James got the flying bug from his dad who was in the RAF during the Second World War on a Typhoon Squadron. Picture the heyday of Liverpool Airport in the roaring sixties and imagine the phenomenal growth in commercial aviation that was to be witnessed there. There is a professional man in his late 40’s, with a ten year old son at his side watching aircraft movements and the hustle and bustle of the apron outside the original Art Deco terminal building - now the Liverpool Marriott Hotel. The experience had a profound effect on the young James and by the time he was 15 he really wanted to fly. Trained to fly by the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm, James flew the Harrier and then helicopters before leaving the military to continue his flying career in the commercial world.

He flew for an Air Taxi company for 18 months and then joined Air 2000 on the B757. Going from a light twin to a big airliner was a real eye-opener for him and he never forgot how hard it was to make the transition. James stayed with Air2000 on the B757 for seven happy years. During that time he was lucky enough to get involved with GA pilot training, flew with an Air Display team in the Harvard and Beech 18 and even had time to fit in Air Experience Flight work as an RAFVR Flying Officer on the venerable Chipmunk.

After leaving Air2000, a succession of flying jobs followed with companies like Alitalia and Royal Brunei Airlines (both B767). Then in 1997 he got a job with a funny little start-up company based at Luton who painted the ‘phone number on the outside of the fuselage. It had four old, tired B737s, a few itinerant pilots, huge competition from the legacy carriers and an ambitious business plan. When he joined, he only planned to stay for a year or two, but was hooked by the rapid pace of growth. James finally left Easyjet seven years later, in 2005

A period working for Astraeus as a Training Captain on the B737 and B757 fleet flying to some weird and wonderful destinations in Africa and the Far East was followed by a position at Flyglobespan as a Trainer on the B767-300. He now works part-time for Flyglobespan and also is a consultant for various airlines – currently he’s been engaged by a start-up company called UKIA to be their Chief Training Captain.

Guess what? They’ve only got four aeroplanes, a few itinerant pilots, massive competition on the planned routes and an ambitious business plan…