Captain Richard Westray
Richard has enjoyed an aviation career with BOAC, British Airways and latterly with Easyjet. He has flown over 26000 hours which he equates to carrying about a million passengers for ten million miles. The high point was being appointed the last Route Check Captain on Concorde. With such a career he has the authority to talk not just about Concorde but a whole lifetime of aviation experiences.
Richard started flying lessons while still at school after being awarded a flying scholarship from the RAF. Deciding finally to take a civilian route, following a course at The College of Air Training near Southampton and joining BOAC, he became one of the youngest pilots ever at the age of twenty to qualify to fly the Boeing 747, learning skills from many ex WW2 veterans.
During his 35 year career with British Airways,in addition to all versions of the 747, he flew the Boeing 707, 737 , The Lockheed 1011 Tristar, ending his time in BA on the high tech 777. He also rolled his sleeves up to take a turn working as cabin crew for six months. The high point of his career however was to be appointed the final Route Check Captain on the Concorde fleet in 1999.
Following retirement from a worldwide career with BA he continued to fly as a Captain with low cost carrier Easyjet, piloting the Airbus to a multitude of European destinations.
In retirement he occasionally keeps his hand in on the simulator, mentoring
pilots aspiring to join some of the major airlines around the World.When not working he enjoys the odd game of golf and walking the Jurassic coast where he lives with his wife, Karen, a former stewardess with South African Airways and Easyjet. The passion for aviation has trickled down to their children, the eldest son being a Captain with Emirates and his third son Creative Director for the spaceship company, Virgin Galactic. His eldest stepson is a specialist in BASE jumping and wing suit flying.