Profile: PrivateFly’s Adam Twidell

Any tips for passengers without uniforms?

All pilots leave their televisions on in their hotel rooms and put a ‘do not disturb’ sign on the outside. Do that and you’ll never get burgled. If someone comes in, as soon as they hear the television, they’ll leave because they’ll think you are in the same room.

What do you always take on trips?

I take a thermometer to measure how hot or cold it is in my hotel bedroom. It’s a bit of an addiction for me. If you’re in a hotel room in one country, the reading on the wall will be different from the reading in a hotel room in another country. I prefer to have the accuracy of a thermometer and set the temperature myself. About 16C is probably about right for me.

Do you have any other strange habits?

Travelling can be incredibly stressful if you let it and so you have to make sure that doesn’t happen. I get to the airport early and the gate late. If I’m flying off anywhere, I like to organise a conference call at the airport for 30 minutes before the gate closes. I do it every time - I’ll look up who I’ve got to speak to that week and organise the call. It’s actually quite relaxing because it ensures you are there on time.

Isn’t it a bit noisy for that?

I always make use of the lounge and that’s probably the best £20 you can spend. If the flight gets delayed it’s even better value and, in fact, it saves you money because you don’t spend anything on duty free goods.

Do you travel heavy or light?

I very seldom check in luggage. I’m like a military dictator on the night before a trip, pulling stuff out of my bag because it is not necessary. You lose 10 per cent of everything when you check out of a hotel room and you don’t really need much anyway. Airlines focus on speedy entry, but none of them offer a speedy exit, which is what you really want.

What else would you change?

The security procedures at airports, because no matter how much you pay, they are usually the same for everyone. [Now defunct] Silverjet got it so right by taking control of their own security and Virgin Atlantic have started doing it as well, so they can offer a decent experience. It is the key because if you ask any customer, they say the worst thing about flying is going through security, having to take your shoes off, etc, and being treated like a criminal. How can you be an airline, like British Airways, which is all about customer service, and then hand over security to BAA and have no control over it?

Tell us about your short-haul travel

I’ve recently been to Moscow and Cannes for conferences. I think easyJet are fantastic and I did think British Airways was, but the proposed strike [at Christmas, which was called off] made me think twice about going with them. I’m reluctant to go with Ryanair because of the atmosphere on board. It’s not exactly relaxing, it’s in your face because they’re always trying to sell you something. The best thing you can take on an airline are earplugs, because you really don’t want to be woken up by someone trying to sell you a double vodka at 10am in the morning.

I like airlines that have got a great safety culture. EasyJet has that - it talks about its incidents. Air force training teaches you to do that so you can share best practice. Of course, if you’ve been reckless you’ll be disciplined, but if you’ve made an honest mistake it makes sense to share that with others so they don’t make the same mistake.

What do you look for in a hotel?

I avoid airport hotels to get away from runways and see a bit of the destination. I like a speedy check-out and as for facilities, I like a gym and a swimming pool of a decent length. I always take some running shoes with me because no matter where you are you can always go for a run. Even if it’s -20C outside, you can run up and down the fire exit.

What about long-haul travel?

I’m going to Australia, which is partly business and partly holiday with the family. We’ve got a couple of business class seats between four adults and the theory is that we will swap around between business and economy, but I’m not sure that will happen.

How do you pass the time on long flights?

It’s an amazing time to do work and think. I print off papers to read and my BlackBerry will be full of stuff that I’ve downloaded to read. You should sleep when you are tired. Your body knows when it’s tired and there’s no point trying to plan sleep when you don’t feel like it, because you’ll just get frustrated. When you arrive in a destination, you should get out into the fresh air and sun in the day and acclimatise quickly. I enjoy a glass of wine on a flight because it helps you relax and that makes travelling easy. But I don’t listen to music on flights because I’ve never got into having an iPod. I plug earplugs in and eliminate the noise and vibration.

How do you get around UK?

I do go by car to the airports to see the operators, and also to see clients off on their trips, but it is often by taxi. Unfortunately, if you are trying to get in to Luton airport for 6am for the first flight of the day, that queue to the M1 is horrendous. Then you have this £1 fee for a drop off because Luton are trying to raise some money but it just leads to more hold-ups. At least if someone else is driving you don’t have the hassle of trying to find somewhere to park. Never ever drive yourself to a busy airport.

Do you ever drive around the UK?

I do to airports like Farnborough. I’ve got a Renault Laguna, simply because of safety for the kids. At the time of buying it, my children were five and four, so that was my main consideration.

What about using the train?

I’ll go by train to London City airport because it is so well serviced by public transport. Heathrow by contrast is dreadful, so I’ll get a cab from St Albans, which will cost around £50.