I’m a Virgin Atlantic pilot and this is what I eat on a long-haul flight
A pilot needs as much fuel as an airplane… and it’s apparently heavy, according to the experiences of a Virgin Atlantic Senior First Officer.
Rosie Scott, who regularly helms long-haul flights around the world, provided some insight into the type of food pilots get at 30,000 feet.
Sharing a post to her Instagram page @rosiepridepilot, which has almost 37,000 followers, the British pilot gave a behind-the-scenes look at some of the dining options on offer when you’re a mile high.
She explained: “Normally we get crew meals and we also get to have the passenger meals after the service ends.”
Virgin Atlantic Senior First Officer regularly flies long-haul aircraft… and has provided some insight into what pilots eat during the flight
There is also a ‘snack bin’ in the cockpit, including sandwiches, fruit, crisps and drinks, as well as Haribo and chocolate bars.
In the footage, the first meal Rosie devours is an “upper class passenger meal that’s uneaten,” with the pilot zooming in on a fancy-looking chocolate dessert that was “a bit squished,” meaning a paying customer wouldn’t have been able to doing. It.
A typical upper class starter on Virgin Atlantic might be salmon gravadlax, while a main course might include dishes such as a Toragashi marinated halloumi poke bowl.
Dessert? A sample menu features a Pimms o’clock summer pudding, followed by a cheese platter.
The pilot reveals that the crew is often served upper class meals that aren’t quite perfect enough to serve to the passengers, including this ‘slightly crushed’ chocolate dessert
Fuel! Rosie also shared a photo of a double plant-based cheeseburger with chips and lots of mustard
There is also a snack bin, containing chips, sandwiches and sweet treats, should the flight crew get hungry
Satisfied customer: Rosie shares a photo of a devoured main course
She says that many of the meals also come ‘with a great view’.
At “the top of the descent,” Scott shows off an “insane” burger that was brought in, which was actually a plant-based double cheeseburger.
The Senior First Officer also showed off the salt and pepper shakers, shaped like small airplanes, that upper class passengers use.
She jokes: ‘We know you steal them, that’s why we write this on them…’ before turning the shakers over to reveal the words ‘Pinched from Virgin Atlantic’.