'5+1' with Boeing 747 cargo pilot Eva Marseille

To work in the flight deck means to work in a male-dominated environment. We talked to Eva Marseille and got to know more about her inspiring way of becoming a pilot. Learn more about the biggest challenges on a flight and Eva’s milestones, her switch from passenger to cargo pilot as well as about the mobility offer in her home of choice Hongkong.

1. Becoming a pilot wasn’t your childhood dream. First you studied literature and journalism and then decided for the aviation industry. So what was the reason and what inspired you to become a pilot?

I was always good at learning languages and I loved literature and writing, so my high school teachers encouraged me to study something in that field. I started studying journalism and Dutch literature with the idea to have this big future career, writing for prestigious magazines, making a name for myself with my articles, meeting interesting people and traveling to and if possible living in different countries. But during my studies, I came to realise that in order to have this kind of career, I would have to excel both in my writing as in my networking: you really have to know the right people. I might end up writing for an insignificant magazine or local paper, glued to a desk, writing people's stories who were actually living their dream. I really started to doubt where I was going with my studies, and felt I was not on the right track. More and more often, I found myself fantasising about the life airline pilots have. The excitement of flight and operating these amazing machines, the responsibility and the whole lifestyle. I felt it resonated with me. But it was such a completely different world to me: I had only flown once as a passenger and did not know anybody in the aviation industry. But long story short: during my studies I visited an information day of a flight school and it all sounded so wonderful and fascinating – learning to fly in small single engine aircraft, studying meteorology and principles of flight and many other subjects. It turned out that with my background (I did take physics in high school) I could apply without delay. And so I did. From never thinking about becoming an airline pilot, it became my goal right there and then. And I achieved it with hard work and dedication and I have zero regrets.

2. What are the biggest challenges on a flight and what was your best experience?

As a pilot you will have a lifelong career of your performance being monitored and checked – several times a year in simulator exams and during checks on your line flights. You need to keep up to standard and prove yourself every time. You have to have the personality that is able to deal with this. A major challenge, not in flight, but definitely in the pilot career, is the instability of the industry, which becomes very clear now during COVID. The industry has been hugely affected in the last two decades by for example September 11, the Global Financial Crisis (it took me 2.5 years to get my first pilot job after obtaining my license) and now COVID. It’s a fragile industry with huge ups and downs in the job market. It is more normal to lose your job at least once at some time during your career, then to never experience such an event. That is why I suggest all aspiring future pilots to have a back-up plan. 

I don’t have one best experience but several milestones so far are my first ‘solo flight’, which is the first flight in flight training you fly alone without an instructor next to you. For me this was in 2009 in a Piper Archer at Falcon Field Arizona. Then when I got hired in my first airline job, my initial line check on the Boeing 737-800 in 2013, marked for me the start of my professional career as an airline pilot. I was no longer in training, flying was now my day to day job. And I have happy memories of my first long haul trip with the Boeing 747 in 2018, where I got to operate to Anchorage, Alaska and New York JFK.

3. You changed from flying passengers on a Boeing 737 through Europe to flying cargo on a Boeing 747, a jumbo jet all over the world. What were the challenges on the way into the cockpit of the Boeing 747 and what are the main differences of flying this airplane?

I applied when I had several years of experience flying the Boeing 737 and it was a requirement to have 3000 hours of ‘jet time’ for the vacancy of Boeing 747 direct entry First Officer. When I got invited for the two days of assessments in Hong Kong, I did everything I could to be fully prepared. I rented a Boeing 747 simulator in Frankfurt to practice the simulator profile, I studied for many days. Then when I got the job I had to do a ‘conversion course’ to obtain a Boeing 747 rating. This course was provided by the airline. It was intense, but definitely doable, especially coming from the Boeing 737. I would say the Boeing 747 is nicer to fly compared to the Boeing 737; she has huge wings and tilted gear, which assists in smooth landings, and she is very stable on approach. The lifestyle is now very different: I used to be in my own bed every night, now I operate to many places in the world and am regularly a week from home, crossing time zones and flying a lot through the night. Also flying cargo proves to be a bit less stable: my roster changes much more often compared to when I flew passengers. 

4. To work in the flight deck means to work in a male-dominated environment. Did you ever experience any disadvantage due to being a woman?

No, I have never experienced my gender being a disadvantage.

5. Before moving to Hongkong, you have lived in Barcelona. What is mobility like in Hongkong? Would you say the city acts as a role model for others? How do you get from A to B

I think Hong Kong has an excellent public transport system: cheap and reliable. The metro is very reliable and connects many parts of the city and the different islands. There is a good system of buses and minibuses, countless taxis and several ferries. There is also the fast ‘airport express’ train, taking one from the city centre to the airport, in just 24 minutes. This is what I take to get to work. I don’t have a car in Hong Kong though, and I would not be keen to drive one here. 

And the +1 question from Eva to you: “Are you planning to fly again as soon as the COVID travel restrictions are lifted?” 

Thanks Eva for the nice talk and for sharing your insights into your life as a pilot.

Pictures. Eva Marseille
Interview: Britta Reineke