Dietary habits are an essential part of life for everyone. Most people benefit from eating on regular and predictable schedules. Working as a pilot or flight attendant during a long workday forces crew members to change their eating habits. Here's a bit of insight into how being a pilot affects eating.

Short haul

Short-haul crew's eating habits on work days are usually limited by the pilot's duty time requirements. Starting early and flying more flights in a duty period reduces the amount of maximum allowable hours. Still, the shortest day is usually about 12.5 hours which covers two meal cycles for most people. A long duty day with a later start and fewer, longer flights can span up to 14 hours. Eating habits are actually more easily maintained for most pilots on these types of days in comparison to their shorter yet busier counterparts.

Photo: Siwkorn I Shutterstock

Pilots can grab food in airport terminals between flights. Crews get excited about going to airports like Austin and Seattle to take advantage of the great food in the terminal (barbecue and chowder, in these airports' cases). One pilot will take orders from their colleague and flight attendants and hops into the terminal as the passengers de-board. There's usually enough time to get food while their colleagues prepare for the next flight, even on a quick turn.

Long domestic flights typically feature meal services for premium cabins. Some airlines use mileage total, and others use scheduled flight time to determine whether a flight receives full catering service. On flights where catering is provided, enough food is loaded so that the pilots can eat whatever is leftover after passengers have made their selections. Longer flights tend to be less taxing as there are fewer takeoffs, landings, setups, and briefings, and pilots can settle in and enjoy a meal handed to them through the flight deck door.

Lots of pilots also pack their own meals and keep them in cooler bags. You may have noticed pilots carrying cooler bags that blend in well with their other travel bags (per company policy). A pilot with dietary restrictions, or those who depend on consistent eating times, can take advantage of non-sterile, low workload times during the cruise to eat a meal they have brought for them self.

Long haul

Long-haul pilots have a more straightforward eating routine. Most long-haul routes feature two meals, and three or more flight crew members make food selections the same way as their short-haul counterparts. Since the meal service is done shortly after one or two of the augmenting pilots leaves to take their rest, there are usually two meal cycles for pilots: One for the first shift, and one for the pilot(s) who return after their break.

Photo: Mario Hagen I Shutterstock

Food breaks are always coordinated with the chief purser, or "number one" flight attendant. In addition to meals, it's customary at airlines that fly long haul routes for pilots to be provided with a snack and drink kit right after departure. It usually has a tray of ice, sodas, water, and some warm nuts.

There are lots of ways for pilots to eat while at work. Admittedly, long days sometimes make it difficult to remember when to eat as multiple time zones are traversed. Pilots and flight attendants are usually contractually able to request meal breaks, even if the schedule doesn't leave time.

Airlines have pre-boarding teams of standby flight attendants to conduct boarding while the flight attendants who will work the flight are in the terminal getting food. Food is important in the midst of a busy day, and a well-fed flight crew is always preferable to a hungry one.