The Pilot Who ExploresTime-saving tips, packing strategies, layover hacks, and airline secrets straight from a commercial pilot. Travel smarter, faster, and more efficiently, no matter where you go.
Imagine this: you buy the last carry-on suitcase you’ll ever need. It may seem hard to believe, but that’s the promise Briggs & Riley makes; pay a bit more, but only pay once. And as an airline pilot traveling 300 days a year and to over 100 countries, that’s a promise I fully put to […]
As an airline pilot, I feel your middle seat pain – trust me. I’m a frequent passenger, especially on my almost weekly Washington DC to New York commute. Over the years and thousands of flights I’ve taken as a passenger, I’ve discovered the tricks and loopholes it takes to avoid middle seats – well, most […]
As an international airline pilot, I live out of my carry-on suitcase. I depend on having a high-quality suitcase that can handle the stress of constant travel, and I spent years trying out every kind of suitcase you can buy – everything from cheap, replaceable Costco luggage to high-end Rimowa Aluminum Luggage. It felt like […]
As an airline pilot living out of a suitcase, it’s an absolute necessity to pack well – whether it’s for work, pleasure, or both. Over the years, you learn to optimize what you take, while learning some tricks along the way. I’ve traveled on hundreds of work/business trips, ranging from 2-day to 19-day trips. I’ve […]
Ah, international data roaming. Remember the days when these 3 words, uttered in any sentence, would immediately send you into a panic attack? Goosebumps and shivers spreading up and down your body, you’d cringe at the thought of even turning your phone on while abroad. We’ve come a long way since those days, when international […]
As an airline pilot constantly on the road, I can relate to how difficult it is to stay healthy while traveling. It’s really tough to build a good routine and maintain the same healthy habits that you do at home. What makes it worse is when your body clock isn’t aligned with whatever new time-zone […]
Ah, the joys of international travel – endless airport security lines, cramped flights, and then, after all that, the final boss: a painfully long customs and immigration line before you’re officially allowed to enter the country. As an airline pilot, I’ve gone through customs more times than I can count — and every minute wasted there is time away […]
Traveling across time zones to distant places and dealing with jet lag is never fun – even for experienced flight crew that deal with it nearly every week. But over time, we find ways to cope with it. After all, we have no choice. In fact, as an international airline pilot, I’ve sometimes in a […]
In a time crunch at Baltimore-Washington’s fast-growing International Airport – BWI? Or you just want to grab Chipotle on the other side more quickly? After years of commuting from the DC Metro area to New York, much of it out of BWI, I’ve figured out the airport pretty well. Here’s how to get though TSA […]