Career Pilot

Paul Lucken

By Pete Bedell

Like many other professional pilots, Paul Lucken's road to a major airline was filled with hazards. After high school, he enrolled in the then-new, airline-specific training program at the University of North Dakota. Along with a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical studies, Lucken earned a guaranteed interview for an internship with a regional airline. "It was a risk that paid off," he said.

That led Lucken to a first officer slot in a Beech 1900 at GP Express Airlines. To prepare for the interview, he talked to everyone he knew at the airline. The lifestyle at GP Express wasn't easy. "Show times at 4:30 a.m., eight to 12 legs a day, no autopilot or flight director, very low pay--I was living the dream," quips Lucken.

In 1996, when GP Express went out of business, Lucken was hired at Gulfstream International Airlines as a Beech 1900 captain. "I was a 24-year-old living in Key West, which was pretty fun for awhile." He then went to Mountain Air Express in Colorado, flying new Dornier 328s in the challenging Rockies; when it merged with Air Wisconsin, Lucken worked his way to Canadair RJ captain.

After four years at "Air Whiskey," Lucken was hired in July 2001 as a flight engineer in the McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 for Hawaiian Airlines. "After only two months on the job, I was furloughed following 9/11," he said. Recalled in May 2002, Hawaiian furloughed him again in January 2003.

Lucken flew air ambulance and worked as a simulator instructor until Continental Airlines hired him in July 2005. He said he flies about four days a week out of his Houston base. As a commuter from Denver, though, he spends extra time away from home just trying to get to and from work.

Lucken has some opinions on being a pilot. "Job security does not exist in this industry," he says. To aspiring pilots, Lucken recommends networking. "You have to know someone to get where you want to go," he says. He also suggests a back-up plan or second career. Finally, Lucken suggests making sure your family understands the lifestyle before diving in for a career change.

Pete Bedell is a Boeing 737 first officer for a major airline and former technical editor of AOPA Pilot.