Interview with Andre Quiros

I started my flight training in Florida (Pelican Flight Training at KHWO airport) back in 2001, right after the tragic 9/11 attacks. After completing the licences up to Flight Instructor I stayed there working as a CFI. I came back to my country, Costa Rica and continued working as a Flight Instructor. After that I went to a local regional airline (SANSA) that operates Cessna Caravans as Captain and Instructor. After a few years there I moved to Lacsa Airlines (part of Grupo Taca, and later Avianca Airlines) as a First Officer for the Embraer 190 fleet. In 2015 the company started restructuring an stopped flying the E190 and the crews were fired. At that moment I started looking for jobs outside Costa Rica and got the interview invitation with EVA Air. Luckily I passed and started working as a First Officer on the Boeing 747 fleet, flying both the passenger and the freighter versions.

Being a pilot was my dream job as a kid. I remember me at 10-11yrs old looking at airplanes in awe. Around that time I flew on an airliner for the first time (a Boeing 727) and was hooked. I was always interested in mechanical things, so I first went to college to get an Electromechanical Engineering degree and after working a few years I was able to go to the United States for flight training.

Yes, I feel very attached to 411 for a couple of reasons. I had the chance to fly the 3 passenger Boeing 747s left at that time (2015), they were B-16410, B-16411 and B-16412, and curiously, my first flight and landing on a Boeing 747, after finishing my simulator training, was on B-16411. That was on a flight from Taipei to Macau, with a full load of passengers. The day was October 22nd, 2015. I also had the privilege to fly 411 on September 5th, 2017, her last flight ever, with final destination San Bernardino airport. It was a crew of 4 pilots for the direct flight from Taipei and I was lucky enough to be the First Officer on that flight for her last landing.

I think that my first flight on a Boeing 747 has been my most emotional flight. This is because it was my return to flying after being let go from the previous airline and being out of a job also because I would have never imagined I would fly the iconic Boeing 747. My country is small and the only airliners we have are Airbus A320 family, so getting the chance to fly a widebody, and specially a Boeing 747 was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me and for 2 other colleagues from Costa Rica that came to EVA Air with me. We were very privileged to get to fly the 747.

Honestly, I would love to go back to the Boeing 747. Right now I'm flying a Boeing 787 (-9 and -10) and it's a great airplane, amazing engineering and very advanced but I'll trade it any day for a Boeing 747. Now that I think of it, I would love to fly the newer Boeing 747-8. I will probably have the chance to fly A321, A330 or B777 in the future but I have no preference, maybe the Boeing line but just for simplicity of training. After flying a Boeing 747 all the other airplanes just don't seem so great.

I think I achieved my goal, to be able to fly airplanes around the World with a stable and safe company. Right now I have the position of Senior First Officer so I guess my next step would be to become a Captain, but that's just really a progression within my goal, not the goal itself. Many times when young pilots talk, it's all about being a Captain, but for me I enjoy flying, any airplane, any seat. Just being up there and looking and the World makes me happy and knowing that I can provide a good life for my family makes me feel complete.

I don't have an aircraft yet, but I would love to have a Cessna 206. I flew it back when I was starting my career and it's a great plane. If I had more money I would love a private Cessna Caravan. So, for now, it is just simulated airplanes for me and in that case, I love older airplanes, like the Boeing 727, DC-8 and L-1011. Oh and a military airplane would also be cool, something like a F-4 Phantom or F-14 Tomcat. Since there are no military forces in my country, that type of aviation is really rare for us to witness.

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