe3535]

I am a regular traveler but never know what happens in the cockpit thanks

[@whiskeyd7]

Yes I knew of these activities first hand. At one time I had the privilege to fly in the jump seat several times. However never transatlantic.

[@jamesmoninger1982]

I just can't get confortable with the thought that the pilots of my long haul flight are up there playing with their phones.

[@reubenmorris487]

The coolers for the hydraulic systems are also located in the wing tanks close by the fuel boost pump pick-up tubes.

[@justing42]

They are called heat exchangers.

[@Dogsnark]

I knew vaguely of the things that pilots had to do during long flights. But this video “filled in the blanks” for me. Very informative video. Thank you.

[@EchoeOne]

Missed opportunity to talk about (updating) FORDEC(s)

[@c123bthunderpig]

They'd better be watching the instruments at all times

[@tomsherwood4650]

Maybe pushing the red erase button on the CVR control.

[@xavierwarren9799]

Is it weird that I'm wanting to do all this even more after watching this video?

[@SimpleFlyingNews]

We understand! 😂✈️

[@dcxplant]

Done correctly, there is a quite a lot going on during long flights. Done lazily, with complacency, boredom can tempt pilots into missing critical safety threats. Position checks, weather checks, equipment checks, fuel log checks etc. What I found is pacing these tasks is critical. If the pacing is stretched out, and tasks done a leisurely, it greatly cuts down on boredom and the temptation to nap on the flight deck or get engrossed in phone-games degrading safety. Every hour, fuel/position/weather checks must be carried out, if done very fast it makes the next 55 minutes very boring, leading to a reduced level of alertness. I pace my duties out so that there is never more than 15 minutes of "nothing to do". Some pilots at the checkpoints get them done in 5 minutes, and have a very boring next 55. There are many examples of pilots not paying attention on long-haul flights that caused accidents, and even events running out of fuel. Staying alert and "in the game" takes conscious effort to not be distracted or bored to the point of safety degrading.

[@glennhenson6495]

I think about the Air France flight from South America to Paris that ran into issues with weather, instrumentation and pilot error that I always wondered if could have been handled with better alertness and awareness in the middle of the night.

[@noobnoob6490]

You must be a peach to fly with lol

[@daftvader4218]

@@noobnoob6490Sounds more professional than you....

[@justing42]

This person has no idea what they are talking about

[@rixxy9204]

@@noobnoob6490 I would hate to fly with you. I do exactly what Dcxplant is mentioning, and if you're just going to hit the Autopilot and forget about the plane than you probably shouldn't be flying.

[@tomstravels520]

Another one is planning where to divert if something happens like medical or engine failure

[@budguy21]

You push a button and it tells you nearest airports. Not much planning.

[@tomstravels520]

@@budguy21 doesn’t mean that airport is the most suitable for an emergency landing. Does it have sufficient emergency equipment? Does it have a nearby hospital? Does it have long enough runways for an overweight aircraft? Is the weather good or bad? All these can factor in depending on how severe the emergency is.

[@budguy21]

@@tomstravels520 Nearest button gives you runway length. All the rest of that info takes a few second to evaluate.

[@tomstravels520]

@@budguy21 or you can think ahead and plan for which is the best suitable airport and create a secondary flight plan knowing the runway will be long enough. Then if an emergency does arise you already know where you’re going to go and can activate the back up flight plan

[@trevorgwelch7412]

I spoke to a flight attendant who went into the cockpit and saw both pilots fast asleep .

[@tomsherwood4650]

This is not just a myth.

[@Ephoros]

@@tomsherwood4650 happened this year. Ethiopian Airlines. It's rare, but it can happen.

[@barbaracameron5610]

On way to anc at night. First officer went to bathroom, I went into fd, captain was snoring. I was crew. No biggie. First office wasent gone long. Plane was on autopilot

[@barbaracameron5610]

Fa goes into flight deck for a reason. The don't just walk in. That was bull

[@plesjohnson3404]

I wonder about that. Flying to Germany one time.

[@jamiesworld1690]

As long plane is flying pilots keep busy on the phones checking social media and replying to emails and they can get access to those plush first class beds

[@thrustasymcomp9145]

Sleep, music, reading

[@riemebusaya4384]

Yes i did

[@SimRacingVeteran]

When flying with the sun in your face. Pilots tape up news paper to the windows. 🤙

[@charlesscott1512]

On ULH flights they carry 2 sets of flight crews what does the 2nd crew do or do they take over at half way

[@The3superdudes]

ULH flights will have a rest area for the crew. Some areas are located above the passengers while some are located under. Look them up on youtube, I was very surprised seeing them.

[@BonganiMagadu]

Do they have sleep shifts and what are the intervals like London-johannesbueg

[@gulfstream7235]

In the cruise time for a snooze....

