Married pilots tell of great fun they have flying BA planes together

A married couple who pilot British Airways flights together have described how sharing a cockpit helps their relationship.

Hugo and Hannah Webb, who have two young children, say it is “great fun” to fly side by side.

Speaking ahead of their latest joint flight, from London Heathrow to Milan on Friday, Mrs Webb, 34, told the Press Association: “It certainly helps that we can discuss and understand each other’s jobs.

“We both appreciate the demands of the flying lifestyle.

“On an operational level, it’s no different from flying with anyone else.”

Mr Webb, 32, said: “We are both short-haul pilots and try to get home most nights of the month, although a few nights away can be a nice break from the daily commute.”

The couple, from Alresford, Hampshire, fly together around once every few months.

BA captain Mr Webb said he does not tell passengers he is married to the first officer when they are both in the cockpit.

“Although I introduce Hannah at the beginning of the flight, I have never mentioned she is my wife,” he explained. “I suppose some customers may guess.”

Asked if she was hoping to marry a fellow pilot before meeting her now-husband at a flying school 12 years ago, Mrs Webb replied: “Not at all!”

Being a short-haul pilot is “a great profession to have as a working parent”, she said. “The shift patterns allow us to see our children both during the week and on the weekends.

“We have taken our children on a few work trips. Our son came to Milan and our daughter joined us in Lisbon for a couple of nights.”

They joined BA in 2011 and married the following year.

Mr Webb was inspired to become a pilot after his father, Nigel, founded a charity to support a network of air ambulances across the UK.

He said: “One day I was relied upon to play the part of patient in a flying demonstration, and although I wish to never go in an air ambulance again, it gave me the first spark for flying.”

His wife revealed that she has had a “burning desire” to go abroad since her childhood, and knew she wanted to travel for a living after saving up for three years to visit Australia as a 16-year-old.

The couple operate Airbus A320 aircraft on routes across the UK and Europe.

Italian capital Rome is Mr Webb’s favourite destination due to its “endless art and architecture”, while his wife “loves flying to Amman, Jordan and visiting the Dead Sea and Petra”.

Mrs Webb added: “It also never gets boring flying over central London on the way into Heathrow. Not many airports have an approach directly over such a great view of a city.”