High Flying Algarve Mum
Karen Anderson is one of over 300 female BA pilots, she is a mother of two and commutes to Heathrow from the Algarve. Sophie Sadler met her, to find out more about her path to becoming a pilot and her busy lifestyle.
Karen wanted to work in aviation after she flew on a family holiday, it was only at 10 years-of-age that she realised women could be pilots and not just cabin crew. “I wanted to be a stewardess, then I was invited on the flight deck and that was it, I wanted to be a pilot. My parents thought it would be something I would grow out of but I never did!”
Karen joined the air cadets in her native Scotland at 12 and stayed until she was 16, flying light aircraft and gaining experience in aviation. Through the cadet’s she became aware of the RAF, where she completed work experience at RAF Lossiemouth. Her dream was then formed of becoming a fighter pilot.
At 17 Karen was awarded RAF University sponsorship. She studied aeronautical engineering at Glasgow University and as part of the sponsorship, became a member of the university air squadron.
“We all got together for a meeting once a week and also went to Glasgow Airport for flight training so that when we joined RAF we would have completed the first part of the training.” Karen clocked up 100-hours of flying at university, taking her first solo flight at 17.
After graduating, Karen went to boot camp for initial officer training. It was at her final medical check that her dreams came crashing down. At the assessment they discovered Karen’s arms were too short to be a fighter pilot. They had assessed her previously yet there had been a mistake and it was ruled that she would be unable to have ample command of the controls when under g-force.
“It was like the bottom has dropped out of my world,” she remembers. Her final offer from the RAF was to fly multi-engine aircraft. “I knew that I would essentially be a passenger pilot, flying troops around the world but for less money than a commercial pilot.”
Karen picked herself up and looked around for more options, She chose a British Airways fast track programme as it offered more stability, a higher salary and more career prospects than the RAF. It was a very competitive entry process but with her 1st from Glasgow and RAF training, she got accepted.
She trained in Michigan with 15 others aged from 20 to 28 years old, who were accommodated by BA in apartments near the airfield for just over a year. The good weather conditions in the Midwest mean you can get through the syllabus more quickly and, with cheap fuel, the training costs less.
Karen had to pass 16 technical exams to get an ATPL and then the final instrument rating exam was done at the Bristol flying school. “All of the initial flight training is done in single pilot aircraft so you then need to learn in a simulator to fly using standard operating procedures with two pilots,” Karen explains.
Then, halfway through her training, Karen had yet another set back after Sept 11th. Such was the effect on the airline industry that BA suspended all recruitment so there was no guarantee of when a job would become available.
“When I finished training I had almost a year off while I waited for a vacancy because I was one of the youngest on the course the older pilots took precedence.”
The following March, however, she finally received the invitation to join BA, and began Type Rating on the Boeing 737. Pilots train specifically for each type of plane, learning the technical side of all the systems in the classroom, then an intensive simulator course, practising every possible emergency scenario before finally getting to fly the real aircraft.
“As you have previously only flown a very small plane BA took us to a French airfield and we had to fly an empty 737 around which is quite a cool experience at 23! So you take it in turns to take off and land until you nail it and then watch your colleagues do the same.”
The next step is to fly with passengers but with a training pilot then after about eight weeks and aged 23 Karen was a fully qualified 737 pilot.
Her ambitions didn´t stop there as she dreamed of flying long-haul. At 28 she went on a 2-month conversion course to fly a Boeing 747, the ‘Jumbo Jet’, before which you need to have 1500 flying hours under your belt.
What is the most challenging thing about being a pilot? “Procedures are constantly being updated as technology evolves in order to maintain very high safety standards so it’s imperative to stay on top of these changes. Every six months, all pilots have a two day ‘simulator check’ where we undergo testing and training to ensure our skills remain at the level they should be and this also allows us an opportunity to practise emergency scenarios. This is always a challenging two days but ensures we are prepared for the day to day operation. There are many variables in international aviation such as weather, air traffic control, ground handling, cargo, technical aspects and of course not least, our passengers, all of which can create unique and often complex situations.”
Karen took her first break from flying to have her son, about to turn four years old. BA does not allow pilots to fly while pregnant so she was then grounded. After 9 months of maternity leave, it took a month to retrain at ground school and in a simulator, followed by two trips with a training captain on board before being allowed to return to normal line flying.
Karen has just returned to flying again following her 2nd child and is glad to be back on the flight deck and as a mother enjoys the overnight stays in long haul destinations as a break from the night feeds!
On long haul trips, she gets 2/3 hours bunk rest, depending on the flight time, and can take controlled rest in the seat while the other pilot flies. She says that just closing your eyes for 30 minutes can make all the difference to your reactions on a gruelling night flight.
Amazingly Karen´s husband, Sean, is also a BA pilot and has just earned his captains wings so how do they juggle their family life?
Before having her second child Karen worked part-time, which is around three trips a month, but on return from maternity, you have to work three months full time. So currently her husband is taking Shared Parental Leave to cover her absences, which will be four to five trips a month.
Then Karen will return to work part-time in order to juggle looking after the children. Pilots are able to bid for trips and they are awarded in order of seniority. “I normally bid for three-day what are known as ‘high credit’ trips like Houston, Miami and Nairobi which are day-long trips with a 24 hours stop over so I am back in London on day three and fly back to Portugal that night, meaning I am only away from the children for three nights at a time.”
She remembers her first trip back after having her son. “After being entirely engrossed for the last nine months in the feeds and teething I had just parked a 747 and as I was walking away I looked back and thought; Wow I just landed that!”
What is the biggest highlight of being a pilot? “Most obviously I love planes and flying but when you come into land on a tricky day and you do a good landing that is a huge buzz.”
The busy couple, who live in Praia da Luz are also boat enthusiasts and own Algarve Boat Rentals and Artesão in Marina de Lagos. “We find that living in the Algarve is the perfect offset to the stresses of the job and of course its a great base for our kids rather than growing up near Heathrow!”
Has Karen had any hairy moments while flying? “It's often related to weather. A tricky landing was coming into Singapore - we had a minor technical fault which had already upped our workload, then we had to dodge thunderstorms. The aircraft landing in front of us had an issue so air traffic control told us to go-around. We requested a priority approach due to our fuel getting close to minimum reserves, then we landed just ahead of a heavy rain shower so that was an eventful trip!”
Recent research shows that male pilots outnumber female pilots by almost 18 to 1. B.A. has more female pilots than any other carrier in the UK.
Airlines have been stepping up their efforts to recruit more female pilots to meet the increasing demand for travel. Let's hope that Karen provides inspiration to little girls who might want to fly planes when they grow up!