[@DouglasDC3AK]

Newspapers, magazines, and union talk.

[@josephyun3572]

AYO that’s stock footage of JetBlue MINT!!!

[@harrisonj0679]

If it’s a Boeing 737 max I pass the time praying it stay’s in the sky

[@Bobi-ow6ou]

I know there is a crew bank room above first class where pilots rest on long haul flights

[@MajesticDemonLord]

I can't remember where I read it, but I believe that they also 'Meow' at each other.

[@everettrailfan]

Yeah, sometimes on frequencies that aren't very active someone will randomly "meow" and pretty soon everyone on that frequency is meowing lol

[@MarcPagan]

From a former airline pilot....on flights 6+ hours, if a good pilot contract, sleep is how pilots pass the time :) "Dozing for dollars" aka a blocked seat in 1st class for a resting pilot. 3 rotating pilots on flights to Europe, Asia, as noted, with 2 pilots always in the cockpit.

[@12345fowler]

If you sleep in first class seat instead of a proper bunk you are doing it wrong.

[@MarcPagan]

@@12345fowler True, but not all long haul aircraft have bunks. Trust me, From experience, a 1st Class seat in a 3 cabin aircraft, with a seat that can go fully flat, does the trick just fine :)

[@p_d_a_trfs6585]

@@12345fowler are you a pilot?

[@petergilbert144]

I knew from watching Petter or Mentour Pilot.

[@EricPham-gr8pg]

I believe 11 o'clock is Taiwan from here , and saigon is 6 o'clock then 10 oclock

[@evanyao4572]

Sometimes they'll get bored and do some barrel rolls and nosedives and call it 'turbulence'

[@d-sx560]

They know how to access the games that are embedded in the FMS.

[@NaseemAkhtar-xv3uq]

❤❤❤❤ love you every one

[@PakaBubi]

Depends of the airline I'd say. With ITA both pilots might be snoozing :D

[@Shurandy2]

🤣🤣 and I believe also arguing... it's a way of life for Italians

[@mohamadasrafali9247]

I don't know about the pilots entertainment in aircraft. Thank u

[@sailboatbob3969]

you forgot, that they take turns napping :)

[@georgesullivan4473]

I think I'd prefer my pilot to fly the plane instead of doing crossword puzzles lol 😂

[@bahardin3992]

On long haul flights - one way pilots add up their flying hours. Senior pilots log up more than 6000 hours. Salute. Meanwhile junior pilots flying short haul or commuter just get 2 hours flight time. It will take years to accumulate 1000 hours.

[@RobertsonDCCD]

A pilot’s schedule will average 80-85 flight hours per month, regardless of whether that is long or short haul flying. Those lucky enough to hold long international routes can accumulate their monthly time in only 9 days of flying. Getting that time with a short haul schedule will often take 15-16 days of flying.

[@sundar999]

But short haul must be more fun and give you more flying skills if you love flying, and you may come home for dinner quite often

[@judymarasco4231]

I never knew that

[@deborshikashyap6745]

Depends on the age of pilot if both pilot are younger then one of them would be showing his GF picture to other pilot or sharing Memes etc ..older would talk about mostly politics or sometimes no talk

[@justing42]

Where does flying 2 legs without the logbook on board rate?

[@NachoSotoBustos]

14 CFR Part 121.542(d)

[@johnschulenberg7560]

Over Macho Grande?

[@gtdude2883]

I thought the fly above the weather, at 35,000 feet there is no clouds so no rain, snow or weather.

[@chandersirohi3411]

Do air hostesses help them pass time ?

[@Mizai]

makes me uneasy pilots playing video games

[@johannesfabender9]

On one European airline carrier reading and playing games on the flight deck are strictly forbidden during the entire flight since 2008. The safety record of this carrier indeed speaks for itself.

[@crispy-qx5oi]

eh i would say staring at a screen for 9 hours is much more dangerous due to the risk of falling asleep

[@starventure]

Does the airline name rhyme with air chance?

[@johannesfabender9]

@@starventure No it does not. Policy during final passing FL 10 only flight operation issues are allowed. System steril Cockpit from FLT 10 until landing.

[@johannesfabender9]

@@starventure No it does not.. 😊

[@starventure]

@@johannesfabender9 Don’t you mean FL100?

[@kevinmiller7792]

They also tell each other jokes, which they then bring home and inflict upon their long-suffering family…🤣🤣🤣😉👍

[@lylenazareth]

😂😂😂😂😂………. How did you guys come up with these specific duties/Points?

[@yelly8506]

3:11, how did Air Canada become KLM?

[@timdale4047]

Pass the bong round?

[@lonaldlump3247]

I thought pilots can’t use phones on the flight (in the US). Correct me if I’m wrong

[@critical_always]

Hey forgets obout our mile high club meetings.