Voyages of Discovery Can Be Money Well Spent

An introductory or discovery flight can offer a great experience for the student to assess whether flying is for them, and what training program will make the best fit.

Sam Weigel

Friday, November 03, 2023 at 02:54 PM ET

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Olufemi Haynes, a flight attendant at the author's airline, flies the author's Stinson 108 on a discovery flight. [Sam Weigel]

Key Takeaways:

Airlines are seeing a positive trend of flight attendants pursuing pilot careers, which is improving diversity and breaking down cultural barriers within the industry.
Aspiring pilots are strongly encouraged to realistically assess if a flying career is right for them through initial training or discovery flights before committing significant time and money.
Many standard discovery flights are inadequate; prospective students should seek longer, more instructional sessions and consider multiple flights with different schools and instructors.
Treat discovery flights as an "extended interview" to thoroughly evaluate the flight school's atmosphere, instructor's teaching style, patience, and overall compatibility for effective and cost-efficient training.

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One of the personally interesting aspects of this historic pilot hiring wave has been that, in my day job as a Boeing 737 captain, nearly every single week I encounter flight attendants who are commercial pilots, or are in flight training, or are considering taking the plunge.

This is a very welcome development that will do wonders to increase the diversity of our pilot corps, as well as help tear down lingering barriers between our pilot and flight attendant groups, an unfortunate aspect of our company culture. Management apparently agrees: Several years ago they created two accelerated hiring paths to the flight deck for our flight attendants, which has stirred immense interest among our cabin crew. The early participants are now at the qualification level where I’ll be flying with them soon, and I’m really looking forward to it.