Do you create the work schedule ? The work schedules are created by the dedicated service. They are made respecting the national and European regulations concerning air crews, which are very specific. For example, a pilot can fly a certain number of hours … an air steward also has a quota of hours that cannot be exceeded. Nevertheless, I have the right to check the roster, to monitor its quality. Besides my administrative roles, I also continue to pilot several flights a week, to make sure I don’t lose my touch, but also to be visible, if I can say it, to be able to work alongside my colleagues. Exactly what do you consider the main diffculties of the pilot’s job to be ? Being extremely adaptable to the weather conditions and keeping a cool head to handle incidents and technical failures. This said, we are trained for and ready to manage these types of situations. And the main satisfactions ? Piloting is a source of great pride ! We are lucky to be pilots for Air Tahiti. Many youngsters, and also the not so young, would like to work for us. The pride of being a pilot and, also, the satisfaction of getting the job done as laboriously planned-out and organized by many teams  : commercial, planning and technical. Gratification of carrying out flights as scheduled and in utmost security for the passengers. Is it « easy » to pilot in our island’s skies ? We are lucky because the weather is good 90% of the time, which makes the job pleasant and easier. However, we can experience bad weather and conditions with poor visibility and heavy rain that can make takeoff and landing diffcult, especially if the runway is narrow or short, as is common in our network. For example, if the runway is too wet, we must wait until it has dried before taking off or landing. Waiting also, for the wind to die down. Safety is paramount ! Certain passengers don’t understand these delays, but you have to explain to them that it is their safety that is at risk under such conditions. Another specificity of our air network is the large number of flight legs that are carried out. There can be as many as six take-offs and landings during one flight. Which is a lot of manual piloting for the personnel. This sets us apart from the companies that offer long-haul flights of 6, 10, 12 hours. What about the fleet ? Today, it is primarily madeup of the ATR 600 series, but there are still some ATR 500s. We have two types of aircraft, which is not easy to manage. So, we must do what is called « bi-variance ». There are flight crews qualified to fly on both ATR 500s and 600s. However, they must never fly on both series on the same day, to avoid getting confused. Other personnel are qualified to fly on the 500 or 600 series exclusively. In terms of piloting, it’s pretty similar. The main difference is in the cockpit. The 600s have what is called a « glass cockpit », a dashboard that is madeup entirely of screens, to be precise. Information is displayed for the pilots on screens that resemble those of an i-pad. This new generation of cockpit is more ergonomic and less tiring for the pilots. They are quite distinct from the ATR 500’s cockpit, which has the old-fashioned dials and instruments with needles. The mechanics, by contrast, remain much the same, as wellas flight performance, such as the maximum speed, for example. How do you think the job will change in the long-term ? Frankly, I admire the work done by pilots just a few decades ago. Today, our planes are state-of-the-art. They are increasingly effcient, and comfortable for both the passengers and pilots. The navigation systems are extremely precise, and many aspects are now automated. Over the past sixty years, the advances have been phenomenal ! From Alain Bonnard’s account of the era, that was not so long ago (see the interview on page 20), there wasn’t a great deal … For example, of all Air Polynésie’s Fokkers, only one was equipped with autopilot. For long flights to the Marquesas, for example, the pilots « fought » to have it … The job was more complex and more physically demanding than it is today. It has evolved in the right direction in another very important aspect as well  : flights are much safer. une partie De la FloTTe AcTuelle D’air tahiti/A pArT oF The CurreNT Air TAhiTi FleeT. 33