My first day as a United Airlines Captain

Sometime around 1984 I decided I wanted to become an airline pilot. Not just a pilot, but a Captain for my hometown of Chicago's airline: United Airlines. 35 years after making that decision, it happened this past Monday, Memorial Day 2019, and was a day I'll never forget....even though it was nothing like I imagined it would be.

Growing up in the western suburbs of Chicago I was right under the flight path for the arrivals landing to the east at O'Hare Airport. I also had a neighbor who was a United Airlines Captain and I was friends with his daughter, so I suppose it was only natural that sooner or later I'd get the airline bug. It seemed so exciting to a 12 year old to travel for free, be adored by trusting passengers, and of course, make a lot of money. Who wouldn't want to do this?

What would transpire both for me and the airlines over the next 3.5 decades isn't worth reiterating here, but as most everyone knows, 9/11, bankruptcies, bad economies, mergers, furloughs, and stagnation lead me to believe I'd never become a United Airlines (or any other major airline) Captain. Then a miracle happened - the industry rapidly improved and I was hired at United Airlines in January 2015. Then, late last year the company announced they would need A LOT of new Captains so I threw my name in the running. Surely I would not be awarded a Captain spot with just over 4 years at the airline....I had almost no hope for the left seat. December 14, 2018, I got the word: I was awarded a Captain position in San Francisco. Gulp.

Fast forward through initial Captain school in Chicago at the Willis Tower and simulator/classroom training in Denver over the next few months, and I get the call from scheduling: my first trip in the left seat will begin on May 27th, Memorial Day, with a Line Check Airman (LCA) acting as the copilot. The flights would occur from San Francisco (SFO) to Los Angeles, then back to SFO and continuing on to Austin, TX. My heart started beating a little faster and hasn't stopped since.

They deadheaded me to SFO from my home in Houston the night before, where I was to meet up with the LCA at the hotel for dinner and we would brief the next day the night before. No sooner had I landed in SFO then I get a text message from the LCA - his flight is delayed due to thunderstorms in his home base of Denver. Our briefing that night would have to be canceled and we'd get up extra early to brief in the morning. Our show time at the airport was 0700, so our briefing would be at 0600 the next morning.

As with any big life event, I slept very poorly that night. Nervous and excited, my mind would not calm down; I think I got about 4 hours of sleep by the time the alarm went off. Holy cow, it's THE day. The day I've been waiting for since 1984. Why does my stomach hurt? I've had no coffee yet I'm jittery as ever. My eyes are bloodshot. I thought to myself that this must be what every professional athlete feels the first time they play in a major league game. Nerves, nausea, and a little bit of self doubt.

I meet the LCA in the lobby at 0600. He's been on the Airbus for 15 years and retires in less than 3 years. He can see I'm about to bounce right out of my skin and he tells me to just relax... everything is going to be just fine. We have breakfast and begin to go over the training guide. There is a lot to know, and even more to talk about and test my aeronautical knowledge of, over the next few days. I feel like I'm about to throw up.

As we arrive at the airplane the gate agent instantly starts telling me things: "we have one jumpseater and no other specials, are you going to be ready to board on time?" Just then the eager (and also new) flight attendants rush me at the podium to introduce themselves and start popping me with questions about the flight. I'm glad it was early in the morning and none of them could see how terrified I was to be peppered with all this before even getting on the plane. I guess that fourth stripe really means something.

I sit down in the Captain's seat for the first time. I flew this airplane for four years and over 2,500 hours from the right seat and this feels all wrong. The best way to adequately convey the feeling is to imagine you move to London and you have to get used to operating a car from the opposite seat and driving on the wrong side of the road. Every switch, the turn signals, the seat adjustment controls, even changing the radio is all backwards to you. You know how to drive (fly) and it will all come back to you over time and with practice, but for right now, it's intensely strange and uncomfortable.

Time for my first passenger announcement. I talked to them all the time as a First Officer - this will be easy, right? Nope. From the second I say: "ladies and gentlemen this is your Captain speaking" my brain turns into tapioca and I muff the entire greeting. Before I can allow myself to think about my announcement failure, the lead flight attendant comes up to tell me it's getting hot in back and there's no coffee (that means start the APU). Just then we receive an ACARS message from dispatch to contact operations for a message. I start the APU then call operations: they inform me that we will be delayed because maintenance needs to put a part in the cargo bin for a broken aircraft in Los Angeles. This is a lot to process all at once and still do all the cockpit setup and computer programming.

Finally we get everything squared away and push off the gate. It's now my first time to taxi the Airbus. We only have 55 people and not much fuel so the airplane is very light. I release the brakes and the plane starts moving with no thrust required from me. Oh, this is nice...at least taxiing will be easy. Not so fast, Captain. In just a few seconds the airplane is going 20 knots on a taxiway when the LCA gently asks me if I'm trying out for the Indy 500. As I slow to a more normal taxi speed, I take a few seconds to look around - it's a busy morning and there are a lot of other airplanes out here. I wonder if any other new Captains are also cutting their teeth today.

The :55 minute flight to LAX is a total blur. The LCA has so much information to cover with me, there's no time to sit back and relax or look out the window - we are discussing operating items the entire way to Southern California. As we check on with SoCal approach we get the familiar warning: "United XXXX caution wake turbulence, you'll be following a heavy Boeing 777 to the runway." Great. We are super light, it's my first leg, and now I have to worry about wake turbulence. When we get switched to tower he reminds us of the wake and gives me a little surprise: "United XXXX you're seven miles behind the triple seven, caution wake turbulence, and keep your speed up for a British Airways 747 behind you." This is a baptism by fire, for sure.

We managed avoid the wake turbulence and land the airplane and now it's time to find the gate. If you've never been to LAX, it's a fairly large airport with too few gates and very tight parking. Nothing is going to be easy for me today, it seems. The LCA calls our operations and they inform us the gate is occupied but due to push in :10 minutes. Ok, whew, I can relax a bit while we wait.

After we park and complete the checklist the LCA turns and asks me what I think I could have done better? Where do I start? Everything. I could have done everything better. For a guy who was flying this airplane flawlessly a month ago as a First Officer, I feel like this was my first solo. He laughed and said no, I did just fine. Better than average, actually. I sure didn't feel that way.

We would next reverse the trip and go back to SFO, then quick turn in the same aircraft to Austin, TX. My landing in SFO was acceptable only because we could use the airplane again, while in Austin I got my first greaser from the left seat. That felt great. It's approaching 8pm in Austin, I grab a quick salad at the hotel and I fall face first into bed. Show time in the morning in 0615 for a 0700 flight to Houston and the continuation of my first trip as Captain.

The best way to describe my first day as a Captain is that it was exactly like a wedding. You dream about this day in your life seemingly forever. You think about it, plan for it, even obsess over it. When the day finally comes, sleep quality is poor, nerves get the best of you, problems arise that you could have never planned for, and the day is over before you even have time to enjoy it. But just as with a wedding, it's only the beginning of the rest of your life. With any luck, I'll have 18 more years to polish my skills as a United Airlines Captain and become better every day until I retire. In the meantime, if your travels happen to be on a United Airlines Airbus A319 or A320, I hope you'll stick your head up front to say hello. With any luck it will be me in the left seat. I'd love to be your Captain.